A Survey On English Learning Anxiety Of Senior High School Students Of Zhuang Nationality In Guangxi

With the development of Humanist Psychology and foreign language teaching,the importance of emotional factors in language learning has attracted more and more attention from linguistic researchers.Anxiety,as one of the most important emotional factors,has significant influence on the effects on foreign language learning.The study of language anxiety abroad started in the 1960 s.The researches of foreign language anxiety in China started relatively late,although relative studies have developed fast and the research subjects have become various in recent years,the studies of English learning anxiety of minority high school students are quite rare.Zhuang is a minority with the largest population in China whose people mainly settle in Guangxi.With the impact of the remote living environment,relatively backward education development and the ethnic language,Zhuang students encounter greater difficulties in learning English,which make them feel more anxious.Therefore,the present study is designed to explore the following questions:(1)What is the overall situation of English learning anxiety of senior high school students of Zhuang nationality?(2)What are the differences in English learning anxiety between Zhuang students from Senior One and Senior Two?(3)What are the causes of English learning anxiety of Zhuang senior high school students?To fulfil these research objectives,this study adopted a combination of quantitative methodology and qualitative methodology.A quantitative study was conducted to investigate the English learning anxiety among Zhuang senior high school students.Thequestionnaire combined the individual basic information and Horwitz(1986)' Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale(FLCAS).The questionnaire survey was conducted among 782 students from three senior high schools of county-level in Guangxi(Dahua High School,Du'an High School,and Ma Shan Middle School).The data collected were calculated through the SPSS 22.0.And semi-structured interviews were used to collect qualitative data from students and teachers,to further complement the quantitative results.It will help to clarify the English learning anxiety of students and explore the causes of English learning anxiety.The findings are 1)there exists a relatively high level of English learning anxiety among Zhuang senior high school students in Guangxi,and communication apprehension is the most serious one.2)the anxiety level of Senior One is slightly higher than that of Senior Two,but there is no significant difference.3)lack of confidence,tests,teacher-student relationships,classroom atmosphere and language beliefs are the main causes of English learning anxiety.Based on the Humanistic Approach and Krashen's Affective Filter Hypothesis,some practical teaching implications will be put forward from the aspects of stratified teaching and emotion input to alleviate English learning anxiety of senior high school students of Zhuang nationality.At the same time,it is hoped that this study will attract more attention from linguistic researchers and teachers engaged in minority areas.