You are here

Home » Content

Listening to Students: Modification of a Reading Program Based on the Sources of Foreign Language Reading Anxiety

Journal Name:

  • Turkish Online Journal of Qualitative Inquiry

Publication Year:

  • 2012

Key Words:

Author NameUniversity of Author
Abstract (2. Language): 
This paper is concerned with the modifications implemented in a second year foreign language (FL) reading program with respect to the problems students experience while reading in FL. This research draws on the sources of FL reading anxiety identified in the first year reading program with a motivation to re-design the second year program to help the students perceive reading positively free from the anxiety. This paper reports on the responses of students to the modifications implemented in the second year reading program. The participants of the study were 50 FL students who were in their second year at a state university in Turkey. All participants had already taken the first year reading course and were enrolled in the second year reading course. It was based on two qualitative research instruments. The first instrument was a semi-structured questionnaire administered to all participants. The second one was a semi-structured interview conducted with half of the participants to obtain more in depth information concerning the modifications that had been introduced. Both instruments revealed that students responded positively to the modifications introduced. The results of the study put forward that obtaining students‟ opinions, giving them responsibility and involving them in decision making processes enhance their motivation, confidence and analytical skills while reading in a foreign language.
Bookmark/Search this post with
FULL TEXT (PDF): 
PDF icon arastirmax-listening-students-modification-reading-program-based-sources-foreign-language-reading-anxiety.pdf
  • 1
20
35
  • English

REFERENCES

References: 

Aase, L. (2003). Cultural competence: a basis for participation in society. In Little, D., Ridley, J., Ushioda, E. (Eds.), Learner autonomy in foreign language classrooms: Teacher, learner, curriculum and assessment (pp.185-197). Dublin: Authentik.
Alptekin, C. (2006). Cultural familiarity in inferential and literal comprehension in L2 reading. System, 34, 494-508.
Asraf, R. M., & Ahmad, I. S. (2003). Promoting English language development and the reading habit among students in rural schools through the Guided Extensive Reading program. Reading in a Foreign Language, 15(2), 83-102.
Turkish Online Journal of Qualitative Inquiry, January 2012, 3(1)
33
Aydin, B. (2001). A study of sources of foreign language classroom anxiety in speaking and writing classes. Eskisehir: Anadolu Üniversitesi Yayınları. Bekleyen, N. (2009). Helping teachers become better English students: Causes, effects, and coping strategies for foreign language listening anxiety. System, 37(4), 664-675.
Benson, P., & Voller, P. (1997). Autonomy and independence in language learning. London: Longman.
Brantmeier, C. (2006). Toward a multicomponent model of interest and L2 reading: Sources of interest, perceived situational interest, and comprehension. Reading in a Foreign Language. 18(2), 89-115.
Buckmaster, R. (2005). Reading and reading skills: Exploiting texts to the full. Modern English Teacher, 14(2), 38-41.
Campbell, C. M., & Ortiz, J. A. (1991). Helping students overcome foreign language anxiety: A FL anxiety workshop”. In Horwitz, E. K. & Young, D. J. (Eds.), Language anxiety: From theory and research to classroom implications. (pp.153-167). London: Prentice-Hall International.
Cheng, Y. S., Horwitz, E. K., & Schallert, D. L. (1999). Language anxiety: Differentiating writing and speaking components. Language Learning, 49, 417-446.
Christenberry, B. (2001). Listening comprehension in the foreign language classroom. Retrieved September 26, 2006, from http://www.langlab.uta.edu/german/lana.rings/fall01gradstudents/2001pape....
Cookes, G., & Schmidt R. W. (1991). Motivation: Re-opening the research agenda. Language Learning, 41(4), 469-512.
Dye, J. F., Schatz, I. M., Rosenberg, R. A., & Coleman, S. T. (2000). Constant comparison method: A kaleidoscope of data. The Qualitative Report, 4(1/2).
Ehrman, M. E, Leaver, B. L., & Oxford, R. .L. (2003). A brief overview of individual differences in second language learning. System, 31, 313-330.
Ellis, R. (1995). The Study of Second Language Acquisition, Oxford: OUP.
Elkhafaifi, H. (2005). Listening comprehension and anxiety in the Arabic language classroom. The Modern Language Journal, 89(2), 206-220.
Erten, İ. H., & Razı, S. (2009). The effects of cultural familiarity in reading comprehension. Reading in a Foreign Language. 21(1), 60-77.
Glaser, B. G., & Strauss, A.L. (1967). The discovery of grounded theory: Strategies for qualitative research. Hawthorne, NY: Aldine de Gruyer.
Harmer, J. (2007). The practice of English language teaching. Essex: Pearson Education Limited.
He, T. (2008). Reading for different goals: the interplay of EFL college students‟ multiple goals, reading strategy use and reading comprehension. Journal of Research in Reading, 31(2), 224-242.
Hewitt, E and Stephenson,J. (2011). Foreign Language Anxiety and Oral Exam Performance: A Replication of Phillips's MLJ Study. The Modern Language Journal, 95(3), 1-20.
Horner, L., & Redmond, M. L. (2002). Fear factor: foreign language anxiety in the secondary Spanish program. Retrieved July 12, 2005, from
Turkish Online Journal of Qualitative Inquiry, January 2012, 3(1)
34
htpp://www.google.com/foreignlanguageanxiety/studiesinthescondlanguageeducation....
Horst, M. (2005). Learning L2 vocabulary through extensive reading: A measurement study. The Canadian Modern Language Review, 61(3), 355-382.
Horwitz, E. K., Horwitz, M. B., & Cope, A. J. (1986). Foreign language classroom anxiety. The Modern Language Journal, 70(2), 125-32.
Huang, S. (2006). Reading English for academic purposes – What situational factors may motivate learners to read? System, 34, 371-383.
Kim, S. Y. (2009). Questioning the stability of foreign language classroom anxiety and motivation across different classroom contexts. Foreign Language Annals, 42(1), 138-157.
Kitano, K. (2001). Anxiety in the college Japanese language classroom. The Modern Language Journal, 85(4), 549-566.
Knutson, E. K. (1998). Reading with a purpose: Communicative reading: Tasks for the FL classroom. Retrieved May 27, 2008 from http://www.cal.org/ericcll/digest/reading_digest.html.
Kondo, Y. (2010). A study on the relationship between language anxiety and proficiency: In a case of Japanese learners of English. Retrieved November 28, 2011 from http://www.paaljapan.org/resources/proceedings/PAAL10/pdfs/kondo.pdf
Kuru-Gonen, S. I. (2005). The sources of foreign language reading anxiety of students in a Turkish EFL context. Unpublished dissertation. Eskisehir: Anadolu University.
Langer, S., & Applebee, A. (1987). How writing shapes thinking. Urbana, IL: National Council of Teachers of English.
Lee, J. F. (1999). Clashes in L2 Reading: Research versus Practice and Readers‟ Misconceptions. In Young, D. J. (Ed.), Affect in foreign language and second language learning: A practical guide to creating a low-anxiety classroom atmosphere. (pp. 49-63). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Leki, I. (1999). Techniques for Reducing Second Language Writing Anxiety. In Young, D. J. (Ed.), Affect in foreign language and second language learning: A practical guide to creating a low-anxiety classroom atmosphere. (pp.64-88). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Leung, C. Y. (2002). Extensive Reading and Language Learning: A Diary Study of a Beginning Learner of Japanese. Reading in a Foreign Language,14(1). Retrieved December 22, 2009, from http://www.nflrc.hawaii.edu/RFL/April2002/leung/leung.html.
MacIntyre, P. D., & Gardner, R. C. (1989). Anxiety and SLL: Toward a Theoratical Clarification. Language Learning, 39(2), 251-75.
Matsuda, S., & Gobel, P. (2004). Anxiety and predictors of performance in the foreign language classroom. System, 32, 21-36.
McKool, S. S. (2007). Factors that influence the decision to read: an investigation of fifth grade students' out-of-school reading habits. Reading Improvement, 44(3), 111-131.
Mcknight, L., & Redmond, M. L. (2003). Anxiety in the secondary FL class. Retrieved October 20, 2004, from htpp://www.wfu.edu/depofeducation/articles/anxiety.html.
Merriam, S. B. (1998). Qualitative research in case study applications in education. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Turkish Online Journal of Qualitative Inquiry, January 2012, 3(1)
35
Mills, N., Pajares, F., & Herron, C. (2006). A reevaluation of the role of anxiety: Self-efficacy, anxiety, and their relation to reading and listening proficiency. Foreign Language Annals, 39(2), 276-295.
Mori, Y. (2002). Individual differences in the integration of information from context and word parts in interpreting unknown kanji words. Applied Psycholinguistics, 23, 375-397.
Mori, S. (2004). Significant motivational predictors of the amount of reading by EFL learners in Japan. RELC, 35(1), 63-81.
Oxford, R. L. (1996). Language learning strategies around the world: Cross-cultural perspectives. Honolulu: University of Hawaii, Second Language Teaching & Curriculum Center Press.
Oxford, R. L. (1999). Anxiety and the language learner: New insights. In Arnold, J. (Ed.), Affect in language learning. (pp. 58-67). Cambridge: CUP.
Pang, J. (2008). Research on good and poor reader characteristics: Implications for L2 reading research in China. Reading in Foreign Language, 20(1), 1-18.
Reid, J. M. (1995). Learning styles in the ESL/EFL classroom. Boston: Heinle & Heinle.
Saito, Y., Garza, T., & Horwitz, E. K. (1999). Foreign language reading anxiety. The Modern Language Journal, 83, 202-218.
Scovel, T. (1991). The Effect of Affect on FLL: A Review of the Anxiety Research. In Horwitz, E.K. & Young, D. J. Language Anxiety. London: Prentice-Hall International (UK), 15-23.
Sellers, V. D. (2000). Anxiety and reading comprehension in Spanish as a foreign language. Foreign Language Annals, 33(5), 512-520.
Tawney, J. W., & Gast, D. L. (1984). Single Subject Research in Special Education. Columbus, OH: Charles E. Merrill Co.
Vanci-Osam, Ü. (1996). Foreign language classroom anxiety: How can we get our students to participate more? Paper presented on the International ELT Conference from Diversity to Synergy. Ankara, Turkey.
Winke, P. (2005). Promoting motivation in the foreign language classroom. Clear News, 9(2), 1-12.
Woodrow, L., & Chapman, E. (2002). Second language speaking anxiety of learners of English for academic purposes in Australia. Retrieved September 26, 2005, from htpp://www.google.com/foreignlanguageanxiety/uofsyndney/research.html.
Woodrow, L. (2006). Anxiety and speaking English as a second language. RELC, 37(3), 308-328.
Yao, W., Jingna, L. (2011). The interference of foreign language anxiety in the reading comprehension of agricultural engineering students. Retrieved 28 November, 2011 from http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpl/freeabs_all.jsp?arnumber=5943882.
Zepeda, S. J., & Mayers, R. S. (2002). A case study of leadership in the middle grades: the work of the instructional lead teacher. Research in Middle Level Education, 25(1), 1-15.
Zhang, L. J. (2003). Research into Chinese EFL strategies: Methods, findings and instructional issues. RELC, 34(3), 284-322.

Thank you for copying data from http://www.arastirmax.com