It is good to feel anxious sometimes! but to an extent !

1. ANXIETY
By: Mrs. Shaimaa Saleem
University of Duhok

2. ANXIETY
A feeling of worry, nervousness, frustration, self-doubt or
unease about something with an uncertain outcome.
Anxiety is an emotional state characterized by an
unpleasant nature of inner turmoil, often accompanied by
nervous behaviour , uneasiness and concern about some
define or undefined future threat.

3. LANGUAGE ANXIETY
• Foreign language anxiety: is the feeling of unease, worry,
nervousness and apprehension experienced when learning or using a
second or foreign language.
• Some individuals are more predisposed to anxiety than others, and may feel
anxious in a wide variety of situations.
• Foreign language anxiety: a distinct complex of self-perceptions,
beliefs, feelings, and behaviors related to classroom learning arising
from the uniqueness of the language learning process.

4. SYMPTOMS OF ANXIETY
Feelings of panic, fear, and uneasiness.
Problems sleeping.
Cold or sweaty hands or feet.
Shortness of breath.
Heart palpitations.
Not being able to be still and calm.
Dry mouth.
Numbness or tingling in the hands or feet

5. THE RESEARCH ON ANXIETY SUGGESTS THAT ANXIETY CAN
BE EXPERIENCED AT VARIOUS LEVELS:
Trait Anxiety is a permanent predisposition to be anxious.
State Anxiety is experienced in relation to some particular
event or act

6. RECENT RESEARCH ON LANGUAGE ANXIETY, FOCUSES
MORE SPECIFICALLY ON THE SITUATIONAL NATURE OF
STATE ANXIETY. THREE COMPONENTS OF FOREIGN
LANGUAGE ANXIETY HAVE BEEN IDENTIFIED:
1. Communication apprehension, arising from learners' inability to adequately express
mature thoughts and ideas;
2. Fear of negative social evaluation, arising from a learner's need to make a positive
social impression on others;
3. Test anxiety, or apprehension over academic evaluation.

7. TWO TYPES OF ANXIETY:
Debilitative Anxiety (harmful anxiety)
Facilitative Anxiety (helpful anxiety)

8. FACILITATING VS DEBILITATING ANXIETY
Facilitating anxiety motivates the learner to ‘fight’ the new learning
task; it gears the learner emotionally for approval behavior.
Example:- Student works hard and Passes the exam.

9. Debilitating Anxiety motivates the learner to ‘flee’ the new learning task; it stimulates
the individual emotionally to adopt avoidance behavior”
It causes the learner to ‘flee’ the learning task.
Example:- run away from exams.

10. DISCUSSION
Suggest some ways how to
reduce anxiety?

11. CONCLUSION
Anxiety is one of the most powerful and negative predictor for the
student’s performance in learning.
Setting realistic and achievable goals, building a relaxing classroom
environment, sharing language learning experiences and feelings, and
providing more chances to learners to use the language all help in
reducing anxiety in language learners.