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Second Language Learning Anxiety And Language Mindsets, Brielle Marlow

Senior Honors Theses

In the field of teaching English as a second language, second language learning anxiety (SLLA) arises frequently in students. This anxiety is defined as a situational anxiety that is mainly due to communication apprehension, a fear of negative evaluation, and test anxiety; however, its definition is not limited to simply the fears students face. SLLA influences language acquisition in overwhelmingly negative ways. Reduction of SLLA should be teachers’ primary goal, which is possible when teachers shape language mindsets for the benefit of student learning. Language mindsets are learners’ view on whether their language abilities are fixed or able to be …