Article review 1

Topic: Language Anxiety: A Case Study of the Perceptions and Experiences of

This article is written by Rola Ahmed Lababidi and published at English Language Teaching
Journal on 2016. The author overviews the perceptions and experience of foreign language
anxiety (FLA) among students of English as a Foreign Language in a Higher Education
Institution in the United Arab Emirates. Each section in this article discussed about language
anxiety that faced by male students and the findings of this study reflect that some of the
student participants in this case study experienced moderate to high levels of anxiety in the
second language classrooms. This article also discusses the possible source of language
anxiety about language learning and its manifestations, as well as consideration of the
strategies that may be used to alleviate its negative effects.

Summary of Article
The article begins with a discussion on the introduction of the nature of the problem faced
by male students in learning L2. As an educator, we have learned that one’s success is
determined with him or her in completing the task. With anxiety as a language barrier, this
prevented the students to learn and acquire the language successfully and naturally. The
writers stated that numerous studies and experiments have been conducted to prove that
language anxiety has a huge impact in second language acquisition. He also noted that for
educators, the challenges are manifested in the ability of educators to promote a stress-free
learning environment that engenders in learners an interest in learning a second language.
From a theoretical point of view, this is not a simple task to embrace.

This article follow are coherent flow where the writer first introduced language anxiety and
why the study was conducted in this area of interest. He stated that when Educators and
students step into classrooms with a loaded baggage of expectations, beliefs, and prospects
about a particular teaching and learning environment. The interplay of these expectations
may foster a unique learning context that shapes the nature of the classroom environment.
In instances, whereby, the climate in the classroom is rigid and judgmental in outlook, this
presents a context that shakes and sometimes shatters the learner’s self-concept. This
explains that the need of this study to be conducted.

According to Horwitz et al. (1986), any performance in the L2 is likely to challenge an

After stating the nature of problem, the writer quoted a number of scholars who have done
the same study in the field of interest. These scholars revealed that students who face
language anxiety usually have a negative perception towards their ability to acquire the
second language. They also noted that these students are not exposed to L1 language
learning properly hence they face LA when learning L2. Besides, past studies have shown
that there are also teacher-related variable in the emergence of anxiety among EFL and ESL
students. Situational variables incorporate for instance; course activities, course level, course
organization, instructor’s attitude, behaviour, and social interaction among learners
(Jackson, 2002; Oxford 1999; Spielman & Radonfsky, 2001; Young, 1991).

The writer intends to fill the gap in in the literature, and to expand the field current
understanding of LA in the Arab world, this mixed method research design study is set forth.
This case study with its core intent to investigate language anxiety among Emirati learners;
assumes that attitudes, beliefs and perception of students and teachers, embrace an implicit
aspect of learning a language and that there are many factors that influence these
perceptions and ultimately the anxiety level of L2 learners. It also assumes that language
anxiety that many students experience in L2 classrooms cannot be defined in a linear
manner (Skehan, 1989), but rather it may be viewed as a complex psychological construct,
influenced by many interrelated factors.

The writer administered Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (FLCAS) to all students
in foundation English with the intention to flag up classes that showed highest scores on
anxiety and then FLCAS was used with the classes that exhibited the highest levels of
anxiety along with Focus Groups interviews. The FLCAS were distributed in two phases. The
main aim of Phase 1 was to highlight the classes that displayed the highest level of anxiety
as shown by the use of FLCAS. Classes that exhibited the highest level of anxiety as
measured by the FLCAS in phase one were purposely chosen to participate in the second
phase of the study. The rationale was to investigate the complexity of this phenomenon
through the voices of students who scored considerably high on the FLCAS.

The result of the FLCAS, the participants’ responses in this study are consistent with such
finding. Most of the interviewed (anxious) students claimed that a stressful classroom
atmosphere made them highly anxious. At the same time, there was some evidence that
current apprehension may be partly a result of previous learning experiences and
accumulated beliefs and attitudes about English language learning, in general. The writer
suggests that to make the students feel at ease, two key issues were identified. First, the
education system-prior to the reforms in the Emirates did not place great emphasis on
student participation and therefore being required to interact with the teacher and with
peers was an unfamiliar experience. Second, their teachers in the past might had responded
in a harsh manner to their errors. This might have led to some students’ reluctant
participation in their current L2 classroom.

Therefore, the writer listed some causes of linguistic anxiety among students. The factors
affecting are the teaching factor, teaching practices, fear of making mistakes, tests and
previous experience of learning an additional language. These factors were used as a theme
to analyze the results. The author points out that the teaching factor has played a huge role
in the development of anxiety during ESL lessons. This concludes that the teachers' attitude,
quick speaking speed and focus, native teachers versus non-native teachers and attention
bias contributed to the cause of the teaching factor. The results indicate that most
participants said that teachers' accent and speaking speed have an effect on their level of
understanding.

Evaluation of article

This is an in depth article with in depth discussion of the study. The authors provide insight
on what issue actually happening in l2 acquisition among students of English as a foreign
language in a higher education institution in the United Arab Emirates. The layout of the
information is easy to read and displayed in a format that makes it easy to use as a quick
reference.

The article enforces the need for the fellow educators to first identify their students anxiety
level and their readiness to learn new language. Through the FLCAS test conducted on the
participant, the result showed precisely what the writer wanted in giving the preliminary
understanding of the nature of student’s anxiety. This will allow the writer to systematically
move from one subject of discussion to the next and additionally provides necessary further
study to be conducted.

Conclusion
This study has provided valuable insights into the perceptions and experiences of male
students in a context, a higher education institution in the UAE, which has not previously
been a key focus for research into language anxiety and its findings, should be helpful to
teachers and curriculum developers in the UAE. Many previous studies of language anxiety
have used quantitative measures to investigate the phenomenon. In employing a case study
approach, which used a combination of quantitative measures and qualitative data collection
tools, this research has been able to provide a richer understanding of language anxiety
than would have otherwise been gained through quantitative means alone. Hence, this
article provides the reader with a in depth insight of students anxiety level and their
perception towards learning English. Lastly, the article will be a helpful guide for the fellow
educators whom are starting to investigate about this area of interest.