Second Language Anxiety : Affective or Linguistic Variable?.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Sparks, Richard L.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Second language acquisition.

Psycholinguistics.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (333 pages)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Bristol : Multilingual Matters, 2025.

Summary:

This book brings together three decades of research to show that L1 skills and L2 aptitude are confounding variables in studies of language anxiety and that learners' levels of anxiety for L2 learning are strongly related to their levels of language achievement. It holds the potential to change the ways in which we think about language anxiety.

Contents:

Cover

Half Title

Title Page

Copyright Page

Dedication

Contents

Acknowledgments

Prelude: A Cautionary Taleabout Causal Explanations

Introduction and Overview

Examining L1-L2 Relationships

Challenging the L2 Anxiety Hypothesis

Organization of the Volume

Part 1: Theoretical Insights into Language Anxiety: Is Language Anxiety Related to Students' Levels of L1 Achievement, L2 Aptitude and L2 Achievement?

Introduction - Part 1

Chapter 1: Foreign Language Learning Differences: Affective or Native Language Aptitude Differences?

Learning Styles and FL Learning

Affective Factors and FL Learning

Anxiety and FL Learning

Language Variables in FL Learning

Relationship of Native and FL Learning Difficulties

Linguistic Coding Deficit Hypothesis

Summary and Conclusion

Chapter 2: A Strong Inference Approach to Causal Factors in Foreign Language Learning: A Response to MacIntyre

Does Language Anxiety Negatively Affect FL Learning?

IS the LCDH Really Incomplete?

Does MacIntyre Correctly Interpret Assumption of Specificity?

How Important Are Native and FL Connections?

Why is 'Strong Inference' in FL Research Relevant?

Chapter 3: Differences in Language Performance among High-, Average- and Low-Anxious College Foreign Language Learners

Effects of Anxiety on FL Learning

Effects of Native Language Skills on FL Learning

Purpose of Study

Method

Results

Discussion

Summary and Recommendations

Chapter 4: Anxiety about Foreign Language Learning among High School Women

Linguistic Coding Problems and Their Relationship to Anxiety

The Importance of Native Language Skill and Foreign Language Aptitude in Foreign Language Learning

Methodology

Participants

Testing instruments

Procedure

Analysis of data

Group comparisons.

Discussion

Implications

Chapter 5: Language Anxiety and Proficiency in a Foreign Language

Introduction

Instruments

Data analysis

Part 2: Do L2 Anxiety Scales Measure Anxiety or Language Ability?: Evidence from a Ten-Year Longitudinal Study

Introduction - Part 2

Chapter 6: Is the Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (FLCAS) Measuring Anxiety or Language Skills?

Review of the Literature

Rationale for and Purpose of Study

L1 measures (first through fifth grades)

FL proficiency measures

Chapter 7: Relationship of L1 Skills and L2 Aptitude to L2 Anxiety on the Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale

Theoretical Background

L2 learning and anxiety

Challenges to the L2 anxiety construct

Purpose of the Study

L1 skill measures (First through Fifth Grades)

L1 skill measures (tenth grade)

L2 skills

Limitations and Conclusions

Part 3: L2 Reading Anxiety and Language Achievement: Déjà Vu All Over Again?

Introduction - Part 3

Chapter 8: Déjà Vu All Over Again: A Response to Saito, Horwitz and Garza

Research in Reading Acquisition

Foreign Language Reading Anxiety Scale

Problems in Research Design

Measuring Variance in Language Skills

What's the Harm?

Chapter 9: High School Spanish Students and Foreign Language Reading Anxiety: Déjà Vu All Over Again All Over Again

Anxiety and L2 learning

L2 anxiety: Challenges and contrary evidence

L2 reading anxiety and the FLRAS

Participants.

Testing instruments

L1 skills

L2 aptitude

L2 (Spanish) phoneme awareness

L2 achievement

Foreign language (L2) reading anxiety

L2 aptitude and achievement

Post Hoc analyses for third-year Spanish students

L2 reading anxiety and L1 skills

L2 aptitude and L2 achievement

Third-year students and post-hoc analyses

Summary

Conclusions and Implications

Chapter 10: L2 Anxiety and the Foreign Language Reading Anxiety Scale (FLRAS): Listening to the Evidence

L2 anxiety, language learning and the FLCAS

L2 anxiety, language learning and the FLRAS

Challenges to the L2 anxiety hypothesis

L2 reading anxiety

Data analyses

L2 word decoding

L2 reading comprehension

L2 listening comprehension

L2 vocabulary

L2 spelling

L2 writing

Part 4: Is L2 Anxiety a Causal Variable for L2 Learning? Evidence from Studies Using Structural Equation Modeling and Latent Growth Curve Modeling

Introduction - Part 4

Chapter 11: Long-Term Impacts of L1 Language Skills on L2 Anxiety: The Mediating Role of Language Aptitude and L2 Achievement

L2 anxiety: Theory, measurement and research

Purpose and Research Questions

L1 achievement measures

L1 print exposure measures

L2 aptitude measure

L2 achievement measures

L2 anxiety survey

Statistical analysis

Data screening and assumptions

Construct validity and reliability through PLS-SEM.

Assessing the quality of the structural model

Conclusion and Limitations

Chapter 12: How Does First Language Achievement Impact Second Language Reading Anxiety? Exploration of Mediator Variables

Language anxiety and FLRAS

Critique of the Language Anxiety Hypothesis

Studies with the FLCAS

Studies with the FLRAS

Directionality of the language anxiety and L2 achievement relationship

Statistical concerns

Possible mediators

Research Question and Hypothesis

L2 (Spanish) achievement measures

L2 reading anxiety measure

Validity and reliability of the constructs

Evaluating the structural model

Chapter 13: It's Not Anxiety That Predicts L2 Writing Growth, It's L1 Writing Achievement: The Latent Growth Curve Model Approach

Literature Review

Individual differences in L2 writing achievement

Research on the L2 anxiety-L2 achievement relationship

L2 achievement as a predictor of L2 anxiety

L1 writing achievement

L2 writing achievement

Limitations and Implications

Part 5: Other Issues, Other Voices on Language Anxiety

Introduction - Part 5

Chapter 14: General Problems with Anxiety Explanations: The Case of Test Anxiety

Controlled Studies of the Test Anxiety-Test Performance Relationship

Studies Examining the Order of Anxiety and Performance.

Anxiety and Motivation to Prepare for Tests

Chapter 15: Scale Quality in L2 Anxiety Research: Issues and Challenges

Chapter 16: The Mirage of Cause-and-Effect in Cross-Sectional Data: The Case of Language Anxiety Research

Research Design and Inferences of Causality

Advantages and Disadvantages of Experimental Research Design

Understanding Observational Data

The danger of relying on cross-sectional data

Longitudinal data as a valid alternative to experiments

The Type of Data Analysis Does Not Matter

Confounding Variables Should Be Considered When Possible

Good Examples of Longitudinal Data with Confounding Variables

Can SEM Help Drawing Casual Inference?

Conclusion

Acknowledgment

Evidence for IDs in Language Skills and Their Relationship to L2 Anxiety

Lack of evidence for a construct of L2 anxiety

Evidence demonstrating lack of causality from anxiety to L2 achievement

Evidence-based conclusions about IDs in L2 achievement

Why Do L2 Researchers Consider IDs in L1 Achievement and Language Development to Be Unimportant as Explanations for L2 Anxiety and L2 Achievement?

Additional Problems with the L2 Anxiety Hypothesis

Avoiding the falsifiability criterion

'Pathologizing' normal behaviors

Anxiety research as a monoculture

Closing Thoughts

Appendices

Appendix A

Appendix B

Appendix C

Appendix D

Appendix E

References

Index.

Notes:

Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.

Part of the metadata in this record was created by AI, based on the text of the resource.

Other Format:

Print version: Sparks, Richard L. Second Language Anxiety

ISBN:

9781800418783

OCLC:

1528509847