International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS) | Volume VI, Issue VIII, August 2022 | ISSN 2454–6186
Language Anxiety Variables and Their Negative Effects on SLA: A Psychosocial Reality in Bangladesh
Souvik Barua
Department of English, Chittagong Independent University
Abstract: The study aimed to explore the psychological and socio-cultural factors that contribute to situation-specific anxiety and impede second language acquisition (SLA). It collected data from a survey questionnaire, semi-structured interviews, and focus group discussions with 39 Bangladeshi EFL learners at the tertiary level. The findings indicate that situation-specific anxiety has a negative impact on the acquisition of a second language. This language anxiety stems from distinct personality traits, including fear of public speaking, fear of making mistakes, fear of being negatively judged by teachers and peers, lack of self-confidence, peer comparison, fear of native cultural exclusion, and an overall unfavorable classroom environment. The results imply several psychosocial and individual perspectives which cannot be ignored in the essential concept of second language acquisition. Teachers may use this study as a reference to assist their students in generating better ideas and understanding second language acquisition from the perspective of the learners.
Keywords: psycho-social variables of anxiety, Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale, English as a foreign or second language, foreign language learning, Bangladeshi EFL learners
I. LANGUAGE ANXIETY VARIABLES AND THEIR NEGATIVE EFFECTS ON SLA: A PSYCHOSOCIAL REALITY IN BANGLADESH
Anxiety is a physical and psychological reaction to a perceived threat or situation. It has both cognitive and controlling components and influences your capacity for thought and information processing. The definition of anxiety, according to Casado and Dereshiwsky (2001), ranges from scientifically observable behaviors to difficult-to-define emotions. It is among the most significant and unavoidable factors that can slow down the SLA procedure. It is, in a broad sense, the subjective experience of tension, fear, nervousness, and worry that results from autonomic nervous system activation (Spielberger, 1983). It stems from the fear of losing one’s self-identity and pursues the goals, careers, and lifestyle of an individual. Language anxiety is presumed to be common at the micro level in Bangladesh as a result of functional communication and practices in classrooms, minimal access to the foreign or second language beyond the classrooms, the communicators’ use of their mother tongue, and a wide range of other psychological and socio-cultural factors.
The majority of previous discourses on negative emotions in educational settings has centered on anxiety (Daubney,