The influence of native language on the treatment of language anxiety among an English-as-a-second-language-speaking population.

摘要

The purpose of this study was to (a) determine the effectiveness of 1 type of cognitive behavioral therapy in the treatment of language anxiety (language anxiety is defined as the feeling of tension, worry, apprehension, and nervousness associated with communicating in a foreign or second language); and (b) determine the relationship between treatment effectiveness and its administration in native/first language versus second language.; Forty-three native Spanish-speaking participants were recruited from adult English-as-a-Second-Language programs. In order to induce language anxiety, participants were told that they will read a short passage of English out loud after they completed the questionnaires. The participants were assessed for their pretest level of language anxiety, then they listened to 1 of 4 tapes: (a) Spanish version of the cognitive behavioral intervention (treatment), (b) Spanish version of a story (no treatment), (c) English version of the cognitive behavioral intervention (treatment), and (d) English version of a story (no treatment). The cognitive behavioral intervention (the treatment groups) used in this study is a combination of a behavioral technique called progressive relaxation and a cognitive technique called cognitive restructuring. After listening to the tape, they were again assessed for their level of language anxiety and their experience listening to their respective tape. When they completed the assessment instruments, they were read a debriefing statement which informed them that they would not be reading a passage out loud and explained the rationale for the deception. They were then offered an opportunity to ask any questions.; Although there was some evidence of reduction in anxiety among the treatment groups, there was no statistically significant difference found among the four groups.