Children's Language Anxiety In English Learning And The Relevant Countermeasures

Foreign language anxiety is a complex phenomenon that has been scrutinized in many previous studies either qualitative or quantitative. With advance in both theory and measurements, research on anxiety has enabled more consistent findings as to its nature and effects. Nevertheless, anxiety in the Chinese contexts has fallen into neglect and studies have been meager, hence making it a fertile field for the researchers. The present thesis is an attempt to find out an effective way to solve the affective problems, esp. anxiety, in learning a foreign language, using some basic theories on affective factors, so as to improve our English teaching.For the purpose of exploring the characteristics of the foreign language anxiety experienced by the English learners in Chinese primary schools, This current study, based on the literature review of the related researches ,through questionnaire and statistical analysis, discusses the relationship between language anxiety and classroom environment .Having examined 141 subjects who were selected from Wenqing Experimental primary school in Ganzhou, Jiangxi, the author attempted to find out answers to these questions: What are the characteristics of foreign language anxiety experienced by Chinese primary school students? What impact does anxiety have on language learning? What role should a teacher play in minimizing child learners' anxiety? It is proposed that the students possess certain features pertain to the particular circumstances in Chinese primary schools.The anxiety scale applied in the study was the Foreign Language Anxiety Scales by Horwitz et al and the measurements for language achievements of the students were the mid-term test scores. The FLCAS was distributed to the students in Wenqing primary school in April 2005 and collected as soon as they finished. Raw answers of the 141 subjects to the test were obtained in May 2005 and then scores were calculated for statistical analyses later.From the questionnaires on students' language anxiety, the writer finds out some basic causes leading to their anxiety in foreign language learning. They are the fear of...