Overview of The Impact of Foreign Language Anxiety on Students'

Second Language Acquisition Performance

Yumeng Wang

School of Foreign Languages, Tianjin Renai College, Tianjin, China

Keywords: Foreign Language Anxiety, Foreign Language Teaching, Negative Emotions, Second Language Acquisition,

Learning Stress.

Abstract: Although researchers have focused on receiving a significant amount of attention on the emotional aspects of

second language acquisition, there are still gaps in the literature on anxiety related to foreign languages be-

cause of the way times are changing and how learners' cognitive processes and learning styles are evolving.

This article analyzes the effects of negative emotions, mainly anxiety, on students' second language acquisi-

tion and concludes the anxiety associated with speaking a foreign language has a serious negative impact on

the process and outcomes of foreign language learning. Based on this, this article proposes that anxiety factors

should be fully emphasized in foreign language teaching, and relevant measures should be proposed from the

aspects of students themselves, teachers, and evaluation methods to help learners minimize the stress that

comes with learning a foreign language.

1 INTRODUCTION

With globalization's development becoming more

profound, second language acquisition has become a

research hotspot in multiple fields such as education,

psychology, and linguistics, and more and more

learners are learning a second language outside their

mother tongue due to the fact that the process of

second language acquisition is a dynamic

information-processing process. During the learning

process, learners' psychological factors, such as

emotional factors, exhibit a dynamic development

trend. To promote the influence of learners on second

language acquisition, it is necessary to consider

emotional factors (Li & Wei, 2023). In this complex

cognitive and emotional learning process, anxiety, as

a common psychological state among learners, cannot

be ignored in its impact on second language

acquisition (Krashen, 1981). With the continuous

development of the times, there is still room for

improvement in the research on emotions, as both

cognitive and learning methods have undergone

certain improvements and changes. From the

standpoint of anxiety, this article will review the

literature on the effects of negative emotions on the

acquisition of a second language, highlight key

theories, pinpoint and assess issues, and offer

pertinent recommendations.

2 CLASSIFICATION OF

FOREIGN LANGUAGE

ANXIETY AND ITS IMPACT

Two aspects have been the primary focus of research

on anxiety related to foreign language learning in

recent years: correlation research and comprehensive

research (Li & Li, 2016). This article will delve into

the definition, classification, and impact of the

viewpoint on the anxiety that comes with learning a

foreign language of correlation research.

2.1 Definition and Classification of

Foreign Language Anxiety

There is a particular kind of anxiety in a certain

circumstance; foreign language anxiety is a common

ailment of negative feelings that learners of a foreign

language may experience, including tension,

uneasiness, and self-doubt. The distinct combination

of behaviors, emotions, attitudes, and self-

perceptions that students produce when learning a

second language (Horwitz & Cope, 1986).

In research on foreign language anxiety,

classroom foreign language anxiety can be roughly

classified into three categories: communication

anxiety, negative evaluation anxiety, and exam

anxiety (Guo & Liu, 2007).

542

Wang, Y.

Overview of the Impact of Foreign Language Anxiety on Students’ Second Language Acquisition Performance.

DOI: 10.5220/0014003000004912

Paper published under CC license (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)

In Proceedings of the 1st International Conference on Innovative Education and Social Development (IESD 2025), pages 542-547

ISBN: 978-989-758-779-5

Communication fear refers to the anxiety that

arises during foreign language communication due to

difficulties in fully understanding the meaning of

others' expressions or inaccurate pronunciation,

leading to difficulties in expressing one's thoughts.

For example, students who worry about their English

speaking skills, feel nervous and are afraid of making

mistakes are all manifestations of communication

fear.

Negative evaluation fear is the emotion that

learners feel worried and fearful about negative

evaluations given by others. Some educators believe

that the self-evaluation of second language learners is

closely related to the anxiety they experience (Guo &

Liu, 2007). Low self-evaluators are concerned about

receiving negative evaluations in foreign language

learning, which can have a significant negative

impact. Therefore, distrust of one's abilities and fear

of making mistakes are concrete manifestations of

low self-evaluation.

Exam anxiety is partly caused by learners' lack of

proficiency and mastery of foreign language

knowledge, which leads to excessive tension and

blank minds due to concerns about not being able to

achieve good results through exams. On the other

hand, learners may bring their past exam failures into

a new exam environment, creating a vicious cycle.

These learners have a mistaken understanding of

language acquisition and place excessive emphasis on

exam scores, making them more susceptible to

foreign language anxiety.

2.2 The Impact of Foreign Language

Anxiety on Students' Academic

Performance

Foreign language anxiety can, to some extent, affect

students' academic performance. Anxiety levels in

foreign languages differ significantly between the

passing and failing groups, with the passing group

experiencing significantly less anxiety than the

failing group, according to a survey that some

scholars conducted on students' CET4 scores and

anxiety levels (Zhang & Yuan, 2004).

Research has shown a connection between

students' anxiety over learning a foreign language and

their scores in that language. Students who

experience less anxiety are generally more confident

in their ability to learn a foreign language, which

enhances their comprehension of the material and

helps them handle tests. Its source of anxiety is more

stable, usually coming from high demands for grades

and oneself.

The academic performance of students with

higher levels of anxiety is inferior. Furthermore,

students with poor academic performance often

encounter more difficulties in their studies, such as

insufficient vocabulary and difficulty understanding

reading. These problems lead to poor performance in

exams, resulting in strong anxiety and a vicious cycle

of anxiety and grades. This type of student is prone to

self-doubt and fear while learning foreign languages,

feeling the pressure brought by the learning

environment, which further exacerbates anxiety.

The presence of anxiety in foreign languages can

be observed to directly affect students' foreign

language grades, and excessive anxiety is not

conducive to students achieving good foreign

language grades. The attitude of students towards

anxiety is directly related to their strategies for coping

with foreign language learning, which in turn affects

their foreign language grades.

2.3 The Impact of Foreign Language

Anxiety on The Performance of

Various Foreign Language Skills

Since learning a second language is a complicated

process, there are numerous categories into which

learning perspectives can be separated, including

speaking, listening, and so on. Learning a second

language can be negatively affected by foreign

language anxiety, which will be analyzed from four

aspects: speaking, reading, listening, and writing.

One significant advancement in the research of

anxiety related to foreign languages is the Foreign

Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (FLCAS)

(Horwitz, 1986). Based on this scale, a plethora of

studies have demonstrated that the level of foreign

language anxiety is significantly negatively

correlated with learners' learning willingness, which

in turn affects learners' learning status and process in

specific directions (Shi & Fan, 2013; Goetz et al.,

2013). In subsequent studies, researchers developed

anxiety scales corresponding to the definition of

various language and foreign language anxiety

emotions and found that learners' foreign language

speaking anxiety, reading anxiety, and listening

anxiety, writing anxiety were significantly negatively

correlated with corresponding foreign language skill

scores (Tsiplakides & KerAmida, 2009;

Ghonsoly&Elahi, 2010).

Overview of the Impact of Foreign Language Anxiety on Students’ Second Language Acquisition Performance

543

2.3.1 The Impact of Foreign Language

Anxiety on Foreign Language Oral

Performance

Foreign language oral anxiety mainly originates from

external evaluation anxiety (Xu et al., 2023), that is,

negative evaluation fear is an important factor

causing foreign language oral anxiety (Rajitha &

Alamelu, 2020). Anxiety can cause learners to be

influenced by negative thinking and other irrelevant

information, leading to thinking unrelated to foreign

language oral tasks and ultimately resulting in

learners' inability to achieve ideal results in foreign

language oral performance.

Overall, when learners are in an environment with

evaluative factors, once they know that their foreign

language performance will be evaluated, they are

likely to trigger a fear of negative emotions in their

hearts, which in turn can lead to stronger anxiety.

2.3.2 The Impact of Foreign Language

Anxiety on Foreign Language Reading

Scores

Compared to length and structural complexity, the

main cause of reading anxiety is second language

vocabulary, which second language learners

experience when attempting to interpret a text but are

unable to understand it (Ghonsoly et al., 2010). For

example, learners may find it difficult to concentrate

under foreign language anxiety and content that could

have been understood may become elusive due to the

anxiety. This can lead to resistance to foreign

language reading materials, reduce reading volume,

and ultimately affect the improvement of foreign

language reading ability and grades.

Therefore, learners who suffer from reading

anxiety for a long time are easily disrupted in their

cognitive process of reading, hindering their second

language acquisition performance and progress.

2.3.3 The Effect of Anxiety Related times

Learning a Foreign Language on

Hearing Scores

Listening anxiety refers to the emotional state of

foreign language learners who, after listening

comprehension and cognitive evaluation, have a

premonition that they will not understand or are

worried about receiving negative evaluations,

resulting in tension, unease, worry, fear, and other

emotions related to second language acquisition

(Zhan & Wang, 2010). This type of emotion may

cause learners to interrupt listening comprehension or

decrease listening comprehension effectiveness.

For many learners, the process of foreign

language listening is a passive absorption process.

Learners need to quickly extract the required

information in unfamiliar language environments,

and most of the received information is difficult to

understand. Therefore, they bear that people with

greater psychological pressure are more likely to

experience negative emotions like tension and panic.

This anxiety often leads to learners' inability to

concentrate, which in turn affects their oral

performance in foreign languages.

2.3.4 The Effect of Anxiety Related times

Learning a Foreign Language on

Writing Performance

Writing anxiety is the term used to describe a range

of nervous behaviors that students display when

writing, such as avoiding writing assignments or

worrying about other people's opinions of their work

(Daly & Miller, 1975). Writing anxiety hinders the

writing process, leading to difficulties in writing and

causing learners to experience negative and painful

emotions, resulting in a loss of expectations for

successful writing (Ma & Dong, 2018).

Learners with high levels of writing anxiety worry

about their writing skills and negative evaluations,

which are unrelated to the writing task and

excessively affect their writing ability. In contrast,

learners with low anxiety levels are less affected by

irrelevant thoughts and are better able to concentrate

on completing writing tasks, achieving relatively

good results in foreign language writing.

It can be seen that excessive anxiety can indeed

interfere with the process of foreign language writing,

affect the quality of writing, and lower writing scores.

3 ANALYSIS OF THE CAUSES OF

FOREIGN LANGUAGE

ANXIETY

Many researchers have been dedicated to identifying

the causes of foreign language anxiety in recent years

to find ways to mitigate or completely eradicate the

impact of anxiety in foreign languages on foreign

language learners, given the substantial impact that

anxiety has on foreign language acquisition. MaIntyre

and

Gardner found in their study that learners may

experience anxiety in the early stages of foreign

language learning due to difficulties in grammar

IESD 2025 - International Conference on Innovative Education and Social Development

544

patterns, language comprehension, and other aspects

(MaIntyre & Gardner, 1994).

Various reasons can lead to foreign language

anxiety; some have to do with the learner, some with

the teacher, and some with classroom situations and

tests. This article categorizes common reasons into

roughly five types:

3.1 Anxiety Caused by Individuals and

Between Individuals and Others

Numerous studies have demonstrated that the primary

cause of anxiety related to learning a foreign language

is anxiety that arises between persons and between

individuals. Strong feelings of competition or low

self-esteem are the primary causes of this anxiety (Gu

& Li, 2010). This competitive mindset can make

students anxious when they evaluate themselves

against others or their desired self-image. However,

students who have poor self-esteem are more likely to

worry excessively about what other people think of

them, fearing unfavorable assessments, and as a

result, refrain from engaging in activities that help

them learn a foreign language. Therefore, the

likelihood of acquiring foreign language anxiety will

significantly increase if learners of foreign languages

consider that they are not capable of mastering the

language in the early stages of learning.

3.2 Learners' Perspectives on Foreign

Language Learning

The second major factor causing anxiety among

foreign language learners is their perspective on

foreign language learning. Horwitz's study showed

that learners have a great interest in the correctness of

foreign language phonetics, and some learners

believe that they only need two years of study to

master a foreign language (Horwitz, 1986). However,

when learners discover that this is not the case during

the learning process, foreign language anxiety can

arise. Foreign language anxiety will surface when

there is a discrepancy between the learners'

conceptions and the real circumstances of learning a

foreign language.

3.3 Teachers' Views on Foreign

Language Teaching

One of the things that makes pupils anxious about

learning a foreign language is the opinions of their

teachers. According to research, the majority of

foreign language instructors think that they should be

at the forefront of their students' foreign language

education. These teachers believe that when students

make mistakes during the foreign language learning

process, teachers should immediately correct them to

avoid students forming incorrect memories and habits

(Gu & Li, 2010). And the views held by teachers are

precisely the reasons that cause learners' foreign

language anxiety.

3.4 Classroom Teaching Atmosphere

The relationship that exists between teachers and

students is the main factor in creating a classroom

teaching atmosphere and also has a significant impact

on the development of foreign language anxiety.

Palacios analyzed the different effects of different

teacher-student relationships on foreign language

anxiety in his research (Palacios, 1998). The

experiment shows that if teachers fully trust and

encourage students in foreign language teaching

classrooms and are good at helping them, students'

anxiety about foreign language learning will be

greatly reduced. On the contrary, if teachers are too

serious and demanding, it will arouse students'

anxiety.

3.5 Foreign Language Evaluation

Methods

Currently, the evaluation of foreign language learning

effectiveness mainly relies on foreign language

exams. Exams for foreign languages are an essential

component of learning a foreign language, and they

are also a major contributor to learners' anxiety. The

more grades are involved in foreign language exams,

the more likely learners are to experience anxiety.

Recalling one's own failed experiences during exams

can increase anxiety levels, leading to negative and

irrelevant thoughts during the exam process.

4 SUGGESTIONS FOR

REDUCING AND

ELIMINATING FOREIGN

LANGUAGE LEARNING

ANXIETY

Based on research and analysis of anxiety about

learning a foreign language, suggestions for reducing

and eliminating foreign language learning anxiety can

be divided into the following points:

Overview of the Impact of Foreign Language Anxiety on Students’ Second Language Acquisition Performance

545

4.1 Cultivate Learners' Confidence and

Improve Their Self-Awareness

Evaluation

Learners should have a correct understanding of the

anxiety that arises in foreign language learning so that

they can use more scientific methods to cope with

foreign language anxiety. For example, Crookall and

Oxford suggested that students alleviate foreign

language anxiety through group discussions. The

specific measure is to have students write about their

anxiety situation and discuss solutions in groups. In

addition, teachers can also set some easily achievable

small goals to cultivate students' confidence.

4.2 Improve Teachers' Understanding

of Foreign Language Anxiety and

Create a Good Classroom

Atmosphere

Teachers should be guides and helpers in the

classroom, not authorities or evaluators. Their

responsibility is to provide more input and

opportunities for real materials to be exchanged in a

real environment for foreign language learning

students (Gu & Li, 2010). Teachers should try to

understand students' foreign language anxiety as

much as possible and adjust teaching methods

appropriately according to students' learning status to

create a good teaching atmosphere. Young suggested

that teachers improve their teaching methods through

classroom teaching videos or peer evaluations

between teachers, acquire knowledge from each

other's strengths and weaknesses, update teaching

concepts to keep up with the times, and at the same

time, teachers should also take care of students'

emotions, understand their psychology and emotions,

create a relaxed and friendly classroom teaching

atmosphere that does not make students feel pressure,

to alleviate students' anxiety in foreign language

classrooms.

4.3 Foreign Language Evaluation

Methods Need Times Be Diversified

There are various ways to evaluate foreign languages,

but at present, the most effective and intuitive way is

through foreign language exams. One of the

significant factors in reducing and eliminating foreign

language anxiety is foreign language exams.

Familiarizing students with exam question types

before exams can greatly reduce their anxiety and

unease about exams. Simultaneously, teachers need

to be attentive to the difficulty level of the exam when

setting questions. If the questions are too simple,

students will become disinterested in learning a

foreign language. Conversely, if the questions are too

difficult, students' anxiety will deepen, they will lose

interest in learning a foreign language, develop self-

doubt, and lose confidence.

5 CONCLUSION

Foreign language anxiety is a complex and

multidimensional anxiety phenomenon that is

influenced by multiple factors. This article studies its

concept and measurement tools, analyzes its causes

and impact on foreign language performance, and

proposes some strategies on how to alleviate and

eliminate foreign language anxiety, further enabling

researchers to have a more thorough comprehension

of anxiety related to foreign languages. The process

and results of learning foreign languages are

significantly harmed by foreign language anxiety, per

the aforementioned research. As a result, anxiety

aspects should be thoroughly considered while

teaching foreign languages, and effective strategies

should be implemented to assist students in lowering

their anxiety levels and increasing the efficacy of

their language acquisition.

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