Quantitative Analysis of the Foreign Language Anxiety: Chinese and Pakistani Postgraduates in Focus

Abstract

The current research study aims at inspecting various levels of apprehension and anxiety faced by university postgraduates in Pakistan and China when learning a foreign language (FL). The target population of this research was the university postgraduates from a Chinese university in Wuhan, and a public sector university in Lahore, Pakistan. The sample of this study was 206 postgraduates, out of which 106 (male =28, female= 78) from a Chinese university and 100 (male=53, female= 47) from a Pakistani university in Lahore. The sample was selected randomly and aged (21-30), and all participants belonged to the postgraduate level. Horwitz's foreign language classroom anxiety scale (known as FLCAS) was used as a survey model, a theoretical framework for collecting data from both universities. The Statistical Package of a Social Sciences (SPSS version23) was used to get quantitative results. Descriptive statistics were used to investigate the anxiety level. Mean score and standard deviation were computed of both groups, besides it, the independent samples t-test was run to compare the mean score of both groups and infer if there existed any difference in the target language anxiety level. The results revealed that Chinese postgraduates face more anxiety than Pakistani postgraduates, and there existed significant differences in foreign language anxiety levels of both groups. Based on the results, it can be implicated that combined efforts of mentors and students can pave the way in tackling anxiety among university postgraduates.

An Exploration of the Kinds of Teacher Behaviour to address Students’ Language Speaking Anxiety: An Investigation of Pakistani EFL University Students’ Perspectives

“…Horwitz (2013) reports that studies have been proposing since the 1970s that anxiety can affect the foreign language learning and speaking process. However, earlier anxiety studies provided confusing and inconclusive results (Malik at el;2020) perhaps due to the absence of a reliable anxiety measure and of the existence of too many anxiety types. However, FLA was acknowledged as a separate affective variable influencing language learning in the 1980s (Dewaele & MacIntyre, 2014).…”

“…English language is viewed as an instrument of power, prestige, and a guarantor for bright future in Pakistan (Malik et al, 2020). Consequently, it is the intense desire of students and their parents to attain proficiency in this language (Ahmad & Rao, 2013).…”

“…They are, particularly, interested in the development of speaking skills. However, besides the existence of this instrumental motivation, a number of EFL university students are not proficient in speaking skills and moreover, they feel uncomfortable when speaking English in various situations (Malik et al, 2020). Following the utility of English in Pakistan, it is important to explore the factors that could promote students' speaking skills.…”

“…Horwitz, 2017;Naudhani at al., 2018;Oteir & Al-Otaibi, 2019). On the other hand, almost all anxiety studies agree that most of the anxiety is associated with language teachers' behaviour towards their students (such as Gregersen, 2005;Horwitz, 2017;Malik at al., 2020;Marwan, 2016;Milan, 2019). Therefore, it seems imperative to explore the kinds of teacher behaviour that could alleviate students' speaking anxiety (SA) in order that students' English learning in general and spoken competency in particular may be developed.…”

“…Likewise, many other anxiety studies have established that much of SA is associated with teacher-student relations (e.g. Horwitz, 2017;Malik et al, 2020;Aydin, 2016;Horwitz, 2016, Horwitz, 2017. Teachers and students may have different perceptions about various classroom procedures (e.g.…”