Preservice EFL teachers’ online learning anxiety

Year 2022, , 75 - 107, 22.06.2022

Rabia İrem Durmuş , Nalan Kızıltan

https://doi.org/10.47216/literacytrek.1120060

Abstract

With a prompt rise in the development of technology and with the advent of the internet in the 1990s, walls of classrooms have been demolished by the innovations of the current century. These developments also breathe new life into foreign language education and change the concept of the classroom while casting challenging roles for both learners and instructors, which ends up a new type of education on the stage of online education platforms. This brand-new way of foreign language learning has brought about extra anxiety in learners. In order to find out the reasons for foreign language anxiety, which affects learners’ process of foreign language learning in the online world, a total number of 75 undergraduate foreign language learners (n=75) who are taking online oral communication courses in the English Language Teacher Education Program (the Spring of the academic year 2019-2020) at Ondokuz Mayıs University in Turkey are involved in this research voluntarily. This study aims to investigate what kind of effects online learning has on foreign language learners’ anxiety in the process of online foreign language education, what the challenges are for online foreign language learners, how learners perceive online foreign language education, and what the learners' perceived reasons are for anxiety in an online foreign language learning environment through semi-structured interview forms. Certain significant factors which affect learners’ foreign language learning anxiety in an online world context have been determined. Some certain suggestions are made to alleviate the foreign language anxiety levels of the learners in online foreign language learning contexts.

Keywords

foreign language learning anxiety, online education, undergraduate learners

References

• Ahmadi, A., & Sadeghi, E. (2016). Assessing English language learner’s oral performance: a comparison of monologue, interview, and group oral test. Language Assessment Quarterly. 13(4), 341–358.
• Amichai-Hamburger, Y. (2002). Internet and personality. Computers in Human Behavior, 18, 1-10.
• Anderson, L., & Williams, L. (2011). The use of new technologies in the French curriculum: A national survey. The French Review, 84, 764-781.
• Aida, Y. (1994). Examination of Horwitz, Horwitz, and Cope’s construct of foreign language anxiety: the case of students of Japanese. The Modern Language Journal, 78(2), 155–168.
• Arnold, J., & Brown, H. D. (1999). A map of the terrain. In J. Arnold (ed.) Affect in language learning. (pp. 1-24). Cambridge University Press.
• Aslim-Yetiş, V., & Çapan, S. (2013). L’anxiétélangagière chez des étudiantsturcsapprenant le français. The Journal of International Social Research, 6, 14-26.
• Ay, S. (2010). Young adolescent students' foreign language anxiety in relation to language skills at different levels. The Journal of International Social Research, 3(11), 83-91.
• Balemir, S. H. (2009). The sources of foreign language speaking anxiety and the relationship between proficiency level and degree of foreign language speaking anxiety. Unpublished MA thesis. Bilkent University, Ankara
• Baralt, M. (2011). Comparing learners’ state anxiety during task-based interaction in computer-mediated and face-to-face communication. Language Teaching Research, 15(2) .201–229.
• Beebe, R., Vonderwell, S., & Marius, B. (2010). Emerging patterns in transferring assessment practices from F2f to online environments. Electronic Journal of e-Learning, 8(1).
• Bekleyen, N. (2009). Helping teachers become better English students: Causes, effects, and coping strategies for foreign language listening anxiety. System, 37 (4), 664-675.
• Blake, R. (2008). Brave new digital classroom: technology and foreign language learning. Georgetown University Press.
• Brown, S., Fuller, R., & Vician, C. (2004). Who's afraid of the virtual world? Anxiety and computer-mediated communication. Journal of the Association for Information Systems, 5(2), 79–107.
• Brindley, J., Walti, C., & Blaschke, L. (2009). Creating effective collaborative learning groups in an online environment introduction. International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning, 10(3), 1–18.
• Bryman, A. (2016). Social research methods (5th ed.). Oxford University Press.
• Bolliger, D., & Halupa, C. (2012). Student perceptions of satisfaction and anxiety in an online doctoral program. Distance Education, 33(1), 81–98.
• Burger, W. P. (2013). Exploring the complex computer-mediated communication needs of learners in a multilingual, multicultural online learning environment. North Carolina State University.
• Capdeferro, N., & Romero, M. (2012). Are online learners frustrated with collaborative learning experiences? International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning, 13(2), 26–44.
• Chastain, K. (1988). Developing second-language skills, Theory and practice. Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Inc.
• Chametzky, B. (2013). Offsetting the affective filter: A classic grounded theory study of post-secondary online foreign language learners. Doctoral Dissertation, San Diego: Northcentral University.
• Chametzky, B. (2019). The online world languages anxiety scale (OWLAS). Creative Education, 10, 59-77.
• Chametzky, B., & Shaw, M. (2009). Activities to integrate Internet usage in college foreign language classes. Ubiquitous Learning: An International Journal, 2(1), 13-20.
• Creswell, J. W. (2014). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches. (4th Ed.). Sage Publications.
• Coke, P. (2009). When digital natives hate technology: Using digital wisdom to confront resistance in the composition classroom. California English, 75(1), 6-8.
• Coole, H., & Watts, M. (2009). Communal e-learning styles in the online classroom. Research in Education, 52(1), 13-27.
• Day, D., & Lloyd, M. (2007). Affordances of online technologies: More than the properties of the technology. Australian Educational Computing, 22(2), 17- 21.
• de Jong, T. (2010). Cognitive load theory, educational research, and instructional design: Some food for thought. Instructional Science, 38(2), 105-134.
• Donelan, H., & Kear, K. (2018). Creating and collaborating: Students' and tutors' perceptions of an online group project. International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning, 19(2), 37–54.
• Drewelow, I., & Theobald, A. (2007). A comparison of the attitudes of learners, instructors, and native French speakers about the pronunciation of French: An exploratory study. Foreign Language Annals, 40(3), 491-520.
• Duncan, M., Smith, M., & Cook, K. (2013). Implementing online problem-based learning (PBL) in postgraduates new to both online learning and PBL: An example from strength and conditioning. Journal of Hospitality, Leisure, Sports and Tourism Education, 12(1), 79–84.
• Egbert, J., Huff, L., McNeil, L., Preuss, C., & Sellen, J. (2009). Pedagogy, process and classroom context: Integrating teacher voice and experience into research on technology-enhanced language learning. The Modern Language Journal, 93, 754-768.
• Eldred, M. (1984). An external undergraduate degree program. In M. S. Knowles (Ed.), Andragogy in action: Applying modern principles of adult learning, (pp. 131- 140). Jossey-Bass.
• Federman, E. J. (2019). Interruptions in online training and their effects on learning. European Journal of Training and Development, 43. 470-484.
• Gardner, R. C., Smythe, P. C., Clement, R., & Gliksman, L. (1976). Second language acquisition: A social psychological perspective. The Canadian Modern Language Review, 32,198-273.
• Gregersen, T. & Macintyre, P.O. (2014). Capitalizing on language learners' individuality: From premise to practice. Multilingual Matters.
• Hamilton, M. (2009). Teacher and student perception of e-learning in EFL. In M. Evans (Ed.), Education and digital technology: Foreign language learning with digital technology (pp. 149-173). Continuum.
• Hamouda, A. (2012). An exploration of causes of Saudi students' reluctance to participate in the English language classroom. International Journal of English Language Education, 1(1), 1-34.
• Hartnett, M. (2015). Influences that undermine learners' perceptions of autonomy, competence and relatedness in an online context. Australasian Journal of Educational Technology, 31(1), 86–99.
• Hauck, M., & Hurd, S. (2005). Exploring the link between language anxiety and learner self management in open language learning contexts. European Journal of Open, Distance and e-Learning. Available at http://www.eurodl.org/materials/contrib/2005/Mirjam_Hauck.html
• Hillard, J., Kear, K., Donelan, H., & Heaney, C. (2020). Students’ experiences of anxiety in an assessed, online, collaborative project. Computers & Education,143. 103-675.
• Horwitz, E. K., Horwitz, M. B., & Cope, J. (1986). Foreign language classroom anxiety. The Modern Language Journal, 70(2), 125-132.
• Horwitz, E. K. (1986). Preliminary evidence for the reliability and validity of a foreign language anxiety scale. TESOL Quarterly, 20(3), 559-562.
• Horwitz, E. K. (1999). Cultural and situational influences on foreign language learners' beliefs about language learning: A review of BALLI studies. System, 27(4), 557-576.
• Horwitz, E. K. (2001). Language anxiety and achievement. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, 21, 112-126.
• Hurd, S. (2006). Towards a better understanding of the dynamic role of the distance language learner: Learner perceptions of personality, motivation, roles, and approaches. Distance Education, 27(3), 303-329.
• Hurd, S. (2007). Anxiety and non-anxiety in a distance language learning environment: The distance factor as a modifying influence. System, 35 (4), 487-508.
• I-Jung, C., & Chi-Cheng, C. (2009). Cognitive load theory: An empirical study of anxiety and task performance in language learning. Electronic Journal of Research in Educational Psychology, 7(2), 729-745.
• Jashapara, A., & Tai, W.-C. (2011). Knowledge mobilization through e-Learning systems: Understanding the mediating roles of self-efficacy and anxiety on perceptions of ease of use. Information Systems Management, 28, 71-83.
• Jauregi, K., de Graaff, R., van den Bergh, H., & Kriz, M. (2012). Native/non-native speaker interactions through video-web communication: A clue for enhancing motivation? Computer Assisted Language Learning, 25(1), 12-19.
• Kiliç-Çakmak, E., Karatas, S., & Ocak, M. (2009). An analysis of factors affecting community college students’ expectations one-Learning [sic]. Quarterly Review of Distance Education, 10, 351-363.
• Knowles, M. S. (1984). Introduction: The art and science of helping adults learn. In M. S. Knowles (Ed.), Andragogy in action: Applying modern principles of adult learning, (pp. 1-21), Jossey-Bass.
• Kostina, M. (2013). Student autonomy and satisfaction in a web-based foreign language distance learning classroom. Distance Learning, 10(1), 31-38.
• Kozar, O. (2015): Perceptions of webcam use by experienced online teachers and learners: aseeming disconnect between research and practice, Computer Assisted Language Learning, 29(4), 779-789.
• Lazarus, R. (2000). How emotions influence performance in competitive sports. The Sport Psychologist, 14(3), 229–252.
• Liu, M. (2006). Anxiety in Chinese EFL students at different proficiency levels. System, 34(3), 301-316.
• Marcelli, A., Gaveau, D., & Tokiwa, R. (2005). Use of videoconferencing in a FLE program: Communicative tasks and oral interactions. Alsic, 8, 185-203.
• Martin. C., Alvarez Valvidia, I. M. (2017). Students’ feedback beliefs and anxiety in online foreign language oral tasks. International Journal of Educational Technology in Higher Education. 14(1).
• Malkki, K. (2010). Building on Mezirow’s theory of transformative learning: Theorizing the challenges to reflection. Journal of transformative education, 5(1), 42-62.
• McBrien, J., Cheng, R., & Jones, P. (2009). Virtual spaces: Employing a synchronous online classroom to facilitate student engagement in online learning. The International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning, 10(2), 1-17.
• McConnell, D. (2005). Examining the dynamics of networked e-learning groups and communities. Studies in Higher Education, 30(1), 25–42.
• Meister, J., & Willyerd, K. (2010). Looking ahead at social learning: 10 predictions. T+D, 64(7), 34-41.
• Mezirow, J. (2000). Learning as transformation: Critical perspectives on a theory in progress. Jossey-Bass Publishers.
• Moore, J. L., Dickson-Deane, C., & Galyen, K. (2011). Internet and higher education e learning, online learning, and distance learning environments: Are they the same?. The Internet and Higher Education, 14(2), 129–135.
• Nsomwe-a-nfunkwa, B. (2010). Sharing the obstacles to distance education at the University of Kinshasa. Distance Learning, 7(4), 83-85.
• Oguz, A., & Bahar, H. (2008). The importance of using authentic materials in prospective foreign language teacher training. Pakistan Journal of Social Sciences, 5(4), 328- 336.
• Okay, A., & Balcikanli, C. (2017). Belief patterns and anxiety levels of Turkish EFL students in relation to level of instruction. i-Manager’s Journal on Educational Psychology, 11(2), 18–28.
• Peng, H., Tsai, C. C., & Wu, Y. T. (2006). University students’ self-efficacy and their attitudes toward the Internet: the role of students’ perceptions of the Internet. Educational Studies, 32(1), 73–86.
• Pichette, F. (2009). Second language anxiety and distance language learning. Foreign Language Annals, 42, 77-93.
• Pino, D. (2008). Web-based English as a second language instruction and learning: Strengths and limitations. Distance Learning, 5(2), 65-71.
• Prenksy, M. (2001). Digital natives, digital immigrants. On the Horizon, 9(5), 1-6.
• Rassaei, E. (2015). Oral corrective feedback, foreign language anxiety and L2 development. System, 49(1), 98-109.
• Rogerson-Revell, P. (2007). Directions in e-learning tools and technologies and their relevance to online distance language education. Open Learning, 22(1), 57-74.
• Rovai, A., & Wighting, M. (2005). Feelings of alienation and community among higher education learners in a virtual classroom. Internet and Higher Education, 8, 97–110.
• Saade, R., & Kira, D. (2009). Computer anxiety in e-learning: The effect of computer self efficacy. Journal of Information Technology, 8, 177-191.
• Scovel, T. (1978) The effect of affect on foreign language learning: A review of the anxiety research. Language Learning, 28, 129-142.
• Saito, Y., & Samimy, K. K. (1996). Foreign language anxiety and language performance: A study of learner anxiety in beginning, intermediate, and advanced-level college students of Japanese. Foreign Language Annals, 29(2), 239-249.
• Salcedo, C. S. (2010). Comparative analysis of learning outcomes in face-to-face foreign language classes vs. language lab and online. Journal of College Teaching & Learning, 7, 43-54.
• Simonson, M., & Schlosser, L. A. (2009). Distance education: Definition and glossary of terms. Information Age Publishing.
• Sun, S. (2014). Learner perspectives on fully online language learning. Distance Education, 35(1), 18-42.
• Swan, K., & Shih, L.F. (2005). On the nature and development of social presence in online course discussions. Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks, 9(3), 115–136.
• Symeonides, R., & Childs, C. (2015). The personal experience of online learning: An interpretative phenomenological analysis. Computers in Human Behavior, 51(A), 539–545.
• Talebinejad, M. R., & Nekouei, R. (2013). The relationship between foreign language anxiety and belief toward FLL among children EFL learners. Basic Research Journal Education Research and Review, 2(3), 49-54.
• Telles, J.A. (2010). Do we really need a webcam? The uses that foreign language students make out of webcam images during tele tandem sessions. Letras & Letras, 25(2), 65-79.
• Tsai, C.C., & Lin, C.-C. (2004). Taiwanese adolescents’ perceptions and attitudes regarding the Internet: exploring gender differences. Adolescence, 39,725–734.
• Wijekumar, K., Meyer, B., Wagoner, D., & Ferguson, L. (2006). Technology affordances: The 'real story' in research with K-12 and undergraduate learners. British Journal of Educational Technology, 37(2), 191-209.
• Woodrow, L. (2011). College English writing affect: Self-efficacy and anxiety. System, 39(4), 510-522.
• Xiao, J. (2012). Successful and unsuccessful distance language learners: An ‘affective’ perspective. Open Learning, 27(2), 121-136.
• Zembylas, M. (2008). Adult learners' emotions in online learning. Distance Education, 29(1), 71–87.
• Zhang, X. (2013). Foreign language listening anxiety and foreign language academic listening proficiency: Conceptualization and causal relations. System, 41(1), 164-177.
• Zhang, X., & Cui, G. (2010). Learning beliefs of distance foreign language learners in China: A survey study. System, 38(1), 30-40.
• Zhang, L. J., & Rahimi, M. (2014). EFL learner’s anxiety level and their beliefs about corrective feedback in oral communication classes. System, 42(1), 429–439.