Adviser: Associ. Prof. Dr. Eva Salazar-Liu Presenter: Nai-yi, Chang 張乃懿 Student ID:

Presentation Outline INTRODUCTION LITERATURE REVIEW RESEARCH DESIGN DATA ANALYSIS CONCLUSION 2

Introduction 3

Background of the Study 4

Statement of the Problem Theoretical aspect: “ speaking in the target language seems to be the most threatening aspect on foreign language learning” (Horwitz and Cope,1986) “foreign language anxiety is a phenomenal issue as well as mainly a negative factor” (Liu, 2007) 5

Statement of the Problem (cont.) Practical aspects: Taiwanese EFL learners mostly are bilingual oral interpreters, i.e. English- Chinese When it comes to speaking/ interpreting in foreign language:  Anxious, uncomfortable, panic..etc. 6

Research Motivation  A) Personal(researcher): my own experience of FLA in my oral communication class  B) Lack of studies done in FLA in the area of Interpretation and Translation 7

Research Questions 1. Based on their self-reports, do EFL students experience foreign language anxiety when they practice English-Chinese oral interpretation in class? 2. If they do report experiencing FLA, are there any significant differences in their experiences based on gender? 3. If they do report experiencing FLA, are there any significant differences in their experiences based on classroom environment? 8

Literature Review  Foreign Language Anxiety(FLA) The character of learners’ feeling “tensioned” and suffering from “apprehension” as well as the attitudes presented in second language contexts. (MacIntyre & Gardner, 1994:284)  Anxiety in the classroom from learners perspectives, functions as “a variety of physiological and emotional states” (Burden, 2004) 9

Literature Review “trembling, nervousness, quick heartbeat, distraction, forgetfulness, sweating easily, palpitation and sleep disorder……” are diagnostically believed as the ubiquitous signs possessed by learners with anxiety. Hsu (2004) and Huang (2005) It plays as a significant role on par with “one of the best predictors of success in language learning” (MacIntyre & Gardner, 1991:92) 10

Related Studies  A) Meihua Liu (2007)  B) Jui-Ying Wu(2005)  As mentioned, there is a lack of studies done on FLA in Interpretation and Translation 11

Research Methodology 12

Participants In this study, the participants were 60 DAE seniors chosen by convenience sampling 17 males & 43 females From 2 Oral Interpretation classes 13

Instrument Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale -FLCAS Questionnaire (original version) -33 items -Horwitz et al.,

Five-point Likert scale 15

Instrument (cont.) To fit with the research needs: -The researcher used an adapted version of the FLCAS. Ex: I don’t worry about making mistakes in English class. (into Oral Interpretation Class) -It consisted of 26 items on how anxious foreign language learners feel in the Interpretation classroom. 16

Adapted Version 17

Pilot Test of the Adapted FLCAS St 18

Data Collection The adapted version FLCAS were distributed to the participants from two Oral Interpretation classes. September 27, 2010 — Class A September 28, 2010 — Class B A total of 60 responses were completed and collected. 19

Data Analysis and Results 20

Research Question 1 Based on their self-reports, do EFL students experience foreign language anxiety when they practice English- Chinese oral interpretation in class? 21

Descriptive Statistics 22

High mean scores (Higher level of FLA) Item 14: (X = 3.767, s =.89) I feel trembled when I know that I am going to be asked to speak in oral interpretation class. Item 26: (X = 3.467, s =1.112) I get nervous when teacher asks questions which I haven’t prepared in advance. Item 2: (X= 3.450, s =.982) I worry about making mistakes in oral interpretation class. 23

Low mean scores (Lower level of FLA) Item 13: (X = 2.467,s =.833) I am afraid that teacher will correct every mistakes I made. Item 10 (X= 2.600,s =.887) I get depressed when teacher corrected me on the part I don’t understand. Item 21: (X= 2.650,s =.936) Oral interpretation class moves so quickly that I worry about getting left behind. 24

Research Question 2 If they do report experiencing FLA, are there any significant differences in EFL students’ experience based on gender? 25

t –test: Gender  mean scores of male and female were compared through t-test  (alpha = at.05 level of significance) P-value =.684 ( >.05) There is NO significant differences in EFL students’ experiences based on gender. 26

Research Question 3 If they do report experiencing FLA, are there any significant differences in EFL students’ experience based on classroom environment? 27

t –test: Class environment  mean scores of class A and class B were compared through t-test  (alpha = at.05 level of significance) P-value =.450 (>.05) There is NO significant differences in EFL students’ experiences based on class environment 28

Conclusions & Recommendations 29

Conclusion(cont) Item 14: (X = 3.767, s =.89) I feel trembled when I know that I am going to be asked to speak in oral interpretation class. “It’s because of the strongly didactic nature of teaching and exam-oriented schooling. Consequently, many students feared being the focus of attention and thus became anxious when singled out to speak English in class. “ (Liu, 2007) 30

Discussion [cont.] Item 26: (X = 3.467, s =1.112) I get nervous when teacher asks questions which I haven’t prepared in advance. “Lacking of practice provoked much anxiety in many students when speaking English to others in class.” Hilleson’s (1996) and Tsui’s (1996) 31

Conclusion(cont.) Item 2: (X= 3.450, s =.982)) I worry about making mistakes in oral interpretation class. “The Confucian ideology possibly influences and emphasizes perfect performance, students feared making mistakes and being laughed at, which made them (very) anxious when speaking to others in class.” (Jackson, 2002; Price, 1991; Tsui, 1996) 32

Differences Among FLA, Gender and classroom There is NO significant differences in EFL students’ experiences based on gender. There is NO significant differences in EFL students’ experiences based on class environment. 33

Recommendations To lower FLA in classroom, it is suggested that teachers 1. use gentle or non-threatening methods, such as offering words of encouragement 2. use collaborative activities by making students work in small groups. 3. create a low stress, friendly, and supportive learning environment 4. use relevant, interesting and, importantly, meaningful topics for class discussions and exercises 34

Limitations of the Study  Very few of studies previously conducted in the field of anxiety in oral interpretation classroom  The number of the participant was too small  Case study, therefore, findings may not be generalized to other classes 35

List of References 36

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