Linguistic Distance, Language Anxiety, and Coping Strategies: A Comparative Study of Chinese and Spanish-Speaking English Language Learners in Classroom Settings

This study explored the relationship between linguistic distance and language anxiety among English Language Learners (ELLs), and the strategies that ELLs and their teachers adopted to help cope with classroom language anxiety. It was hypothesized that Chinese ELLs may experience higher levels of anxiety than Mexican ELLs in English language classroom settings due to greater linguistic distance between Mandarin Chinese and English than between the Spanish and English languages. English classroom language anxiety of a sample of 108 Chinese and 72 Mexican undergraduate students was examined using the Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (FLCAS) in combination with two open-ended questions regarding strategies used to ease classroom language anxiety. Analyses of covariance were performed, the results of which showed significant differences. On average, the Chinese students reported higher levels of language anxiety than the Mexican students in classroom settings, and the same pattern was observed regarding various aspects of student language anxiety including communication apprehension, fear of negative evaluation, and test anxiety. Additionally, a gender difference was observed among the Mexican but not the Chinese students, with the Mexican female students experiencing a higher level of anxiety than their male counterparts. Student responses to the two open-ended questions echoed the statistical results, suggesting that language anxiety might be the consequence of language learning difficulty.

Abdurahman, N. H., & Rizqi, M. A. (2021). Indonesian students’ strategies to cope with foreign language anxiety. TESOL Journal, 12(1). Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1002/tesj.571

Aida, Y. (1994). Examination of Horwitz, Horwitz, and Cope’s construct of foreign language anxiety: The case of students of Japanese. The Modern Language Journal, 78(2), 155-168.

Alrabai, F. (2015). The influence of teachers’ anxiety-reducing strategies on learners’ foreign language anxiety. Innovation in Language Learning and Teaching, 9(2), 163-190.

Arnaiz, P., & Guillén, F. (2012). Foreign language anxiety in a Spanish university setting: Interpersonal differences. Revista de Psicodidáctica, 17(1), 5-26.

Borjian, A. (2015). Learning English in Mexico: Perspectives from Mexican teachers of English. The CATESOL Journal, 27(1), 163-173.

Canney, G., Kennedy, T. J., Shroeder, M., & Miles, S. (1999, February). Instructional strategies for K-12 limited English proficiency (LEP) students in the traditional classroom. The Reading Teacher, 52(5), 540-544. Retrieved from https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ579287

Cao, Y. (2011). Comparison of two models of foreign language classroom anxiety scale. Philippine ESL Journal, 7(7), 73-93.

Chen, I. J., & Chang, C. C. (2009). Cognitive load theory: An empirical study of anxiety and task performance in language learning. Electronic Journal of Research in Educational Psychology, 7(2), 729-746.

Chen, T. Y., & Chang, G. B. Y. (2004). The relationship between foreign language anxiety and learning difficulties. Foreign Language Annals, 37(2), 279-289.

Chiswick, B. R., & Miller, P. W. (2005). Linguistic distance: A quantitative measure of the distance between English and other languages. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 26(1), 1-11. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1080/14790710508668395

Chiswick, B. R., & Miller, P. W. (2007). The critical period hypothesis for language learning: What the 2000 US Census says. Discussion Paper, No. 2575. Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA), Bonn. Retrieved from https://www.econstor.eu/bitstream/10419/33715/1/527494895.pdf

Chomsky, N. (2015). Aspects of the theory of syntax: 50th anniversary edition. Cambridge, Massachusetts: The MIT Press.

Cohen, J. (1992). A power primer. Psychological Bulletin, 112(1), 155-159.

Drisko, J., & Maschi, T. (2016). Content analysis. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Dewaele, J. M., & MacIntyre, P. D. (2014). The two faces of Janus? Anxiety and enjoyment in the foreign language classroom. Studies in Second Language Learning and Teaching, 4(2), 237-274. doi:10.14746/ssllt.2014.4.2.5

Dewaele, J. M., Witney, J., Saito, K., & Dewaele, L. (2018). Foreign language enjoyment and anxiety: The effect of teacher and learner variables. Language Teaching Research, 22(6), 676-697.

Effiong, O. (2016). Getting them speaking: Classroom social factors and foreign language anxiety. TESOL Journal, 7(1), 132-161. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1002/tesj.194

Ganschow, L., & Sparks, R. L. (1996). Anxiety about foreign language learning among high school women. The Modern Language Journal, 80(2), 199-201.

Gao, S., & Kennedy, T. J. (2019). Intercultural competence development of Chinese students after a short-term study abroad experience. Sino-US English Teaching, 16(5), 177-196. Retrieved from http://www.davidpublisher.org/Public/uploads/Contribute/5d15683e89544.pdf

Goh, C. C. M., & Burns, A. (2012). Teaching speaking: A holistic approach. New York: Cambridge University Press.

Hart-Gonzalez, L., & Lindemann, S. (1993). Expected achievement in speaking proficiency, 1993. School of Languages Studies, Foreign Services Institute, Department of State, Mimeo.

He, D. (2017). How to cope with foreign language speaking anxiety effectively? The case of university students in China. Electronic Journal of Foreign Language Teaching, 14(2), 159-174.

Horwitz, E. K. (1986). Preliminary evidence for the reliability and validity of a foreign language anxiety scale. TESOL Quarterly, 20(3), 559-562.

Horwitz, E. K. (2008). Becoming a language teacher: A practical guide to second language learning and teaching. Boston, MA: Pearson.

Horwitz, E. K. (2017). On the misreading of Horwitz, Horwitz, and Cope (1986) and the need to balance anxiety research and the experiences of anxious language learners. In C. Gkonou, M. Daubney, and J. M. Dewaele (Eds.), New insights into language anxiety: Theory, research and educational implications (pp. 31-50). Bristol, UK: Multilingual Matters.

Horwitz, E. K., Horwitz, M. B., & Cope, J. A. (1986). Foreign language classroom anxiety. The Modern Language Journal, 70(2), 125-132.

Isphording, I. E., & Otten, S. (2013). The costs of Babylon—Linguistic distance in applied economics. Review of International Economics, 21, 354-369. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1111/roie.12041

Jiang, Y., & Dewaele, J. M. (2019). How unique is the foreign language classroom enjoyment and anxiety of Chinese EFL learners? System, 82, 13-25.

Jin, Y., Dewaele, J. M., & MacIntyre, P. D. (2021). Reducing anxiety in the foreign language classroom: A positive psychology approach. System, 101, 102604. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2021.102604

Kennedy, T. J. (2001). Preparing teachers for educating linguistically diverse students. NWATE Northwest Passage: Journal of Educational Practices, 1(1), 51-55. Retrieved from https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1207&context=nwjte

Kennedy, T. J. (2002). Classroom practices for literacy development of English language learners. NWATE Northwest Passage: Journal of Educational Practices, 2(1), 35-39. Retrieved from https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1121&context=nwjte

Kennedy, T. J. (2006/2008). Language learning and its impact on the brain: Connecting language learning with the mind through content-based instruction. In 50 Years of Foreign Language Annals: A Retrospective. Content-Infused Learning: Making Connections to Other Disciplines and the Professions. (Reprinted from Foreign Language Annals, 39(3), 471-486; 2006). Retrieved from https://pericles.pericles-prod.literatumonline.com/doi/toc/10.1111/(ISSN)1944-9720.content-infused-learning

Kennedy, T. J., & Reese, S. (2007, November). Using your cerebro: A look at research on foreign language learning and the brain. The Language Educator, 2(6), 32-35. American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL).

Kondo, D. S., & Yang, Y. L. (2004). Strategies for coping with language anxiety: The case of students of English in Japan. ELT Journal, 58(3), 258-265.

Leusink, J. (2017). Influence of linguistic distance on foreign language attrition. Retrieved from https://theses.ubn.ru.nl/bitstream/handle/123456789/4936/Leusink%2C_Jennifer_W._1.pdf?sequence=1

Liu, M., & Jackson, J. (2008). An exploration of Chinese EFL learners’ unwillingness to communicate and foreign language anxiety. The Modern Language Journal, 92(1), 71-86.

Lucas, L. (2000). Hong Kong set to abandon rote learning. Retrieved from http://mathforum.org/epigone/mathed-news/prixyimbray

MacIntyre, P. D. (1995). How does anxiety affect second language learning? A reply to Sparks and Ganschow. Modern Language Journal, 79(1), 90-99.

MacIntyre, P. D. (2017). An overview of language anxiety research and trends in its development. In C. Gkonou, M. Daubney, and J. M. Dewaele (Eds.), New insights into language anxiety: Theory, research and educational implications (pp. 11-30). Bristol, UK: Multilingual Matters.

MacIntyre, P. D., & Gardner, R. C. (1989). Anxiety and second-language learning: Toward a theoretical clarification. Language Learning, 39(2), 251-275.

MacIntyre, P. D., & Gardner, R. C. (1994). The effects of induced anxiety on three stages of cognitive processing in computerized vocabulary learning. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 16, 1-17.

MacIntyre, P. D., Dewaele, J.-M., Macmillan, N., & Li, C. (2019). The emotional underpinnings of Gardner’s attitudes and motivation test battery. In A. H. Al-Hoorie and P. D. MacIntyre (Eds.), Contemporary language motivation theory: 60 years since Gardner and Lambert (1959) (pp. 57-79). Bristol, UK: Multilingual Matters.

McCroskey, J. C., Fayer, J., & Richmond, V. P. (1985). Don’t speak to me in English: Communication apprehension in Puerto Rico. Communication Quarterly, 33, 185-192.

O’Malley, J. M., & Chamot, A. U. (1990). Learning strategies in second language acquisition. Cambridge University Press. Retrieved from https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/learning-strategies-in-second-language-acquisition/FA9872A0F0155A215D5A33C0BEAC46AB

Pérez-Paredes, P., & Martínez-Sánchez, F. (2000-2001). A Spanish version of the foreign language classroom anxiety scale: Revisiting Aida’s factor analysis. Revista Española de Lingüística Aplicada/Spanish Journal of Applied Linguistics, 14, 337-252.

Sang, Y., & Hither, P. (2021). Engagement and companion constructs in language learning: Conceptualizing learners’ involvement in the L2 classroom. In P. Hiver, A. H. Al-Hoorie, and S. Mercer (Eds.), Student engagement in the language classroom (pp. 17-37). Clevedon: Multilingual Matters.

Skehan, P. (1998). A cognitive approach to language learning. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Sparks, R. L., & Ganschow, L. (1991). Foreign language learning differences: Affective or native language aptitude differences? The Modern Language Journal, 75(1), 3-16.

Sparks, R. L., & Ganschow, L. (1995). A strong inference approach to causal factors in foreign language learning: A response to MacIntyre. The Modern Language Journal, 79(2), 235-244.

Sparks, R., Ganschow, L., & Pohlman, J. (1989). Linguistic coding deficits in foreign language learners. Annals of Dyslexia, 39, 179-195.

Spielberger, D. (1983). Manual for the state-trait anxiety inventory. Palo Alto, CA: Consulting Psychologist Press.

Xu, J., Sun, Z., & Kennedy, T. J. (2016). EFL adult learners’ vocabulary motivation in intensive English language programs in the USA. TexELT: Texas English Language Teaching, 5(1), 60-81. Retrieved from https://www.academia.edu/40753115/Understanding_Korea_For_Effective_University_EFL_Instruction

Young, D. J. (1992). Language anxiety from the foreign language specialist’s perspective: Interviews with Krashen, Omaggio Hadley, Terrell, and Rardin. Foreign Language Annals, 25(2), 157-172.

Zhang, Y., & Tian, F. (2015). Study on markedness in linguistics. Sino-US English Teaching, 12(9), 667-671.