外語學(xué)習(xí)與焦慮

王 堅，楊 敏

1. Introduction

For decades scholars have been investigating the anxiety that students experience in their foreign language learning. In addition，these scholars want to understand why students experience increased anxiety when they attend their foreign language class as opposed to other situations where they encounter their second language. Many students feel tenser and more nervous in foreign language class than in any other class，and their anxiety seems to come predominantly from speaking situations in class. Price found that three sources of anxiety came from the students’perceived speaking skills ( self－esteem about their ability) ，teachers’correction of students’speech，and oral presentations in front of the entire class. Because teachers want their students to develop oral skills in class，it is important for them to not only understand the reasons why students feel anxious about speaking but also develop ways to reduce such anxiety. Young argues that students who start out with a self－perceived low ability level in a FL are the most likely to be anxious in the classroom.Price agrees with Young and found that anxious learners believed that their language skills were weaker than those of the other students in class and that everyone else was looking down on them. This comparison of their ability with that of their peers leads them to feel inferior to other learners of the language and discourages them from speaking in front of them. Foreign language learners have another source of anxiety. In their minds，they compare their ability in the second language with that of native speakers of the second language. The students who were afraid of making errors in pronunciation in Price’s study believed that they were not pronouncing words as native speakers would and felt embarrassed by their inability to pronounce correctly. As a result of Bailey’s analysis of competitiveness in different language learners，Bailey proposes a model of how the learner’s self－image in comparisons with other L2 learners can either impair or enhance SLA ( Second Language Acquisition) . Where the comparison results in an unsuccessful self－image，there may be debilitating or facilitating anxiety. In the case of the latter，learners increase their efforts in order to compare more favorably with other learners，and，as a result，learning is enhanced. Where the comparison results in a successful self－image，the learner experiences positive rewards and thus continues to display effort，so learning is also enhanced.

In this paper，we discuss the correlates of language anxiety，at the same time，present ways to identify language anxiety，and offer some suggestions for combating language anxiety.

2. Correlates of language anxiety

Correlates of language anxiety range from highly personal ( such as self－esteem) to procedural( such as classroom activities and methods) .

2.1 Self－esteemSelf－esteem is a self－judgment of worth or value，based on feelings of efficacy，a sense of interacting effectively with one’s own environment. Efficacy implies that some degree of control exists within oneself. Unsuccessful language learners often have lower self－esteem than successful language learners. Whether this affects their overall self－esteem or only their situational self－esteem partly depends on how important language learning is to the individuals involved. Self－esteem is vulnerable when the learner perceives himself or herself as very competent in the native language and totally inadequate or limited in the target language. Horwitz and Cope noted that foreign language learning can cause a threat to self－esteem by depriving learners of their normal means of communication，their freedom to make errors，and their ability to behave like normal people. Among highly anxious language students，those with high self－esteem might handle their anxiety better than those with low self－esteem，resulting in better performance.

2.2 Tolerance of ambiguityTolerance of ambiguity is the acceptance of confusing situation. Second language learning has a great deal of ambiguity about meanings，referents and pronunciation，and this can often raise language anxiety. Therefore，a degree of ambiguity－tolerance is essential for language learners. Students who are able to tolerate moderate levels of confusion are likely to persist longer in language learning than students who are overtly frightened by the ambiguities inherent in learning a new language.

2.3 Risk－takingStudents who are highly anxious about the frequent ambiguities of language learning often suffer reduced risk－taking ability. It is more useful for language learners to take moderate but intelligent risks，such as guessing meanings based on background knowledge and speaking up despite the possibility of making occasional mistakes，rather than taking no risks at all or taking extreme，uninformed risks. Language students who fear ambiguity are low，frequently“freeze up”，allowing their inhibitions to take over completely. Decreases in risk－taking frequently occur when students feel extreme discomfort in the language classroom. Students who avoid risks are stalled by actual or anticipated criticism from others or by self－criticism that they themselves supply. When they do not have enough practice，their language development becomes seriously stunted.

2.4 CompetitivenessUsing diary studies of language learners，Bailey asserted that competitiveness can lead to language anxiety. This happens when language learners compare themselves to others or to an idealized self－image，which they can rarely attain. Scarcella and Oxford agreed that competitiveness can relate to language anxiety but suggested that this link does not occur in all students. Some students，particularly those in competitive cultures，thrive on competition. The emotional import of competitiveness for a given individual depends on the learning style preferences of the student，the precise nature of the competition，and the demands and rewards of the environment.

2.5 Social anxietySocial anxiety can include speech anxiety，shyness，stage fright，embarrassment，social－evaluative anxiety and communication apprehension. Social anxiety occurs along with the prospect or actual presence of interpersonal evaluation. Communication apprehension is defined as a person’s level of anxiety associated with either real or anticipated communication with another person or persons. People who suffer from communication apprehension are more reluctant to converse or interact with others; therefore，they tend to avoid communication or withdraw from it as soon as possible.

2.6 Test anxietyTest anxiety is the tendency to become alarmed about the consequences of inadequate performance on a test or other evaluation，regardless of whether the fears are realistic. Students with test anxiety frequently experience cognitive interference and have a difficult time focusing on the task at hand.

2.7 Identity and cultural shockIdentification with a language group or target culture implies that the learner is an insider，a member of the“club”of French，Spanish，German or Chinese speakers.Young suggested that anxiety is lower ( that is，the affective filter is reduced) if a student feels such identification，and anxiety is high if the student does not identify with the language group. Paradoxically，for other learners anxiety can arise because of over－identification with the language group and the concurrent feeling of loss of personal identity.

Anxiety about losing one’s own identity can be part of culture shock. Culture shock is defined as‘a(chǎn) form of anxiety that results from the loss of commonly perceived and understood signs and symbols of social intercourse’. Culture shock can involve some or all of these symptoms: emotional regression，physical illness，panic，anger，hopelessness，self－pity，lack of confidence，indecision，sadness，alienation，a sense of deception，a perception of‘reduced personality’，and glorification of one’s own native culture.

2.8 BeliefResearch suggests that the beliefs of both learners and instructors are linked to language anxiety ( and possibly to learner performance through instructors’classroom procedures and students’responses to those procedures，discussed later) . Foreign language learners in Horwitz’s study believed that they should be able to speak with great accuracy and an excellent accent，language learning consisted mainly of translation from English，two years was long enough to become fluent，and some people could learn languages more easily than others. Some of these beliefs were extremely unrealistic and led to language anxiety. Many language teachers maintain the belief that they should be directive，authoritarian and even intimidating and that they must correct every error. However，these behaviors can lead to language anxiety.

3. Sug gestions for diminishing language anxiety

3.1 Ways to identify language anxietyTeachers and researchers might sometimes be able to infer language anxiety through tests of general anxiety.However，this practice is not recommended because researchers view language anxiety as a specific phenomenon that is better assessed directly. A number of instruments exist，the best known of which is the Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale or FLCAS，by Horwitz. The FLCAS was developed to capture the specific anxiety reaction of a student to a foreign language situation. This instrument integrates three related anxieties－communication apprehension，test anxiety，and fear of negative evaluation－but is more than the sum of these parts. Language anxiety is often readily observable even without an instrument like the FLCAS. However，behaviors vary across cultures，and what might seem like anxious behavior in one culture might be normal behavior in another culture. The following are likely signs of language anxiety.

General avoidance: “Forgetting”the answer，showing carelessness，cutting class，coming late，arriving unprepared，low levels of verbal production，lack of volunteering in class，seeming inability to answer even the simplest questions.

彩色多普勒超聲及超聲引導(dǎo)下穿刺活檢對卵巢癌診斷具有敏感性高、準(zhǔn)確性高的特點。彩色多普勒超聲評價可以在一定程度上避免不必要穿刺活檢。超聲引導(dǎo)下穿刺活檢可以指導(dǎo)臨床選擇合適的手術(shù)方式及治療。兩者聯(lián)合應(yīng)用對卵巢癌的診斷、分期及后續(xù)治療具有重要意義。

Physical actions: Squirming，fidgeting，playing with hair or clothing，nervously touching objects，stuttering or stammering，displaying jittery behavior，being unable to reproduce the sounds or intonation of the target language even after repeated practice.

Physical symptoms: Complaining about a headache，experiencing tight muscles，feeling unexplained pain or tension in any part of the body .

Other signs which might reflect language anxiety，depending on the culture: overstudying，perfectionism，social avoidance，conversational withdrawal，lack of eye contact，hostility，monosyllabic or noncommittal responses，image protection or masking behaviors ( exaggerated smiling，laughing，nodding，joking) ，failing to interrupt when it would be natural to do so，excessive competitiveness，excessive self－effacement and self－criticism( “I am stupid”) .

3.2 Suggestions for diminishing language anxiety

After diagnosing anxious behavior，language teachers can act to reduce anxiety，depending on students’needs and cultural background. Teachers can use any or all of the following suggestions for diminishing language anxiety.

Help student understand that language episodes can be transient and do not inevitably develop into a lasting problem.

Encourage moderate risk－taking and tolerance of ambiguity in a comfortable，non－threatening environment.

Reduce the competition present in the classroom.

Be very clear about the classroom goals and help students develop strategies to meet those goals.

Give students permission to use the language with less than perfect performance.

Encourage students to relax through music，laughter or games.

Use fair tests with unambiguous，familiar item types.

Help students realistically assess their performance.

Give rewards that are meaningful to students and help support language use.

Provide activities that address varied learning styles and strategies in the classroom.

Enable students to recognize symptoms of anxiety and identify anxiety－maintaining beliefs.

Help students practice positive self－talk ( self－ encouragement) and cognitive ‘reframing’of negative or irrational ideas.

Using suggestions such as these，teachers can enable students to deal more effectively with language anxiety.

4. Conclusion

It has been argued that the affective environment of a classroom can affect learning to such a degree that teachers must take an active role in reducing the English language anxiety that ELL students often experience in classrooms. There appear to be different types of English language anxiety at work，and the type of anxiety seems to be dependent upon the context of the interaction and how fears of negative evaluation，test anxiety，communication apprehensions，and identity issues affect the self－efficacy and appraisals of the ELL students involved.Many teacher－training programs continue to treat ESL issues as marginal and graduates from these programs feel less than competent when faced with an ELL student in their classes. Furthermore，many teachers do not understand the situational anxiety that is the result of negative appraisals since they have rarely reduced feelings of self－efficacy and been in a similar situation. While it is never easy to put oneself in another person’s position，teachers of ELL students must strive to understand not only the linguistic challenges that these students face but also the affective factors that can affect learning.ELL students are not just learning another language，but another life. If educators can begin discussions with students who are potentially suffering from high levels of anxiety，they can work to reduce those tensions before they become habitualized and result in academic and emotional strain for ELL students. In ESL classes，where English language anxiety seems to be more associated with academic tasks，this anxiety can be treated by the teacher by using less－anxiety causing activities and by acknowledging English language anxiety.

［1］DIFFEY，N， “The other side of the desk:Experiencing learning a new language”，TESL Canada Journal，1990，No.8，pp.27 ～36.

［2］ EHRMAN，M.，＆ OXFORD，R， “Adult learning styles and strategies in an intensive training setting”，Modern Language Journal，Vol.74，1995，pp.311 ～327.

［3］FOSS，K.A.，＆ REITZEL，A.C.，“A relational model for managing second language anxiety”，In E.K.Horwitz ＆D.J.Young (Eds.)，Language Anxiety:From Theory and Research to Classroom Implications，Englewood Cliffs，NJ:Prentice Hall，1991，pp.129 ～140.

［4］ HORWITZ，M.B.，HORWITZ，E.K.，＆ COPE，J.A.， “Foreign language classroom anxiety”，The Modern Language Journal，Vol.70，No.2，1986，pp.125 ～132.

［5］MACINTYRE，P.D.，＆ GARDNER，R.C. “The subtle effects of language anxiety on cognitive processing in the second language”，Language Learning，1994，Vol.44，pp.283 ～305.

［6］YOUNG，D.J.，“Creating a low－anxiety classroom environment:What does language anxiety research suggest?”，Modern Language Journal，1991，Vol.75，pp.426 ～437.