Corpus-based Analysis in Foreign Language Anxiety: A Systematic Review

This study presents a systematic literature review of Foreign Language Anxiety (FLA) research spanning four decades (1986–2026), aiming to identify prevailing trends, methodological patterns and research gaps, especially in relation to corpus-based studies. Guided by the PRISMA framework, five databases, namely Scopus, Web of Science, ERIC, PsycINFO and Google Scholar, were systematically searched using keywords related to FLA and language learning anxiety. A total of 120 peer-reviewed studies met the inclusion criteria. Findings reveal a dominant reliance on psychometric instruments, particularly the Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (FLCAS), with limited integration of linguistic or corpus-based evidence. Emerging themes include contextual expansion into online and intercultural learning environments, technology-mediated anxiety and intervention strategies such as mindfulness and peer mentoring. Despite methodological diversity, the field remains survey-centric, with minimal discourse-level validation. The review highlights critical gaps in corpus-based approaches and cross-cultural comparisons, underscoring the need for multimodal and data-driven methodologies. This synthesis provides a foundation for future empirical research integrating psychometric and linguistic analyses to advance understanding of FLA in evolving digital contexts.

Foreign Language Anxiety; Systematic Literature Review; Corpus-Based Analysis; Psychometric Methods; Digital Learning

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