The Effect of Foreign Language Anxiety on EFL Students’ Cognitive Processing in Working Memory

Document Type : Original Article

Author

University of Gonabad

Abstract
Objective: The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of foreign language anxiety (FLA) on English-as-a-foreign-language (EFL) students’ cognitive processing of linguistic stimuli.
Methods: The participants were 179 upper-intermediate or advanced EFL learners from different branches of an English language teaching institute. They were asked to fill out the Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (FLCAS) questionnaire and then, considering their scores, were randomly assigned to high-anxiety and low-anxiety groups. To analyze the EFL learners’ cognitive processing of linguistic stimuli, a semantic decision task was used in the present study. In this task, participants saw a pair of words presented one after each other and were asked to decide whether the target word was related in meaning to the preceding prime word. Mixed Factorial Repeated Measure ANOVA was run on error rate (ER) data to establish the potential interaction between primes and targets. To reveal any potential anxiety effects, anxiety was run as a between-subject factor in the analysis.
Results: The findings showed a statistically significant effect of anxiety on cognitive processing of linguistic stimuli with respect to ER. More specifically, the EFL students in the low-anxiety group made fewer errors in comparison to their counterparts in the high-anxiety group.
Conclusion: The findings are attributed to the attentional control theory and cognitive overload of working memory, cognitive interference theory, and the specific nature of the task used in the present study. The results emphasize the fact that FLA could result in deficits in cognitive processing of linguistic stimuli by foreign language learners. 

Keywords

Subjects

Abdurahman, N. H., & Rizqi, M. A. (2020). Indonesian students’ strategies to cope with foreign language anxiety. TEFLIN Journal, 31, 1–18. https://doi.org/10.15639/eflinjournal.v31i1/1-18
Ahmadi, M., & Izadpanah, S. (2019). The study of relationship between learning autonomy, language anxiety, and thinking style: The case of Iranian university students. International Journal of Research in English Education, 4, 73–88. https://doi.org/10.29252/ijree.4.2.73
Alamer, A., & Almulhim, F. (2021). The interrelation between language anxiety and self-determined motivation: A mixed methods approach. Frontiers in Education, 6, 618655. https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2021.618655
Aslan, E., & Thompson, A. S. (2021). The interplay between learner beliefs and foreign language anxiety: Insights from the Turkish EFL context. Language Learning, 49, 189–202. https://doi.org/10.1080/09571736.2018.1540649
Ayllon-Salas, P., Olmo-Espinosa, A., & Fernandez-Martin, F. D. (2024). Anxiety and use of cognitive emotion regulation strategies within the foreign language classroom. Porta Linguarum, 41, 313-325. https://doi.org/10.30827/portalin.vi41.27966
Bensalem, E., & Thompson, A. S. (2022). Multilingual effects on EFL learning: A comparison of foreign language anxiety and self-confidence experienced by bilingual and multilingual tertiary students. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism, 25, 2653–2667. https://doi.org/10.1080/13670050.2021.1943306
Borisova, A. S., Moskvitcheva, S. A., Aleksandrova, O. I., & Soomro, M. A. (2024). Influence of foreign language anxiety on university students’ cognitive processing in English language classrooms. Eurasian Journal of Applied Linguistics, 10(1), 299-307. https://doi.org/10.32601/ejal.10125
Brysbaert, M. (2019). How many participants do we have to include in properly powered experiments? A tutorial of power analysis with reference tables. Journal of Cognition, 2(1), 1-38. https://doi.org/10.5334/joc.72
Cambridge Local Examinations Syndicate (2001). Quick placement test. Retrieved from http://www.vhsaschaffenburg.de/cms/media/download/238/oxford-test.pdf.
Castillejo, S. P. (2023). Prior processing, foreign language classroom anxiety, and L2 fluency. International Review of Applied Linguistics in Language Teaching, 61(2), 519-544. https://doi.org/10.1515/iral-2021-0091
Derakshan, N., & Eysenck, M. W. (2009). Anxiety, processing efficiency, and cognitive performance: New developments from attentional control theory. European Psychologist, 14(2), 168–176. https://doi.org/10.1027/1016-9040.14.2.168
Eginli, I., & Solhi, M. (2020). Perceived social self-efficacy and foreign language anxiety among undergraduate English teacher candidates: The case of Turkey. Novitas Royal, 14, 13–24.
Elkhafaifi, H. (2005). Listening comprehension and anxiety in the Arabic language classroom. Modern Language Journal, 89, 206–220. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-4781.2005. 00275.x
Eysenck, M. W. (1979). Anxiety, learning, and memory: A reconceptualization. Journal of Research in Personality, 13, 363–385. https://doi.org/10.1016/0092-6566(79)90001-1.
Eysenck, M. W., Derakshan, N., Santos, R., & Calvo, M. G. (2007). Anxiety and cognitive performance: Attentional control theory. Emotion, 7, 336–353.
Fallah, N. (2017). Mindfulness, coping self-efficacy and foreign language anxiety: A mediation analysis. Educational Psychology, 37(6), 745–756. https://doi.org/10.1080/01443410.2016.1149549
Frantzen, D., & Magnan, S. S. (2005). Anxiety and the true beginner-false beginner dynamic in beginning French and Spanish classes. Foreign Language Annals, 38, 171–190. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1944-9720.2005.tb02483.x
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.
Guvendir, E., & Uzun, K. (2023). L2 writing anxiety, working memory, and task complexity in L2 written performance. Journal of Second Language Writing, 60, 101016.
Han, S., Li, Y., & Haider, S.A. (2022). Impact of foreign language classroom anxiety on higher education students’ academic success: Mediating role of emotional intelligence and moderating influence of classroom environment. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, 1-12. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.945062
Heimberg, R. G. (2002). Cognitive-behavioral therapy for social anxiety disorder: Current status and future directions. Biological Psychiatry, 51(1), 101–108. Doi: 10.1016/s0006-3223(01)01183-0
Hofmann, S. G. (2007). Cognitive factors that maintain social anxiety disorder: A comprehensive model and its treatment implications. Cognitive Behavior Therapy, 36(4), 193–209. https://doi.org/10.1080/16506070701421313
Horwitz, E. K. (1991). Preliminary evidence for the reliability and validity of a foreign language anxiety scale. In E. Horwitz & D. Young (Eds.), Language anxiety: From theory and research to classroom implications (pp. 37-39). Prentice Hall.
Horwitz, E. K. (1999). Preface. In A. J. Young (Ed.), Affect in foreign language and second language learning: A practical guide to creating a low-anxiety classroom atmosphere (pp. xi-xiii). McGraw-Hill.
Horwitz, E. K. (2010). Foreign and second language anxiety. Language Teaching, 43(2), 154–167. https://doi.org/10.1017/S026144480999036X
Horwitz, E. K., Horwitz, M. B., & Cope, J. (1986). Foreign language classroom anxiety. Modern Language Journal, 70, 125–132. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-4781.1986.tb05256.x
Horwitz, E. K., & Nassif, L. (2018). Language anxiety. In A. Burns & J. C. Richards (Eds.), The Cambridge guide to learning English as a second language (pp. 73–80). Cambridge University Press.
Jiang, Y., & Dewaele, J. M. (2020). The predictive power of sociobiographical and language variables on foreign language anxiety of Chinese university students. System, 89, 102207. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2020.102207
Jonczyk, R. (2016). Affect-language interactions in native and non-native English speakers: A neuropragmatic perspective. Springer International Publishing.
Kahng, J. (2014). Exploring utterance and cognitive fluency of L1 and L2 English speakers: Temporal measures and stimulated recall. Language Learning, 64(4), 809–854.
Kalsoom, A., Soomro, N. H., & Pathan, Z. H. (2020). How social support and foreign language anxiety impact willingness to communicate in English in an EFL classroom. International Journal of English Linguistics, 10, 80–91. https://doi.org/10.5539/ijel.v10n2p80
Khan, Z. A., & Zafar, S. (2010). The effects of anxiety on cognitive processing in English language learning. English Language Teaching, 3, 199-209.
Kondo, D. S., & Yang, Y. L. (2004). Strategies for coping with language anxiety: The case of students of English in Japan. ELT Journal, 58, 258–265. https://doi.org/10.1093/elt/58.3.258
Krashen, S. D. (1987). Principles and practice in second language acquisition. Prentice-Hall International.
Lee, J. S., & Hsieh, J. C. (2019). Affective variables and willingness to communicate of EFL learners in in-class, out-of-class, and digital contexts. System, 82, 63–73. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2019.03.002
Li, C. (2015). The effect of anxiety on university-level L2 learner ability to recall items in the lexicon. The Journal of Language Teaching and Learning, 1, 24-33.
Li, C., Huang, J., & Li, B. (2021). The predictive effects of classroom environment and trait emotional intelligence on foreign language enjoyment and anxiety. System, 96, 102393. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2020.102393
Li, C., Wei, L., & Lu, X. (2023). Contributions of foreign language writing emotions to writing achievement. System, 116, 103074. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2023.103074
Maher, K., & King, J. (2023). Language anxiety and learner silence in the classroom from a cognitive-behavioral perspective. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, 43, 105–111. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0267190523000077
MacIntyre, P. D. (1998). Conceptualizing willingness to communicate in an L2: A situational model of L2 confidence and affiliation. The Modern Language Journal, 82, 545–562. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-4781.1998.tb05543.x.
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. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-1770.1994.tb01103.x
MacIntyre, P. D., & Gardner, R. C. (1994b). The effects of induced anxiety on cognitive processing in computerized vocabulary learning. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 16(1), 1–17.
Matsuda, S., & Gobel, P. (2004). Anxiety and predictors of performance in the foreign language classroom. System, 32, 21–36. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2003.08.002
Papi, M., & Khajavy, G. H. (2021). Motivational mechanisms underlying second language achievement: A regulatory focus perspective. Language Learning, 71(2), 537–572.
Peirce, J. W. (2007). PsychoPy—psychophysics software in Python. Journal of Neuroscience Methods, 162 (1), 8–13. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jneumeth.2006.11.017
Peirce, J. W. (2009). Generating stimuli for neuroscience using PsychoPy. Frontiers in Neuroinformatics, 2, 1-8. https://doi.org/10.3389/neuro.11.010.2008
Pyun, D. O., Kim, J. S., Cho, H. Y., & Lee, J. H. (2014). Impact of affective variables on Korean as a foreign language learners’ oral achievement. System, 47, 53–63. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2014.09.017
Rahmani Doqaruni, V. (2021a). Investigating bilinguals’ cognitive processing of affective words in minimal linguistic contexts. The Mental Lexicon, 16(2-3), 422-447. https://doi.org/10.1075/ ml.20026.doq
Rahmani Doqaruni, V. (2021b). The cognitive ease of processing semantically related words in second language education. Iranian Journal of Learning & Memory, 4(15), 77-83. https://doi.org/10.22034/iepa.2021.143987
Rahmani Doqaruni, V. (2022). The effect of semantic relatedness on EFL learners’ cognitive processing of L2 words. Iranian Journal of Learning & Memory, 5(19), 63-73. https://doi.org/10.22034/ iepa.2022.168321
Rahmani Doqaruni, V. (2023). The effect of age on cognitive processing of ambiguous relative clauses in second language education. Lingue e Linguaggio, 22(1), 3–18. https://doi.org/10.1418/107016
Rahmani Doqaruni, V. (2024a). The effect of modality type on cognitive processing of L2 single words. Journal of Cognition, Emotion & Education, 2(1), 29–39. https://doi.org/10.22034/cee.2023.429524.1014
Rahmani Doqaruni, V. (2024b). The role of gender in cognitive processing of affective linguistic stimuli in bilinguals. Cognition, Brain, Behavior. An Interdisciplinary Journal, 29(2), 1–23. https://doi.org/ 10.24193/cbb.2024.29.01
Rahmani Doqaruni, V. (in press). The effect of mode of presentation on EFL learners' cognitive processing of ambiguous relative clauses. Cognitive Linguistic Studies.
Resnik, P., & Dewaele, J. M. (2020). Trait emotional intelligence, positive and negative emotions in first and foreign language classes: A mixed-methods approach. System, 94, 102324. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2020.102324
Rubio-Alcala, F. (2017). The links between self-esteem and language anxiety and implications for the classroom. In C. Gkonou, M. Daubney, & J. M. Dewaele (Eds.), New insights into language anxiety (pp. 198–216). Multilingual Matters. https://doi.org/10.21832/9781783097722-012
Safranj, J., & Zivlak, J. (2019). Effects of big five personality traits and fear of negative evaluation on foreign language anxiety. Croatian Journal of Education, 21, 275–306. https://doi.org/10.15516/cje.v21i1.2942
Sarason, I. G. (1988). Anxiety, self-preoccupation and attention. Anxiety Research, 1, 3–7.
Stout, D. M., Shackman, A. J., Pedersen, W. S., Miskovich, T. A., & Larson C. L. (2017). Neural circuitry governing anxious individuals’ mis-allocation of working memory to threat. Scientific Reports, 7, 8742. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-08443-7
Sudina, E. (2023). Scale quality in second-language anxiety and WTC: A methodological synthesis. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 45, 1427-1455. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0272263122000560
Teimouri, Y., Goetze, J., & Plonsky, L. (2019). Second language anxiety and achievement: A meta-analysis. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 41, 363–387. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0272263118000311
Tsai, P. S., & Liao, H. C. (2021). Students’ progressive behavioral learning patterns in using machine translation systems– a structural equation modeling analysis. System, 101, 102594. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2021.102594
Vytal, K. E., Cornwell, B. R., Letkiewicz, A. M., Arkin, N. E., & Grillon, C. (2013). The complex interaction between anxiety and cognition: Insight from spatial and verbal working memory. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 7, 93. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2013.00093
Wang, H., Peng, A., & Patterson, M. M. (2021). The roles of class social climate, language mindset, and emotions in predicting willingness to communicate in a foreign language. System, 99, 102529. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2021.102529
Wang, C., Teng, M. F., & Liu, S. (2023). Psychosocial profiles of university students’ emotional adjustment, perceived social support, self-efficacy belief, and foreign language anxiety during COVID-19. Educational and Developmental Psychologist, 40, 51–62. https://doi.org/10.1080/20590776.2021.2012085
Woodrow, L. (2006). Anxiety and speaking English as a second language. RELC Journal, 37, 308–328. https://doi.org/10.1177/0033688206071315
Woodrow, L. (2011). College English writing affect: Self-efficacy and anxiety. System, 39, 510–522. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2011.10.017
Yan, J. X., & Liang, J. (2022). Foreign language anxiety and dependency distance in English–Chinese interpretation classrooms. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, 952664. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.952664
Zheng, Y., & Cheng, L. (2018). How does anxiety influence language performance? From the perspectives of foreign language classroom anxiety and cognitive test anxiety. Language Testing in Asia, 8, 1-19. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40468-018-0065-4
Zhou, L., Xi, Y., & Lochtman, K. (2023). The relationship between second language competence and willingness to communicate: The moderating effect of foreign language anxiety. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 44, 129–143. https://doi.org/10.1080/01434632.2020.1801697