Foreign language anxiety is a distinct type of anxiety that is situation-specific and arises from the uniqueness of the language learning process. It can affect both anxious and non-anxious individuals. There are two types of language anxiety - debilitative anxiety which hinders learning, and facilitative anxiety which benefits learning by keeping students alert. Sources of foreign language anxiety include speaking in front of peers and fear of making errors. High foreign language anxiety has detrimental effects on students' performance, confidence, and participation, and can negatively impact communication outside the classroom.

1. ANXIETY
AND SECOND LANGUAGE
LEARNING
by
Mudasar Jehan
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2. WHAT IS ANXIETY?
Anxiety is the feeling of tension,
apprehension, nervousness and
worry.
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3. 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.
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4. • Foreign language anxiety is a
form of what psychologists
describe as specific anxiety
reaction.
• Some individuals are more
predisposed to anxiety than
others and as such may feel
anxious in a wide variety of
situations. 4

5. Conti…
• Foreign language anxiety,
however, is situation specific and
so can also affect individuals who
are not characteristically anxious
in the abovementioned, more
general, situations
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6. 1-TRAIT ANXIETY is the general
trait of a person being
anxious.
2-STATE ANXIETY is anxiety
experienced in relation to a
particular event.
Types of LANGUAGE ANXIETY
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7. 3-Communication apprehension: arising
from learner’s inability to express
thoughts and ideas.
4-Fear of negative social evaluation: from a
learner’s need to make a positive social
impression on others.
5-Test anxiety: nervousness from academic
evaluation.
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8. 6-DEBILITATIVE ANXIETY
• Harmful
anxiety
• Tension that
hinders
learning.
7-FACILITATIVE ANXIETY
• Helpful anxiety
• Tension that
keeps the
learner alert and
benefits the
learning process.
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9. Sources of Anxiety
• Speaking the target language in
front of peers
• Teacher-centered classroom
• Fear of losing oneself
• Making errors
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10. Effects of Foreign Language
Anxiety
• The effects of foreign language anxiety are
particularly apparent in the foreign language
classroom and anxiety is a strong indicator of
academic performance.
• Anxiety is found to have a detrimental effect
on students’ confidence , self-esteem and
level of participation.
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11. Conti…
• Anxious learners suffer from mental
blocks during spontaneous speaking
activities, lack of confidence, are less
able to self-edit and identify
language errors and are more likely
to employ avoidance strategies such
as skipping class.
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12. Conti…
• Anxious students also forget
previously learned material,
volunteer answers less frequently
and have a greater tendency to
remain passive in classroom
activities than their less anxious
counterparts.
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13. Conti…
• The effects of foreign language anxiety also
extend outside the second language
classroom.
• A high level of foreign language anxiety may
also correspond with communication
apprehension, causing individuals to be
quieter and less willing to communicate.
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14. Conti…
• People who exhibit this kind of
communication reserve/silence can also
sometimes be perceived as less
trustworthy, less competent, less socially
and physically attractive, tenser, less
composed and less dominant than their
less reticent counterparts.
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