Students’ Foreign-Language Classroom Anxiety at the Department of German Language Teaching Program(a Sample from Anadolu University)

Abstract

This study aimed to assess students’ anxiety levels at the Department of German Language Teaching Program at Anadolu University and examine foreign-language teaching conditions based on various variables. It adopted a survey model and recruited a sample of 70 students from the said department. Quantitative data were obtained using the Questionnaire of Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety developed by Horwitz, Horwitz and Cope (1986) and adapted to Turkish by Aydın and Zengin (2008). Qualitative data, on the other hand, were collected from semistructured interviews. For data analysis, this study applied descriptive statistics, one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), and content analysis. The results showed that students have a medium level of anxiety in foreign languages, and while they receive foreign language lessons, they do not consider themselves competent enough. In addition, students’ gender, type of high school attended, and language level did not influence their anxiety whereas their stay and study abroad and their preparatory year at a university significantly affected it. External factors, such as peer pressure, and internal factors, such as fear of wrongdoing, lack of self-confidence, and embarrassment regarding grammar, word choice, and pronunciation, were also found to contribute to student anxiety.

Keywords

• Anxiety
• foreign language classroom anxiety
• foreign language
• German as a foreign language
• foreign language teaching program

Angstzustände im Fremdsprachenunterricht von Studierenden der Abteilung Deutsch als Fremdsprache auf Lehramt (Am Beispiel Anadolu Universität)

Abstract

Die vorliegende Studie wurde durchgeführt, um die Angstzustände im Fremdsprachenunterricht von Studierenden der Abteilung Deutsch als Fremdsprache auf Lehramt zu ermitteln und die genannten Zustände im Fremdsprachenunterricht anhand verschiedener Variablen zu untersuchen. In der Untersuchung wurde das Survey-Modell verwendet. Insgesamt 70 Studierende, die an der Anadolu Universität Deutsch als Fremdsprache studieren, bilden die Stichprobe der Untersuchung. Die aus der Studie erhaltenen quantitativen Daten wurden mit der „Befragung zur Angst im Fremdsprachenunterricht“ von Horwitz gesammelt, die er mit Horwitz und Cope zusammen (1986) entwickelt hat und die von Aydın und Zengin (2008) ins Türkische übertragen wurde. Die qualitativen Daten dagegen wurden mit einem halbstrukturierten Interviewformular gesammelt. Zur Analyse der Daten wurden deskriptive Statistiken, eine Einweg-Varianzanalyse (One-Way-ANOVA) und eine Inhaltsanalyse verwendet. Aus den Ergebnissen der Studie geht hervor, dass die Fremdsprachenangst der Studierenden auf einem mittleren Niveau liegt. Darüber hinaus wurde der Entschluss gezogen, dass sich das Geschlecht der Studierenden, die Art des besuchten Gymnasiums und das Sprachniveau nicht auf die Angstzustände auswirkt, wohingegen ein Aufenthalt im Ausland, ein Auslandssemester und ein Vorbereitungsjahr an einer Universität erhebliche Auswirkungen auf die Angstzustände aufzeigt. Außerdem wurde festgestellt, dass die Gründe für die Angst der Studierenden durch externe Faktoren wie Gruppenzwang sowie interne Faktoren wie Angst vor Fehlverhalten, mangelndem Selbstvertrauen und Scham in Bezug auf Grammatik, Wortauswahl und Aussprache verursacht wurden.

Keywords

• Angst
• Angstzustände im Fremdsprachenunterricht
• Fremdsprache
• Deutsch als Fremdsprache
• Fremdsprache auf Lehramt

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