The Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale and Academic Achievement: An Overview of the Prevailing Literature and a Meta-analysis

Authors

  • Eloise Botes University of Luxembourg
  • Jean-Marc Dewaele Birkbeck, University of London
  • Samuel Greiff University of Luxembourg

Keywords:

foreign language classroom anxiety, language learning anxiety, academic achievement, individual differences in language learning

Abstract

Foreign language learners experience a unique type of anxiety during the language learning process: Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety (FLCA). This situation-specific anxiety is frequently examined alongside academic achievement in foreign language courses. The present meta-analysis examined the relationship between FLCA measured through the Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (FLCAS) and five forms of academic achievement: general academic achievement and four competency-specific outcome scores (reading-, writing-, listening-, and speaking academic achievement). A total of k = 99 effect sizes were analysed with an overall sample size of N = 14,128 in a random-effects model with Pearson correlation coefficients. A moderate negative correlation was found between FLCA and all categories of academic achievement (e.g., general academic achievement: r = -.39; k = 59; N = 12,585). The results of this meta-analysis confirm the negative association between FLCA and academic achievement in foreign language courses.

Published

2020-06-26 — Updated on 2020-06-29

How to Cite

Botes, E., Dewaele, J.-M., & Greiff, S. (2020). The Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale and Academic Achievement: An Overview of the Prevailing Literature and a Meta-analysis. JOURNAL FOR THE PSYCHOLOGY OF LANGUAGE LEARNING, 2(1), 26-56. Retrieved from https://www.jpll.org/index.php/journal/article/view/botesetal

Issue

Vol. 2 No. 1 (2020)

Section

Research Articles

Copyright (c) 2020 Authors

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