The link between Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety, Second Language Tolerance of Ambiguity and Self-rated English proficiency among Chinese learners

摘要

Previous research has suggested that high levels of Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety(FLCA) have a negative effect on foreign language learning (Horwitz, 2001; Lu & Liu,2011) while moderate levels of Second Language Tolerance of Ambiguity (SLTA) are believedto boost foreign language learning (Ely, 1995). There is prima facie evidence thatboth dimensions are inversely related as Foreign Language Learning contexts are full ofambiguities which may contribute to anxiety. However, the relationship between FLCAand SLTA has been under-researched. The present study is an attempt to fill this gap byinvestigating the link between SLTA and FLCA in English of 73 secondary school studentsin Hong Kong. They filled out an online questionnaire consisting of the Foreign LanguageClassroom Anxiety Scale (Horwitz, Horwitz, & Cope, 1986) and the Second LanguageTolerance of Ambiguity Scale (Ely, 1995). Statistical analyses revealed that FLCA,SLTA and Self-rated English proficiency predict half of the variance in each other; in otherwords, students who were more tolerant of second language ambiguity were lessanxious in their EFL classes and they also felt more proficient.