“The spoken course crushed me and now I'm afraid of pronunciation” : Foreign Language Anxiety among Finnish University Students of English
Ketonen, Aliisa (2023-09-26)
“The spoken course crushed me and now I'm afraid of pronunciation” : Foreign Language Anxiety among Finnish University Students of English
(26.09.2023)
Julkaisu on tekijänoikeussäännösten alainen. Teosta voi lukea ja tulostaa henkilökohtaista käyttöä varten. Käyttö kaupallisiin tarkoituksiin on kielletty.
avoin
Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on:
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi-fe20231011139685
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi-fe20231011139685
Tiivistelmä
The aim of this Minor Subject Thesis is to understand how Finnish university students of English, during their first year at university, experience Foreign Language Anxiety (FLA) with regards to the four skills of language, levels of language knowledge and the social context. Foreign Language Anxiety is a topic that, since the 1980s, has received more and more attention, but the focus has, typically, been on the modality of speaking and research has been cross-sectional.
The present study sought to understand how English first-year majors (n=27) viewed FLA over the course of their first academic year with regards to the four skills of language, levels of language knowledge and the social context. A Webropol questionnaire was distributed to an English course in April 2023 and included both numerical rating scales and open-ended questions; in the analysis, however, the focus was largely on the qualitative material. Content analysis was used as the method for this.
Based on the analysis, the students reported various experiences of FLA despite their advanced level of English. Quantitative analysis revealed high standard deviation. The findings showed that speaking caused particular feelings of anxiety and stress among the students, and was further highlighted when in a social setting. Additionally, anxiety caused by public speaking was an important finding in the current study. The social context had an effect on the levels of FLA, causing various reactions among the students over the course of the academic year. These differing experiences could be due to various reasons, such as individual differences. Academic writing was a source of worry for many students.
The study showed that grammar and pronunciation were notable causes for FLA and were tightly linked to respective courses that the students needed to take during the first year of their English studies. Moreover, the current study revealed that many students experienced fluctuations and changes in their experiences of FLA over the academic year; however, these changes went in various directions showing a range of different experiences.
Future studies, for example, could compare students from different years of English studies to establish whether there are differences in the experiences of FLA. More variables (such as personality traits) could also be added to the study to enrich knowledge on FLA.
The present study sought to understand how English first-year majors (n=27) viewed FLA over the course of their first academic year with regards to the four skills of language, levels of language knowledge and the social context. A Webropol questionnaire was distributed to an English course in April 2023 and included both numerical rating scales and open-ended questions; in the analysis, however, the focus was largely on the qualitative material. Content analysis was used as the method for this.
Based on the analysis, the students reported various experiences of FLA despite their advanced level of English. Quantitative analysis revealed high standard deviation. The findings showed that speaking caused particular feelings of anxiety and stress among the students, and was further highlighted when in a social setting. Additionally, anxiety caused by public speaking was an important finding in the current study. The social context had an effect on the levels of FLA, causing various reactions among the students over the course of the academic year. These differing experiences could be due to various reasons, such as individual differences. Academic writing was a source of worry for many students.
The study showed that grammar and pronunciation were notable causes for FLA and were tightly linked to respective courses that the students needed to take during the first year of their English studies. Moreover, the current study revealed that many students experienced fluctuations and changes in their experiences of FLA over the academic year; however, these changes went in various directions showing a range of different experiences.
Future studies, for example, could compare students from different years of English studies to establish whether there are differences in the experiences of FLA. More variables (such as personality traits) could also be added to the study to enrich knowledge on FLA.