The effect of situational and contextual variables on Taiwanese university students' self-perceived language learning anxiety levels in the EFL classroom

The problem. The purpose of this study was to investigate, using a foreign language anxiety scale, the self-perceived anxiety levels of Taiwanese EFL university students speaking English under different contextual conditions, including: in class and outside of class, presenting individually and in groups, and learning English in formal and informal situations.;Method. This study employed a quasi-experimental, within group design. A total of 191 Taiwanese EFL university students with different majors at freshman and sophomore level participated in this study and completed two survey questionnaires for the data collection. A Background Information Questionnaire was used in order to obtain demographic information about the participants' backgrounds and English learning experiences. A Language Anxiety Questionnaire was used in order to assess the participants' self-perceived anxiety levels of speaking English under the different contextual conditions.;Results. The results of this study demonstrated that: (1) students had a higher level of self reported anxiety speaking English in class than outside of the classroom; (2) students making oral presentations individually tended to have a higher level of self reported anxiety than students making oral presentations in groups; and (3) students learning English in formal situations tended to have a higher level of self reported anxiety than students learning English in informal situations.;This study examined Taiwanese foreign language learners' opinions and attitudes toward anxiety in a language classroom through questionnaires and provided a framework that will help language educators and language learners acquire a better understanding of the effect of different contextual conditions on Taiwanese EFL university students' language learning anxiety levels in a language classroom. Further research is needed to determine the differential effects of low and moderate student anxiety levels on student language learning in various formal and informal contexts.