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    The link between foreign language classroom anxiety, second language tolerance of ambiguity and self-rated English proficiency among Chinese learners

    Dewaele, Jean-Marc and Shan Ip, T. (2013) The link between foreign language classroom anxiety, second language tolerance of ambiguity and self-rated English proficiency among Chinese learners. Studies in Second Language Learning and Teaching 3 (1), pp. 47-66. ISSN 2083-5205.

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    Abstract

    Previous research has suggested that high levels of Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety (FLCA) have a negative effect on foreign language learning (Horwitz, 2001; Lu & Liu, 2011) while moderate levels of Second Language Tolerance of Ambiguity (SLTA) are believed to boost foreign language learning (Ely, 1995). There is prima facie evidence that both dimensions are inversely related as Foreign Language Learning contexts are full of ambiguities which may contribute to anxiety. However, the relationship between FLCA and SLTA has been under-researched. The present study is an attempt to fill this gap by investigating the link between SLTA and FLCA in English of 73 secondary school students in Hong Kong. They filled out an online questionnaire consisting of the Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (Horwitz, Horwitz, & Cope, 1986) and the Second Language Tolerance of Ambiguity Scale (Ely, 1995). Statistical analyses revealed that FLCA, SLTA and Self-rated English proficiency predict half of the variance in each other; in other words, students who were more tolerant of second language ambiguity were less anxious in their EFL classes and they also felt more proficient.

    Metadata

    Item Type: Article
    Additional Information: Copyright Cambriadge University Press, reproduced with permission
    Keyword(s) / Subject(s): Foreign Language Anxiety, Tolerance of Ambiguity, English as a Foreign Language, Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (FLCAS), Second Language Tolerance of Ambiguity Scale (SLTAS), Self-rated proficiency
    School: Birkbeck Faculties and Schools > Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences > School of Creative Arts, Culture and Communication
    Depositing User: Jean-Marc Dewaele
    Date Deposited: 20 Sep 2013 08:04
    Last Modified: 09 Aug 2023 12:34
    URI: https://eprints.bbk.ac.uk/id/eprint/8054

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