Arab World English Journal (AWEJ) Volume 11. Number1 March 2020 Pp. 315-330
DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.24093/awej/vol11no1.23
Quantitative Analysis of the Foreign Language Anxiety: Chinese and Pakistani
Postgraduates in Focus
Sameena Malik
Department of English & Applied Linguistics, Faculty of Social Sciences
College of Foreign Languages, Huazhong University of Science and Technology
Wuhan, P.R. China
(Corresponding Author)
Huang Qin
Department of English & Applied Linguistics, Faculty of Social Sciences
College of Foreign Languages, Huazhong University of Science and Technology
Wuhan, P.R. China
Said Muhammad khan
Department of English Language and Applied Linguistics, Faculty of Social Sciences
YELI, Yanbu University College, Yanbu, Saudi Arabia
Khalid Ahmed
Department of English Language & Applied Linguistics, Faculty of Social Sciences
University of Central Punjab, Lahore, Pakistan
Abstract:
The current research study aims at inspecting various levels of apprehension and anxiety faced by university postgraduates in Pakistan and China when learning a foreign language (FL). The target population of this research was the university postgraduates from a Chinese university in Wuhan, and a public sector university in Lahore, Pakistan. The sample of this study was 206 postgraduates, out of which 106 (male =28, female= 78) from a Chinese university and 100 (male=53, female= 47) from a Pakistani university in Lahore. The sample was selected randomly and aged (21-30), and all participants belonged to the postgraduate level. Horwitz’s foreign language classroom anxiety scale (known as FLCAS) was used as a survey model, a theoretical framework for collecting data from both universities. The Statistical Package of a Social Sciences (SPSS version23) was used to get quantitative results. Descriptive statistics were used to investigate the anxiety level. Mean score and standard deviation were computed of both groups, besides it, the independent samples t-test was run to compare the mean score of both groups and infer if there existed any difference in the target language anxiety level. The results revealed that Chinese postgraduates face more anxiety than Pakistani postgraduates, and there existed significant differences in foreign language anxiety levels of both groups. Based on the results, it can be implicated that combined efforts of mentors and students can pave the way in tackling anxiety among university postgraduates.
Keywords: anxiety, apprehension, anxiety levels, foreign language, university postgraduates
Cite as: Malik, S., Qin, H., khan, S. M., & Ahmed, K. (2020). Quantitative Analysis of the Foreign Language Anxiety: Chinese and Pakistani Postgraduates in Focus. Arab World English Journal, 11 (1) 315-330.
DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.24093/awej/vol11no1.23
References
Abbas, F., & Iqbal, Z. (2018). Language Attitude of the Pakistani Youth towards English, Urdu and Punjabi: A Comparative Study. Pakistan Journal of Distance and Online Learning, 4 (1), 199–214.
Abbas, F., Jalil, M. K., & Rehman, Z. (2019). The Status of Punjabi Language in the Province of Punjab, Pakistan. Dialogue (1819-6462), 14(2).
Abbas, F., Pervaiz, A., & Arshad, F. (2018). The competing status of Urdu and English after declaration of Urdu as official langauge in Pakistan. Journal of Research (Urdu), 34(1), 142–158.
Adeel, A. (2011). A study of anxiety among the Graduation Learners of English as a Foreign Language in Pakistan. 1st International Conference on Foreign Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics, Sarajevo.
Aida, Y. (1994). Examination of Horwitz, Horwitz, and Cope’s construct of foreign language anxiety: The case of students of Japanese. The Modern Language Journal, 78(2), 155–168.
Azher, M., Anwar, M. N., & Naz, A. (2010). An investigation of foreign language classroom anxiety and its relationship with students achievement. Journal of College Teaching & Learning (TLC), 7(11).
Bailey, G. (1983). Problems of site formation and the interpretation of spatial and temporal discontinuities in the distribution of coastal middens.
Bhatti, N., & Memon, S. (2016). Investigating the Perceptions of Pakistani English Language Learners on Language Learning Anxiety in EFL Classroom. Advances in Language and Literary Studies, 7(5), 23–34.
Cubukcu, F. (2007). Foreign language anxiety. Iranian Journal of Language Studies, 1(2), 133–142.
Gardner, R. C., & Maclntyre, P. D. (1993). A student’s contributions to second language leaming. Part.
Gopang, I. B., Ansari, S., Kulsoom, U., & Laghari, A. (2017). An empirical investigation of foreign language anxiety in Pakistani university. International Journal of English Linguistics, 7(2), 21.
Gopang, I. B., Bughio, F. A., & Pathan, H. (2018). Investigating foreign language learning anxiety among students learning English in a public sector university, Pakistan. MOJES: Malaysian Online Journal of Educational Sciences, 3(4), 27–37.
Goshi, M. (2005). ForeignLanguageClassroomAnxiety: HowShould theClassroomTeacherDealwithit? Journal of the School of Marine Science and Technology, 3(2), 61–66.
Gregersen, T., & Horwitz, E. K. (2002). Language learning and perfectionism: Anxious and non‐anxious language learners’ reactions to their own oral performance. The Modern Language Journal, 86(4), 562–570.
Gregersen, T. S. (2005). Nonverbal cues: Clues to the detection of foreign language anxiety. Foreign Language Annals, 38(3), 388–400.
He, D. (2017). How to Cope with Foreign Language Speaking Anxiety Effectively? The Case of University Students in China. Electronic Journal of Foreign Language Teaching, 14(2).
Hismanoglu, M. (2013). Foreign language anxiety of English language teacher candidates: A sample from Turkey. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 93, 930–937.
Horwitz, E. K. (1986). Preliminary evidence for the reliability and validity of a foreign language anxiety scale. Tesol Quarterly, 20(3), 559–562.
Horwitz, E. K., Horwitz, M. B., & Cope, J. (1986). Foreign language classroom anxiety. The Modern Language Journal, 70(2), 125–132.
Huang, H. W. (2004). The relationship between learning motivation and speaking anxiety among EFL non-English major freshmen in Taiwan. Unpublished Master’s Thesis, Chaoyang University of Technology.
Javed, M., Eng, L. S., Mohamed, A. R., & Sam, R. (2013). Comparative Study of the Pakistani and Indonesian Student’s Anxiety Towards the English Language Learning. Middle-East Journal of Scientific Research, 18(11), 1563–1572.
Karatas, H., Alci, B., Bademcioglu, M., & Ergin, A. (2016). An Investigation into University Students ’ Foreign Language Speaking Anxiety. Procedia – Social and Behavioral Sciences, 232(April), 382–388. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2016.10.053
Kitano, K. (2001). Anxiety in the college Japanese language classroom. The Modern Language Journal, 85(4), 549–566.
Koba, N., Ogawa, N., & Wilkinson, D. (2000). Using the community language learning approach to cope with language anxiety. The Internet TESL Journal, 6(11), 1–5.
Landström, P. (2015). Foreign language anxiety among Chinese senior middle schoolstudents: A case study.
Liu, M., & Braine, G. (2005). Cohesive features in argumentative writing produced by Chinese undergraduates. System, 33(4), 623–636.
MacIntyre, P. D., & Charos, C. (1996). Personality, attitudes, and affect as predictors of second language communication. Journal of Language and Social Psychology, 15(1), 3–26.
MacIntyre, P. D., & Gardner, R. C. (1994). The subtle effects of language anxiety on cognitive processing in the second language. Language Learning, 44(2), 283–305.
Malik, S., Qin, H., Asif, M., & Khan, S. M. (2020). An Investigation of Xenoglossophobia among Chinese Postgraduates. European Online Journal of Natural and Social Sciences, 9(1), pp-104.
Marcos‐Llinás, M., & Garau, M. J. (2009). Effects of language anxiety on three proficiency‐level courses of Spanish as a foreign language. Foreign Language Annals, 42(1), 94–111.
Mari, M. A., Umrani, T. H., & Umrani, S. (2012). An investigation of Pakistani EFL learners’ communication anxiety. ELF Annual Research Journal, 14, 31–43.
Marwan, A. (2016). Investigating students’ foreign language anxiety. Malaysian Journal of ELT Research, 3(1), 19.
Naudhani, M., Wu, Z., & Naudhani, S. (2018). Exploring the Factors of Foreign Language Anxiety Among Chinese Undergraduate English Majors and Non-English Majors. International Journal of English Linguistics, 8(5), 142–150.
Ohata, K. (2005). Potential sources of anxiety for Japanese learners of English: Preliminary case interviews with five Japanese college students in the US. TESL-EJ, 9(3), n3.
Oxford, R. L. (1999). Anxiety and the language learner: New insights. Affect in Language Learning, 58–67.
Öztürk, G., & Gürbüz, N. (2013). The impact of gender on foreign language speaking anxiety and motivation. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 70, 654–665.
Rachman, S. (1998). A cognitive theory of obsessions. In Behavior and Cognitive Therapy Today (pp. 209–222). Elsevier.
Sarason, I. G. (1984). Stress, anxiety, and cognitive interference: reactions to tests. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 46(4), 929.
Scovel, T. (1978). The effect of affect on foreign language learning: A review of the anxiety research. Language Learning, 28(1), 129–142.
Shi, Y.-Z., & Liu, Z.-Q. (2006). Foreign language reading anxiety and its relationship to English achievement and gender. Journal of PLA University of Foreign Languages, 29(2), 59–64.
Toubot, A. M., & Seng, G. H. (2018). Examining Levels and Factors of Speaking Anxiety among EFL Libyan English Undergraduate Students. International Journal of Applied Linguistics and English Literature, 7(5), 47–56.
Trylong, V. L. (1987). Aptitude, Attitudes and Anxiety. Unpublished Doctoral Dissertation. Purdue University, Indiana.
Tschumi, B., & Young, R. (1994). The Manhattan Transcripts.
Wei, J. (2014). A study via interviews of the Chinese Bouyei college learners’ EFL classroom anxiety arousals. Journal of Language Teaching and Research, 5(2), 419–428.
Young, D. J. (1991). Creating a low‐anxiety classroom environment: What does language anxiety research suggest? The Modern Language Journal, 75(4), 426–437.