Students’ high levels of foreign-language classroom anxiety (FLCA) are reported to have a negative impact on their target language performance in classrooms. There are some anxiety studies from the students' perspective in the existing literature, but few from the teachers' perspective, particularly in Japan. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate how teachers managed students' levels of anxiety, which may lead to an improvement in their communication skills. Semi-structured individual interviews were conducted with six teachers. Various strategies that teachers could use to decrease students’ levels of anxiety were introduced. In communicative lessons, students need to practice speaking and listening in class as much as possible to improve these skills in an English as a foreign language (EFL) context. Therefore, teachers should use various methods to increase the opportunities for students to speak a target language in class, and to create an unthreatening classroom environment in which students can speak without hesitation. In addition, teachers could use group dynamics effectively to ensure seamless classroom management.

This study investigated the factors, such as students’ foreign language enjoyment, their foreign language classroom anxiety, the teacher’s language choice (English-only instruction versus English instruction with limited legitimate Japanese support), and demographics that affect improvement in English proficiency in EFL communicative classes. Ninety-three college students in Japan participated in this research, for which they completed a questionnaire after the seventh lesson of 14 total lessons during a semester. In addition to t-tests, a stepwise multiple linear regression analysis was performed using the dependent variable of the change in every student’s scores between the midterm and the final examination and six independent variables: age, gender, nationality, the teacher’s language choice, anxiety levels, and enjoyment levels. The results reveal that higher levels of enjoyment in class are significantly correlated with improvement in students’ English proficiency. The present study suggests that enjoyment levels, instead of anxiety levels, affect improvement in students’ English proficiency regardless of teachers’ language choices. Therefore, it is important for teachers to provide classes that are enjoyable for students by motivating and providing the students with activities in which they will succeed, thereby ensuring their self-confidence.  

Lessons for developing students' communication skills have been recently introduced to university English education in Japan, and the lesson format has become student-centered. As lessons are given in English and students have more opportunities to practice speaking in English, there are likely to be controversies over the proper balance between the use of the target language (TL) and the first language (L1) in EFL classrooms. However, no clear consensus concerning the relationship between these has been reached yet. The present research investigated the factors that were related to TL/L1 use among Japanese university students. A questionnaire containing background information and a five–point Likert scale of anxiety was filled in by 252 students. Following this, individual interviews with five students were conducted. The results revealed that while the advantages of L1 use for the students were reported, the students had negative feelings about their use of the L1 due to decreasing the contact with the TL and/or increasing peer and self–pressure. Therefore, students should gradually become accustomed to English–only instruction in an unthreatening environment.  

The purpose of this study was to identify the causes of speaking anxiety in highly anxious students, of which their teachers might not have been aware, and solutions to alleviate the problem. Sixteen students from a Japanese language-oriented university participated in an interview survey. The participants’ anxiety levels were measured using a five-point Likert scale questionnaire that included five items related to foreign language classroom anxiety. The results were compared to the results of interviews with their teachers, and interesting responses from the student interviews that their teachers did not raise were highlighted. The main causes of anxiety were an unpleasant classroom environment, peer pressure, and non-ideal class types. Students argued for several strategies to reduce the anxiety associated with speaking practice, increase their use of English, and improve their proficiency. To achieve these strategies, teachers need to take into account the opinions of students they did not previously focus on.

English education in Japan has recently been changing to focus on communication skills. The purpose of this research was to identify how the emotional (foreign language enjoyment and foreign language classroom anxiety) and psychological (motivation and self-confidence) factors might differentially stimulate students’ attainment of higher English proficiency in student-centered communicative lessons. The classes included pair/group work with a point-addition system. A questionnaire was filled in by 108 EFL freshmen. A multiple linear regression analysis was calculated, and the results of the questionnaire exhibited that the students who had stronger motivation, self-confidence, and enjoyment could expect to receive higher TOEIC IP scores. The students' essay reports showed that the point-addition system introduced during the research might be a culprit for increasing the anxiety of even students with high English proficiency. Along with devising ways to lower students' anxiety (e.g. not using a stressful point-addition system), teachers are advised to use teaching methods that promote students’ positive emotions (FLE) that create more self-confidence and motivation through more communicative EFL activities.