Foreign language anxiety is a type of anxiety that is tied to foreign language learning settings. In the literature, there are mixed findings about the debilitative effect of foreign language...Show moreForeign language anxiety is a type of anxiety that is tied to foreign language learning settings. In the literature, there are mixed findings about the debilitative effect of foreign language anxiety on L2 performance and L2 fluency. Moreover, it is unclear how foreign language anxiety affects L2 speech processing. The following study investigates the effect of foreign language anxiety on L1 Dutch L2 English learners’ fluency. By means of an experiment, the L2 learners performed two speaking tasks in both a high and a low-anxiety condition. Their L2 utterance fluency was explored quantitatively by means of temporal measures, whereas their cognitive fluency was explored qualitatively with stimulated recalls. In the high-anxiety condition, the L2 learners reported that they felt more anxious and judged their performance as lower. However, there was no difference in L2 utterance fluency between the conditions. The stimulated recalls did reveal a difference in the number and quality of processing issues between the anxiety conditions. Therefore, the exact target of foreign language anxiety in L2 learners remains obscure and it is fruitful to further explore its effect in L2 performance and L2 learners and find successful implementations to reduce foreign language anxiety in the classroom.Show less
Research master thesis | Linguistics (research) (MA)
open access
This thesis investigates implicit accuracy, which is considered the ability to use structures and rules that have become internalized and can thus be uttered easily, and explicit accuracy, defined...Show moreThis thesis investigates implicit accuracy, which is considered the ability to use structures and rules that have become internalized and can thus be uttered easily, and explicit accuracy, defined as the presence of linguistic items learnt by the L2 speaker that have not yet been transferred in implicit accuracy. To investigate in what respect L1, beginning L2 and advanced L2 speakers of Dutch differ in terms of implicit accuracy, spontaneous speech was elicited by two speech tasks. Speech performances were transcribed and coded for accuracy. Types of errors were marked and by use of five measures, implicit accuracy was investigated. Two MANOVAs were run to examine how L1 and L2 accuracy differs and how lower and higher proficient L2 accuracy differs. Significant differences with respect to error density and error type density were found. Correction of error was not found to differ significantly across groups of speakers. The qualitative analysis delved into explicit accuracy, which was examined by stimulated recall sessions: participants were asked to listen carefully to their own speech and to comment on errors, hesitations and the overall process of speaking. These comments were categorized by the researcher. Chi square analyses revealed that as proficiency increases, participants report less on lexical problems but more on affined aspects as task-related issues. L1 speakers specifically report mainly on issues of focus and temporal planning. This study confirms that both implicit and explicit accuracy differs across L1 and L2 speakers and across lower and higher proficient L2 speakers.Show less
