A Study On English Learning Anxiety Of The First-year Non-English Major College Students

Since the 1970s, an increasing number of foreign language researchers and educators have been conscious of the significance of affective factors in language learning. It has been realized that the success of foreign language learning is influenced largely by affective variables. Among the various affective factors, anxiety stands out as one of the main blocking variable for effective language learning.The present study is designed to probe the English learning anxiety of first-year non-English majors in Jiangxi Normal University. The participants of this study are 212 freshmen (87 male students and 125 female ones) from 4 intact classes. It attempts to explore: (1) the general state of English learning anxiety of non-English major freshmen; (2) the difference in English learning anxiety between students of high proficiency level and those of low proficiency level; (3) the difference in English learning anxiety between male and female students; (4) the correlation between students'English learning anxiety level and their proficiency levels. Both quantitative and qualitative approaches were employed in this study. The SPSS 17.0 was employed for the statistical analysis. Descriptive analysis, independent samples t-test and correlation analysis were used to analyze the data in this study. In qualitative study, four students from high anxiety group and another four from lower level group were selected as interviewees.The study has revealed a number of main findings. Firstly, the results show that there does exist certain amount of English learning anxiety among first-year non-English majors. Language anxiety generally does harm rather than good to Chinese college students in English learning. Secondly, there is significant difference between high proficient students and low proficient ones in three aspects of English learning anxiety. Compared with their high proficient counterparts, low proficient students tended to be more anxious both in class and examinations, more sensitive to others'evaluations and had more negative attitude toward English classes. Thirdly, there was no significant difference in English learning anxiety between male and female students. Female were found to be less anxious than the male students on 4 items in this study. Finally, there was a significant negative relationship between English learning anxiety and students'proficiency level. The lower the students'proficiency level, the higher their language anxieties were.Based on the findings of the study, some suggestions for language teaching are put forward. Firstly, teachers should help students to recognize their language anxiety. A class discussion about language anxiety, journal writing and self-talk are all regarded as good ways to alleviate anxiety. Secondly, it is necessary for English teachers to boost students'self-esteem and self confidence by providing multiple opportunities for classroom success. Besides, correcting students'misconception of language learning and stimulating students'interests in English are also beneficial in rebuilding their self-confidence. Thirdly, cooperative learning model could be used in the language classroom so that all the students of different levels can benefit from it. Finally, teachers should care about students'feelings and pay more attention to the way of error correction, creating a friendly and supportive atmosphere.