Foreign language learning anxiety in Japanese EFL university classes: physical, emotional, expressive, and verbal reactions

Abstract

This study presents an overview of research devoted to foreign language learning anxiety and then examines in detail the reactions reported by Japanese university students to an anxiety-provoking situations in English-as-a-foreign language (EFL) classes. Questionnaire data was obtained from 243 Japanese learners in conversational English classes at 31 four-year universities in Japan. The following research questions are addressed: (1) What are the physical, emotional, expressive, and verbal reactions to the anxiety-provoking situation? (2) What are the characteristics of anxiety in terms of occurrence, duration, intensity, expectation, and degree of hindrance? (3) What is the relationship between anxiety and pair and small group work? Overall, the findings indicate that some degree of anxiety affected 75% of the learners and that the debilitating aspects of anxiety strongly hindered about 11% of them. Other findings include significant differences between male-female and high-low perceived ability groups on several dependent variables.