FOREIGN LANGUAGE LISTENING ANXIETY IN HIGH SCHOOL AND UNIVERSITY STUDENTS
Abstract
Language learners progress at different rates and attain different levels of language competence. This is due to many factors that influence success in language learning. Some of these factors are aptitude, personality, age, attitudes, motivation, learning styles, etc. One of the factors that has been widely investigated is language anxiety. A lot of research has been carried out to determine the relationship between language anxiety and learners’ achievement as well as the sources of learners’ anxiety and the possible ways of reducing anxiety in the classroom. Most of the research has focused on general language anxiety. However, it has emerged that even though general language anxiety may be a problem for many learners, there are different types of anxiety related to a particular situation, a particular task, or a particular language skill. Regarding language skills, speaking is regarded as the most anxiety-provoking, which has also been reported by many learners. Listening anxiety has not been researched as much as speaking anxiety, but studies show that listening can also cause learner anxiety and can seriously affect listening comprehension. The purpose of this study is to determine the level of listening anxiety in high school and university students learning English as a foreign language. The instrument used to measure the listening anxiety levels is the Foreign Language Listening Anxiety Scale (FLLAS) which consists of 20 items that describe how learners feel about listening to English. The results show that both groups of participants exhibit low levels of anxiety, and there is no statistically significant difference between the two groups.
Keywords: language learning; listening; anxiety; age; language proficiency.
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References
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