Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-r5fsc Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-02T18:23:29.409Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

SECOND LANGUAGE ANXIETY AND ACHIEVEMENT

A META-ANALYSIS

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 February 2019

Yasser Teimouri Open the ORCID record for Yasser Teimouri [Opens in a new window] ,
Julia Goetze  and
Luke Plonsky
Yasser Teimouri*
Affiliation:
Georgetown University
Julia Goetze
Affiliation:
Washington University in St. Louis
Luke Plonsky
Affiliation:
Northern Arizona University
*
*Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Yasser Teimouri, Georgetown University, 1421 37th Street NW, Washington, DC, 20057-1051. E-mail: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Second language (L2) anxiety has been the object of constant empirical and theoretical attention for several decades. As a matter of both theoretical and practical interest, much of the research in this domain has examined the relationship between anxiety and L2 achievement. The present study meta-analyzes this body of research. Following a comprehensive search, a sample of 97 reports were identified, contributing a total of 105 independent samples (N = 19,933) from 23 countries. In the aggregate, the 216 effect sizes (i.e., correlations) reported in the primary studies yielded a mean of r = −.36 for the relationship between L2 anxiety and language achievement. Moderator analyses revealed effects sizes to vary across different types of language achievement measures, educational levels, target languages, and anxiety types. Overall, this study provides firm evidence for both the negative role of L2 anxiety in L2 learning and the moderating effects of a number of (non)linguistic variables. We discuss the findings in the context of theoretical and practical concerns, and we provide direction for future research.

Type
Research Article
Information
Studies in Second Language Acquisition , Volume 41 , Issue 2 , May 2019 , pp. 363 - 387
Open Practices
Open materials Open data
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2019 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Footnotes

The experiment in this article earned an Open Data badge for transparent practices. The materials are available at www.iris-database.org/iris/app/home/detail?id=york%3a935928&ref=search.

References

REFERENCES

Aida, Y. (1994). Examination of Horwitz, Horwitz, and Cope’s construct of foreign language anxiety: The case of students of Japanese. Modern Language Journal, 78, 155–168.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brown, A., Plonsky, L., & Teimouri, Y. (2018). The use of course grades as metrics in L2 research: A systematic review. Foreign Language Annals, 51, 763–778.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brown, J. D. (2015). Why bother learning advanced quantitative methods in L2 research? In Plonsky, L. (Ed.), Advancing quantitative methods in L2 research (pp. 9–20). New York, NY: Routledge.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cattell, R. B., & Scheier, I. H. (1961). The meaning and measurement of neuroticism and anxiety. New York: Ronald Press.Google Scholar
Chastain, K. (1975). Affective and ability factors in second language learning. Language Learning, 25, 153–161.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chen, G., Gully, S. M., Whiteman, J. A., & Kilcullen, R. N. (2000). Examination of relationships among trait-like individual differences, state-like individual differences, and learning performance. Journal of Applied Psychology, 85, 835–847.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cheng, Y. S. (2004). A measure of second language writing anxiety: Scale development and preliminary validation. Journal of Second Language Writing, 13, 313–335.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cheng, Y. S. (2017). Development and preliminary validation of four brief measures of L2 language-skill-specific anxiety. System, 68, 15–25.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cheng, Y. S., Horwitz, E. K., & Schallert, D. L. (1999). Language anxiety: Differentiating writing and speaking components. Language Learning, 49, 417–446.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cooper, H., Hedges, L. V., & Valentine, J. C. (Eds.). (2009). The handbook of research synthesis and meta-analysis. New York: Russell Sage Foundation.Google Scholar
Derrick, D. J. (2016). Instrument reporting practices in second language research. TESOL Quarterly, 50, 132–153.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dewaele, J. (2010). Emotions in multiple languages. London: Palgrave Macmillan.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Duval, S., & Tweedie, R. (2000). Trim and fill: A simple funnel-plot–based method of testing and adjusting for publication bias in meta-analysis. Biometrics, 56, 455–463.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Elkhafaifi, H. (2005). Listening comprehension and anxiety in the Arabic language classroom. Modern Language Journal, 89, 206–220.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gardner, R. (1985). Social psychology and second language learning: The role of attitudes and motivation. London, UK: Edward Arnold.Google Scholar
Gardner, R. C., & MacIntyre, P. D. (1993). A student’s contributions to second-language learning. Part II: Affective variables. Language Teaching, 26, 1–11.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gardner, R. C., Smythe, P. C., Clément, R., & Gliksman, L. (1976). Social and psychological factors in second language acquisition. Canadian Modern Language Review, 32, 198–213.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gkonou, C., Daubney, M., & Dewaele, J. M. (2017). New insights into language anxiety: Theory, research and educational implications. Bristol, UK: Multilingual Matters.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Goetze, J. (2018). Linking cognition and emotion: An appraisal study of foreign language teacher anxiety (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). Washington, DC: Georgetown University.Google Scholar
Hashimoto, Y. (2002). Motivation and willingness to communicate as predictors of reported L2 use: The Japanese ESL context. University of Hawai’i Second Language Studies Paper, 20, 29–69.Google Scholar
Horwitz, E. K. (2001). Language anxiety and achievement. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, 21, 112–126.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Horwitz, E. K. (2010). Foreign and second language anxiety. Language Teaching, 43, 154–167.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Horwitz, E. K. (2017). On the misreading of Horwitz, Horwitz, and Cope (1986) and the need to balance anxiety research and the experiences of anxious language learners. In Gkonou, C., Daubney, M., & Dewaele, J. M. (Eds.), New insights into language anxiety: Theory, research and educational implications (pp. 31–50). Bristol, UK: Multilingual Matters.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Horwitz, E. K., Horwitz, M. B., & Cope, J. (1986). Foreign language classroom anxiety. Modern Language Journal, 70, 125–132.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Khajavy, G. H., MacIntyre, P., & Barabadi, E. (2018). Role of the emotions and classroom environment in willingness to communicate: Applying doubly latent multilevel analysis in second language acquisition research. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 40, 605–624.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kleinmann, H. (1977). Avoidance behaviour in adult second language acquisition. Language Learning, 27, 93–107.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Konstantopoulos, S., & Hedges, L. V. (2004). Meta-analysis. In Kaplan, D. (Ed.), The SAGE handbook of quantitative methodology for the social sciences (pp. 281–297). New York: Sage.Google Scholar
Larson-Hall, J., & Plonsky, L. (2015). Reporting and interpreting quantitative research findings: What gets reported and recommendations for the field. Language Learning, 65, 127–159.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Li, S. (2016). The construct validity of language aptitude: A meta-analysis. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 38, 801–842.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Linck, J. A., Osthus, P., Koeth, J. T., & Bunting, M. F. (2014). Working memory and second language comprehension and production: A meta-analysis. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 21, 861–883.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lipsey, M. W., & Wilson, D. B. (2001). Practical meta-analysis. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.Google Scholar
Ma, X. (1999). A meta-analysis of the relationship between anxiety toward mathematics and achievement in mathematics. Journal for Research in Mathematics Education, 30, 520–540.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
MacIntyre, P. D. (1999). Language anxiety: A review of the research for language teachers. In Young, D. J. (Ed.), Affect in foreign language and second language learning: A practical guide to creating a low-anxiety classroom atmosphere (pp. 24–45). Boston, MA: McGraw-Hill.Google Scholar
MacIntyre, P. D. (2017). An overview of language anxiety research and trends in its development. In Gkonou, C., Daubney, M., & Dewaele, J. M. (Eds.), New insights into language anxiety: Theory, research and educational implications. Bristol, UK: Multilingual Matters.Google Scholar
MacIntyre, P. D., & Charos, C. (1996). Personality, attitudes, and affect as predictors of second language communication. Journal of Language and Social Psychology, 15, 3–26.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
MacIntyre, P. D., & Gardner, R. C. (1991). Methods and results in the study of anxiety and language learning: A review of the literature. Language Learning, 41, 85–117.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
MacIntyre, P. D., & Gardner, R. C. (1994a). The subtle effects of language anxiety on cognitive processing in the second language. Language Learning, 44, 283–305.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
MacIntyre, P. D., & Gardner, R. C. (1994b). The effects of induced anxiety on three stages of cognitive processing in computerized vocabulary learning. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 16, 1–17.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
MacIntyre, P. D., Noels, K. A., & Clément, R. (1997). Biases in self-ratings of second language proficiency: The role of language anxiety. Language Learning, 47, 265–287.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Marsden, E., Mackey, A., & Plonsky, L. (Eds.). (2015). Advancing methodology and practice: The IRIS repository of instruments for research into second languages. New York: Routledge.Google Scholar
Marsden, E., Mackey, A., and Plonsky, L. (2016). The IRIS Repository: Advancing research practice and methodology. In Marsden, E., Mackey, A., & Plonsky, L. (Eds.), Advancing methodology and practice: The IRIS Repository of instruments for research into second languages (pp. 1–21). New York: Routledge.Google Scholar
Masgoret, A. M., & Gardner, R. C. (2003). Attitudes, motivation, and second language learning: A meta-analysis of studies conducted by Gardner and associates. Language Learning, 53, 123–163.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Norouzian, R., & Plonsky, L. (2018). Correlation and simple linear regression in applied linguistics. In Phakiti, A., Costa, P. De, Plonsky, L., & Starfield, S. (Eds.), The Palgrave handbook of applied linguisitics research methodology (pp. 395-421). London: Palgrave Macmillan.Google Scholar
Norris, J. M., & Ortega, L. (2006). The value and practice of research synthesis for language learning and teaching. In Norris, J. M. & Ortega, L. (Eds.), Synthesizing research on language learning and teaching (pp. 3–50). Philadelphia, PA: John Benjamins.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Oswald, F. L., & Plonsky, L. (2010). Meta-analysis in second language research: Choices and challenges. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, 30, 85–110.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Oxford, R. L. (1999). Anxiety and the language learner: New insights. In Arnold, J. (Ed.), Affect in language learning (pp. 68–86). New York: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Papi, M. (2010). The L2 motivational self system, L2 anxiety, and motivated behavior: A structural equation modeling approach. System, 38, 467–479.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Papi, M., & Teimouri, Y. (2014). Language learner motivational types: A cluster analysis study. Language Learning, 64, 493–525.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Paquot, M., & Plonsky, L. (2017). Quantitative research methods and study quality in learner corpus research. International Journal of Learner Corpus Research, 3, 61–94.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Phillips, E. M. (1992). The effects of language anxiety on students’ oral test performance and attitudes. Modern Language Journal, 76, 14–26.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Plonsky, L. (2013). Study quality in SLA: An assessment of designs, analyses, and reporting practices in quantitative L2 research. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 35, 655–687.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Plonsky, L. (2017). Quantitative research methods in instructed SLA. In Loewen, S. & Sato, M. (Eds.), The Routledge handbook of instructed second language acquisition (pp. 505–521). New York: Routledge.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Plonsky, L., & Brown, D. (2015). Domain definition and search techniques in meta-analyses of L2 research (Or why 18 meta-analyses of feedback have different results). Second Language Research, 31, 267–278.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Plonsky, L., & Derrick, D. J. (2016). A meta-analysis of reliability coefficients in second language research. The Modern Language Journal, 100, 538–553.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Plonsky, L, & Ghanbar, H. (2018). Multiple regression in L2 research: A methodological synthesis and guide to interpreting R 2 values. Modern Language Journal, 102, 713–731.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Plonsky, L., & Oswald, F. L. (2012). How to do a meta-analysis. In Mackey, A. & Gass, S. M. (Eds.), Research methods in second language acquisition: A practical guide (pp. 275–295). West Sussex, UK: Blackwell.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Plonsky, L., & Oswald, F. L. (2014). How big is “big”? Interpreting effect sizes in L2 research. Language Learning, 64, 878–912.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Plonsky, L., & Oswald, F. L. (2015). Meta-analyzing second language research. In Marsden, E., Mackey, A., & Plonsky, L. (Eds.), Advancing quantitative methods in second language research (pp. 106–128). New York: Routledge.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Plonsky, L., & Oswald, F. L. (2017). Multiple regression as a flexible alternative to ANOVA in L2 research. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 39, 579–592.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rosenthal, R., Cooper, H., & Hedges, L. V. (1994). Parametric measures of effect size. In Cooper, H. & Hedges, V. (Eds.), The handbook of research synthesis (pp. 231–244). New York: Russell Sage Foundation.Google Scholar
Saito, Y., & Samimy, K. K. (1996). Foreign language anxiety and language performance: A study of learner anxiety in beginning, intermediate, and advanced-level college students of Japanese. Foreign Language Annals, 29, 239–249.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Saito, Y., Horwitz, E. K., & Garza, T. J. (1999). Foreign language reading anxiety. Modern Language Journal, 83, 202–218.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Seipp, B. (1991). Anxiety and academic performance: A meta-analysis of findings. Anxiety Research, 4, 27–41.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Scovel, T. (1978). The effect of affect on foreign language learning: A review of the anxiety research. Language Learning, 28, 129–142.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Şimşek, E., & Dörnyei, Z. (2017). Anxiety and L2 self-images: The ‘anxious self’. In Gkonou, C., Daubney, M., & Dewaele, J.-M. (Eds.), New insights into language anxiety: Theory, research and educational implications (pp. 51–69). Bristol, UK: Multilingual Matters.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sparks, R. L., & Patton, J. (2013). Relationship of L1 skills and L2 aptitude to L2 anxiety on the Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale. Language Learning, 63, 870–895.Google Scholar
Spielberger, C. D., Gorsuch, R. L., & Lushene, R. E. (1970). Manual for the state-trait anxiety inventory. Palo Alto, CA: Consulting Psychologists Press.Google Scholar
Teimouri, Y. (2017). L2 selves, emotions, and motivated behaviors. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 39, 681–709.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Teimouri, Y. (2018). Differential roles of shame and guilt in L2 learning: How bad is bad? The Modern Language Journal, 102, 632–652.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Young, D. J. (1986). The relationship between anxiety and foreign language oral proficiency ratings. Foreign Language Annals, 19, 439–445.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Supplementary material: File

Teimour et al. supplementary material

Teimour et al. supplementary material 1

Download Teimour et al. supplementary material(File)
File 29.9 KB