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Study on the Influence of Anxiety on the English Learning of Grade Three Students in High School

Author: XiaXueDong
Tutor: LiuRongQiang
School: Hebei Normal
Course: Subject Teaching
Keywords: Anxiety Correlation Causes Measures
CLC: G633.41
Type: Master's thesis
Year: 2008
Downloads: 510
Quote: 1
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Abstract

With the development of Humanist Psychology, more and more attention has been paid to the cultivation of affect in English teaching. It put forward its concept of language learning that education should take the promotion of man’s all-round development. In recent years, more and more L2 researchers have taken learner variables, especially affective factors into consideration. The teaching approaches appeared successively—Suggestopedia, Silent Way, Community Language Learning, and Total Physical Response, which put emphasis on the emotional problems in language study. It is possible that anxiety is one of the most serious affective barriers. It leads to negative feelings such as uneasiness, frustration, self-doubt, apprehension and tension which waste energy and attention. Students often feel nervous or fearful; some becomes weary of learning, even drop out. As a result, the effect of study is weak. In his Affective Filter Hypothesis, Krashen states that Learners with high motivation, self-confidence and low anxiety have low filters and so obtain and let in plenty of input. Learners with low motivation, little self-confidence, and high anxiety have high filters and so receive little input and allow even less in. With the issue of the New Course Criteria in China, Chinese Educators began to pay more attention to the affective factors of the students. There are also negative affects that greatly influence the foreign learning, such as language anxiety, lack of confidence (New Course Criteria of English, 2002: 69).However, affective variables have not attracted much attention in English teaching in China. Much research is needed to investigate the effect of anxiety on the students’English learning. This thesis was intended to study the influence of anxiety on Grade Three high school students in their English learning. The thesis started by reviewing the previous and current research on anxiety both at home and abroad. On the basis of the researches, the author conducted a study on the influence of anxiety on English learning of the Grade Three high school students. The author chose 170 students as participants of the study, collected the data by tests, questionnaire and interview and analyzed them with computer.In the study, the author discussed various factors resulting in anxiety: the relationship between test anxiety and test achievements, the correlation between culture shock and anxiety, anxiety resulting from fear negative evaluation, the study of self-esteem and anxiety and the relationship between communication apprehension and anxiety. The thesis consists of six chapters: Chapter One is an introduction which clears the ground of the research. Chapter Two provides profound theoretical foundations for the present study and makes a review of the related researches both at home and abroad including definitions and classification of anxiety, the measurement of anxiety and anxiety in foreign language learning etc. Chapter Three presents research questions, participants and instruments. Meanwhile, the author describes the procedure of data collection and analysis in detail. Chapter Four reports the results of the analysis of the data collection concerning with the general anxiety in English learning, the helpful and harmful effect of anxiety on test achievements, and investigation data of the related factors of anxiety. These results are analyzed and discussed in order to address the research questions given in Chapter Three. Chapter Five discusses the causes of anxiety and measures of eliminating anxiety. The last chapter presents the implications and limitations of the research to English teaching and learning, and puts forward suggestions for further research.The results of the study suggest that most of the students suffer various learning anxieties which have a negative effect on English learning and that the students who have too much anxiety may easily give up in their English learning. There exist negative correlations between test anxiety and test achievements, self-esteem and anxiety, culture shock and anxiety, communication apprehension and anxiety etc. The data presented in the thesis show that anxiety has a negative effect on English learning but it can be reduced to a proper extent by taking some effective measures. If so, we can succeed in helping the students in their English learning. Meanwhile, pedagogical implications can make a contribution to reduce test anxiety.Depending on the results of the investigation, the author puts forward some measures for reducing the students’anxiety in English learning. The teachers should observe attentively the students’psychological changes. Once they find the students’anxiety, they should help and instruct the students to take effective steps to handle it. At the same time, the students should recognize and treat English learning anxiety correctly, which are of help to diminish their anxiety in English learning.This thesis provides some results of analysis, which may be helpful for the English teachers to be more aware of the negative role that anxiety plays in English learning of Grade Three. By identifying the students’anxiety level, the teachers can help them find out some measures to reduce anxiety, create a comfortable English classroom atmosphere and obtain good learning efficiency.

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