Foreign Language Anxiety

This paper reports the results of a study designed to investigate the effects of anxiety in the foreign language classroom. The aim was to focus on the relationship between anxiety and second language learning and the ways to cope with anxiety among university students. 120 students were asked to write down the things that led them to feel anxious in the classroom and then the researcher held interviews with these students as to what caused anxiety in the department. The main sources of anxiety were identified as: (a) Presenting before the class, (b) Making mistakes, (c) Losing face, (d) Inability to express oneself, (e) Fear of failure, (f) Teachers, and (g) Fear of living up to the standards. It is concluded that teacers should consider the possibility that anxiety is responsible for the student behaviors before attributing poor student pereformance to lack of ability, inadequate background or poor motivation.