Second Language Anxiety

Affective or Linguistic Variable?

Richard L Sparks author

Format:Hardback

Publisher:Multilingual Matters

Publishing:12th Aug '25

£119.95

This title is due to be published on 12th August, and will be despatched as soon as possible.

Second Language Anxiety cover

The first book-length work to examine the relationship between language anxiety, language aptitude and language achievement

This book brings together three decades of research to show that L1 skills and L2 aptitude are confounding variables in studies of language anxiety and that learners’ levels of anxiety for L2 learning are strongly related to their levels of language achievement. It holds the potential to change the ways in which we think about language anxiety.

This book traces and summarises theoretical insights and empirical findings on the topic of whether or not anxiety for language learning could be a causal variable for individual differences in language learning. The author brings together three decades of research to show that first language (L1) skills and second language (L2) aptitude are confounding variables in studies of language anxiety and that learners’ levels of anxiety for L2 learning are strongly related to their levels of language achievement. These findings have suggested that language anxiety instruments reflect students’ (accurate) self-perceptions of their language skills and their levels of L1 achievement and L2 aptitude, but don’t reflect their anxiety. The research presented in this book holds the potential to change the ways in which L2 educators and researchers think about language anxiety, how language anxiety is assessed, how investigations into language anxiety are conducted and how L2 teachers respond to anxiety in the classroom.

This book sheds new light on anxiety as an independent, dependent, or intervening variable in interaction with many others, predicting both learning and communication processes. It is a welcome addition to the individual differences literature that tends to focus on aptitude and motivation. * Robert M. DeKeyser, Professor Emeritus, University of Maryland, USA *
A comprehensive exploration of 33 years of research into the L2 anxiety hypothesis, examining the relationship between L1 skills, L2 aptitude, and language achievement. This volume critically evaluates anxiety measurement tools and offers new insights, making a valuable contribution to the study of individual differences in second language acquisition. * Adriana Biedroń, Pomeranian University in Słupsk, Poland *
Drawing on his wealth of expertise and experience as a researcher and practitioner, Sparks makes a compelling case explaining why the theoretical conceptualisation of L2 anxiety and the most popular measure associated with it are problematic, and why, as a consequence, anxiety cannot be regarded as a direct cause of language learning outcomes. Essential and highly thought-provoking reading for all L2 researchers interested in individual learner differences, this truly is a landmark contribution to our field. * Karen Roehr-Brackin, University of Essex, UK *

ISBN: 9781800418776

Dimensions: unknown

Weight: unknown

312 pages