A Diary Study on the Causes of English Language Classroom Anxiety

Autor/in	Gkonou, Christina
Titel	A Diary Study on the Causes of English Language Classroom Anxiety
Quelle	In: International Journal of English Studies, 13 (2013) 1, S.51-68 (18 Seiten)Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext kostenfreie Datei Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	1578-7044
Schlagwörter	English (Second Language); Second Language Learning; Second Language Instruction; Anxiety; Student Attitudes; Diaries; Foreign Countries; Error Correction; Teacher Education; Educational Improvement; Peer Evaluation; Teacher Role; Classroom Research; Individual Differences; Qualitative Research; Content Analysis; Private Schools; Greece + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? English as second language; English; Second Language; Englisch als Zweitsprache; Zweitsprachenerwerb; Fremdsprachenunterricht; Angst; Schülerverhalten; Diary; Tagebuch; Ausland; Korrektur; Lehrerausbildung; Lehrerbildung; Teaching improvement; Unterrichtsentwicklung; Lehrerrolle; Individueller Unterschied; Qualitative Forschung; Inhaltsanalyse; Private school; Privatschule; Griechenland
Abstract	Drawing on learners' diaries, the study reported in this article focused on the English language classroom anxiety (ELCA) of eight Greek EFL learners in private language school settings. The study investigated the extent to which anxiety is amenable to change and the factors contributing to the creation and increase in students' anxiety in class. A training session prior to the commencement of keeping a diary was conducted with the participants under the supervision of the researcher. A total of 64 entries were collected and analysed through qualitative content analysis. The results indicated that students' ELCA fluctuated over time, thus proving that language anxiety is a situation-specific as well as a dynamic variable in L2 contexts. Moreover, a closer scrutiny of the diary data revealed an interplay between linguistic and non-linguistic difficulties substantially affecting learning. Anxiety lay mainly with the participants' perceptions of the input taught, of classroom procedures, and of themselves as learners. Socio-psychological constraints raised by the diarists included fear of negative evaluation by the teacher and by the peers with specific attention to mistakes and correction, and extrinsic motivation. Based on the findings, suggestions are made to improve teacher education and training and to slightly deviate from the exam oriented nature that the Greek educational system imposes on EFL learning. (As Provided).
Anmerkungen	University of Murcia. Department of English Philology Merced Campus, Calle Santo Cristo 1, Murcia 30071 Spain. Tel: +34-868-88-3406; Fax: +34-868-88-3409; e-mail: publicaciones@um.es; Web site: http://www.um.es/ijes
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2017/4/10