An Empirical Study Of Rural Middle School,English Learning Anxiety

With the reform and development o f education syste m, China emphas izes theimportance of middle school students’ English learning more and more. Students inrural areas are required to have English courses just as students do in more deve lopedareas. Serio us anxiety a mong students in these areas are more likely to be observed.Therefore, students in these areas should deserve more attention for their futureeducation and career development. In recent years, researches on foreign languageanxiety increased in China. However, empirica l researches on students’ Englishlearning anxiety in rura l middle schools are limited. Therefore, this study exp lores thepresent status of students’ English learning anxiety and influenc ing factors by us ingthe research methods of interview and questionnaire in order to answer the followingtwo research questions:1) What is the basic status of students’ English learning anxiety in rural middleschool of Xiangxi?2) What factors will influence students’ Englis h learning anxiety in rural middleschool?The “FLCAS” scale proposed by Horwitz was adopted for the study; the scale wasadapted and modified slightly according to the practica l s ituation based on interviewwith5students,5teachers and5parents. Then380students from the rural middleschool(Central Primary School of Luxi County) were tested by questionna ire for thestudy. Data were analyzed and summarized to check the anxiety leve l and identify thefactors related to the phenomenon. The results are as follows:(1) Students in rural middle schools generally experience Englis h learning anxiety.Most of the m are in the moderate leve l of English anxiety. Compared with the resultsof previous studies, students’ anxiety level is higher in this study.(2) It finds that the level o f anxiety is increasing gradually fro m grade seven to gradenine in this study, and students from grade nine have the most serious English learninganxiety because they face great pressure from a ll aspects; Boys’ anxiety is higher thanthat of girls in Xiangxi rural middle schools.(3) The influencing factors of midd le school students’ Englis h learning anxietyinclude both external factors and internal factors. Externa l factors inc ludes classroomfactor, learning activities and teaching methods, fa mily and socia l as pects and cultura lbackground. Internal factors are subjective self-orientation, students’ characters. They all have influence on students’ English learning anxiety.Based on the results of the research, suggestions are put forward to reduce theanxiety and support English teaching effect in rural middle schools.