Study On English Learning Anxiety Of Senior Three Students And Its Teaching Strategies

Krashen's Affective Filter Hypothesis suggests that learners are distracted by affective factors in second language acquisition, while foreign language anxiety is one of the most important affective variables in it. English curriculum standards clearly points out that negative emotions can not only affect students' study, but also have an effect on their long-term development. The thesis was intended to analyze the English learning anxiety of Senior Three students, the relationship between anxiety and English achievement and the causes of students' anxiety, so the writer could find effective coping strategies of decreasing anxiety to help students transform debilitating anxiety into facilitating anxiety and improve their English achievements.To realize the goal, the writer selected 60 Senior Three students as subjects and understood their levels of anxiety by using the questionnaire. Besides, the writer collected their scores of four mock examinations and the college entrance examination and analyzed the relationship between anxiety and their English achievements. Follow-up interviews were carried out to find the causes of students' learning anxiety. With the previous research results, the writer found five solutions to deal with students' anxiety described·as follows: developing the students' high self-concept; improving the students' tolerance of ambiguity of English learning; creating a harmonious and supportive classroom environment; promoting collaborative learning and correcting the students' attitude toward examinations.The results suggested the students' experienced high learning anxiety, scoring 100.07 in the prior test. The students' English learning anxiety was negatively correlated with learning achievement. Thus, the writer adopted the strategies of relieving students' anxiety and provided timely teaching directions and psychological counseling. Finally, the score of students' anxiety reduced to 90.05 in the post test and achieved satisfied English grades in NMET of 2009. It turned out that the writer's strategies of decreasing students' English learning anxiety were effective, which could help students improve their English achievements and transform debilitating anxiety into facilitating anxiety.