5 Language Learning Fears
How you can help students overcome Foreign Language Anxiety to improve speaking proficiency
Irene was hyperventilating.
I knew she was shy, but after teaching her for three years, I also knew she was capable. Full of excuses, she had avoided completing her latest voice recording assignment. So, on the last day before Spring Break, I firmly ushered her to a quiet corner and told her, “No more excuses! Get your recording done!!”
Three minutes later I was on my knees, holding a paper bag to her face, emergency response team en route. What to me was a 2 minute, routine assignment was to her a crippling, anxiety-invoking catastrophe requiring literal medical intervention!
While Irene’s reaction is extreme, most language teachers can attest to the negative impact of stress on speaking proficiency. Otherwise high-performing students seem to forget all their target language knowledge the moment they are asked to speak.
“What to me was a 2 minute, routine assignment was to her a crippling, anxiety-invoking catastrophe requiring literal medical intervention.”
This phenomenon is well-documented by researchers. In 1986, Elaine Horowitz et. al. published the ground-breaking study “Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety”, which documented an inverse relationship between stress level and language production. Since then, researchers have identified specific factors that lead to the particularly high stress some students feel when asked to speak. As classroom teachers, identifying students’ fears and take steps to reduce is an important step in improving speaking proficiency.
Fear #1: The fear of being embarrassed in front of peers
“I’m nervous that I’ll sound dumb saying it, that I’ll just embarrass myself”
Any time students are asked to perform in front of their peers, stress becomes a factor. A key example is having students present one-by-one in front of class. This approach is time-consuming, and (let’s face it) it’s boring to listen to 27 of your classmates stumble through speeches over three days. Worse, many students are so stressed by the prospect of presenting that they hear literally nothing as they wait in terror for their own dreaded turn.
Solution: Recordings and Gallery Walks
Instead of asking students to speak in front of their peers, have them make a recording. Advantages include:
Kids can work in private, in a more comfortable environment
Students can record several times until they are happy with their performance. This has the added benefit of getting them to practice!
The teacher is not under pressure to give feedback in real time
Students can go back and listen to their recordings, allowing opportunities for self-evaluation, application of teacher feedback, and benchmarks of progress over time.
After recording, have students display their work on laptops placed around the classroom, library, or other common space. Then, ask students to circulate and choose a given number of their peers’ recordings, while completing a brief written assignment. This approach is effective because:
Students have choice and flexibility.
It incorporates physical movement, which is correlated with many positive instructional outcomes
Recordings that aren’t very good can be omitted, saving valuable instructional time.
Exceptional recordings from other classes can be incorporated into the gallery walk
If a physical gallery walk is not feasible, give students a list of links to choose from.
The ‘recording / gallery walk’ format has all the benefits of the ‘stand up and present in front of the class’ format, but is more time efficient, more engaging, and less stressful for students.
Fear #2: The fear of getting a bad grade
This is an all-consuming worry for some students. Ironically, an outsized focus on grades can result in tongue-tied, speech.
The solution: low stakes assignments, self-evaluation, and focus on growth.
Ease the pressure with frequent, low-stakes assignments. Teaching students to focus on growth, to objectively evaluate their own performance, and to set their own goals are powerful instructional practices that set students on a path of lifelong language learning. For ideas on how to do this, visit my blog posts on Teaching Students to Use Feedback and Self-Evaluation and Student-Written Speaking Rubrics.
Fear #3: Unrealistic Expectations
On day 1 of class, most students have no idea what’s really involved in learning a language. They may ask questions about how long it will take to become fluent, or whether they will be able to perform advanced language tasks in a matter of weeks or months. When students do not progress as quickly as expected, they may wrongly conclude they’re not good at languages.
The solution: Teach students about the language learning process
Intentionally teach about language proficiency levels, and have kids evaluate themselves on a proficiency scale. I use this handout, based on the American Council of Teachers of Foreign Languages proficiency scale. We discuss the characteristics of novice and intermediate speakers and what it takes to improve proficiency.
“I feel like a baby. I can’t say anything. ”
During this conversation, students will typically ask, “Madame, what’s YOUR proficiency level?” Be prepared to share a bit about your own language learning journey and model the attitudes we want our students to adopt; all of this faciliates realistic expectations.
Fear #4: Fear of feeling incompetent or unable to communicate
This fear ultimately boils down to frustration with the reality of being a novice speaker. Students struggle with limited vocabulary, difficulty with pronunciation, long pauses, and overall lack of comfort. This is a new and extremely frustrating experience for many students. Helping them navigate it may ultimately determine students’ willingness to continue as language learners.
The solution: Lots of regular practice, teaching students to set their own goals
Students need to practice often and in low-stakes situations to incorporate new vocabulary and deepen their proficiency. ‘Speed dating’ is a great format for this; kids speak on the same prompt for 1-2 minutes at a time with several different partners. This exercise gives multiple practice opportunities without feeling too repetitious, leading to improved fluency.
“I hate it when I can’t get my point across.”
My Conversation Templates product line is a great tool for facilitating interpersonal speaking. These scaffolded, open-ended prompts guide students through a simulated conversation that can be accomplished by even novice speakers. Read more about Writing and Using Conversation Templates for Interpersonal Speaking, or click for a free sample Conversation Template!
As students work through speaking exercises, encourage them to note vocabulary they need to accomplish the task. Then, help students to add these expressions to their active vocabulary by practicing several times with different partners. In these conversations, novice learners will start using casual expressions which are best learned in context. The result is a broader functional vocabulary.
Fear #5: The fear of my mind going blank
For some students, no matter how much they practice or prepare, at the moment of performance their mind goes blank. This becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy and the cycle of fear and failure can be hard to overcome.
The solutions: Use notes and practice circumlocution
In this circumstance, I allow students to use a 3x5 note card as they speak. They can prepare any phrases or notes, but no full sentences. This scaffold is enough to support most students until they develop the confidence to speak without it.
Another solution is intentionally teaching and practicing circumlocution. My blog post on 4 Activities for Teaching Circumlocution shares practical, low-prep activities to accomplish this.
“As long as I have my notes, I’ll be fine.”
Of course, many of these fears are interrelated; unrealistic expectations lead to frustration with limitations, which lead to fear of a bad grade, and so on. By incorporating multiple solutions in your instruction, you can foster a classroom culture that supports students’ oral proficiency.
Remember Irene, the student who hated speaking so much she hyperventilated? Her story has a happy ending. One year later, Irene participated in a French exchange trip where she lived with a French family for 2 weeks. She rose to the challenge of interacting with her host family in French, leading to confidence, deeper proficiency, and lifelong friendships. Irene remains one of my favorite examples of the personal growth world language study can foster; it teaches students to persevere in adversity, to develop creative solutions, and to push through fear to reap rich self-knowledge and unforgettable relationships on the other side!
How do you support students experiencing language learning anxiety? Share in the comments!
