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Foreign language anxiety in female

Arabs learning English: case studies
a
Taghreed M. Al-Saraj
a
Department of Applied Linguistics and Communication,
University of London, London, UK
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To cite this article: Taghreed M. Al-Saraj (2014) Foreign language anxiety in female Arabs
learning English: case studies, Innovation in Language Learning and Teaching, 8:3, 257-278, DOI:
10.1080/17501229.2013.837911
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Innovation in Language Learning and Teaching, 2014
Vol. 8, No. 3, 257–278, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17501229.2013.837911
Foreign language anxiety in female Arabs learning English: case

studies
Taghreed M. Al-Saraj*
Department of Applied Linguistics and Communication, University of London, London, UK

(Received 16 April 2013; accepted 20 August 2013)
A case study design was used to examine the experiences of female college students
learning English as a Foreign Language in Saudi Arabia, where English is becoming

an increasingly necessary skill and the culture is undergoing immense changes. Ten
participants who reported experiencing moderate to high anxiety, five from the
beginning level (Level 1) and five from a more advanced level (Level 3) of the college
English programme, were examined. A multimethod approach – including ques-
tionnaires, classroom observation with field notes, and individual and group
interviews – was used to gather information regarding the students’ perspectives and
behaviour. Particular attention was paid to the students’ own perspectives on their
experiences of anxiety. Each participant’s experiences were examined individually,
then compared and analysed in the context of existing research literature. Although
some factors, such as teacher-student interactions and teacher behaviour, appeared
nearly universally anxiety-provoking among all participants, others factors varied
between participants in the beginning versus more advanced stages of study. Practical
implications for teachers are discussed.
Keywords: language anxiety; EFL; foreign languages; language learning
Steinar Kvale offered a disarmingly simple challenge:
If you want to know how people understand their world and their life,
why not talk with them? (1996, 1).

For researchers seeking to understand students’ experiences, including emotional and
other internal challenges, studying a foreign language, talking to students is a
straightforward strategy. Nonetheless, foreign language students’ voices are conspicu-
ously absent from research purported to investigate their experiences, even of affective
variables known to be important, such as anxiety. The research in this area often uses
only quantitative measures (e.g., the Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale, or
FLCAS; Horwitz, Horwitz, and Cope 1986). As recently as 2008, Yan and Horwitz
argued that students’ voices should be a source of information. Students’ perspectives
may be particularly important for understanding under-studied populations, such as
students in non-Western cultures, whose cultural backgrounds differ from those of the
Western students who have dominated the research literature thus far.
*Email: [email protected]
© 2013 Taylor & Francis

258 T.M. Al-Saraj
Literature review
Many factors shape how well an individual learns, including individual differences like
cognitive ability, personality characteristics, learning styles, meta-cognitive differences,
social contexts and affective aspects (Tallon 2009). Researchers attempting to gain insight
into why some language learners have particular difficulty in acquiring a target language
have looked at relationships between foreign language acquisition and affective variables.
Of the affective variables that impact language learning, Tallon points to anxiety as the
most important. Anxiety is known to have a deleterious impact on cognition (e.g.,
Dvorak-Bertsch et al. 2007; Eysenck 1979; Eysenck et al. 2007; Horwitz, Horwitz, and
Cope 1986; MacIntyre and Gardner 1991; Vytal et al. 2012; Vytal et al. 2013). Anxiety
also affects emotions, behaviour and physiology (see Eysenck et al. 2007; Young 1999).
Foreign language anxiety (FLA)

Students’ experiences of anxiety when studying a foreign language are distinct from
general anxiety. These experiences have merited a label – FLA (e.g., Horwitz, Horwitz,
and Cope 1986). Horwitz, Horwitz, and Cope (1986, 128) defined FLA as ‘a distinct
complex of self-perceptions, beliefs, feelings and behaviours related to classroom
language learning arising from the uniqueness of the language learning process’. FLA
is a situation-specific anxiety experienced only from learning a second or foreign
language. It may include specific feelings towards or behaviours during language learning
that facilitate learning, but is more likely to debilitate learning and prevent, hinder, or
impede successful language acquisition.
Anxiety in language learning is more strongly implicated in formal than naturalistic
language learning (Clément et al. 1977) and can profoundly impact foreign language
learning in the classroom (e.g., MacIntyre and Gardner 1991; Young 1991; Phillips
1992). To improve students’ learning and experiences, teachers must be able to recognise
FLA symptoms and identify students likely to be negatively impacted (e.g., Horwitz,
Horwitz, and Cope 1991). Horwitz, Horwitz, and Cope (1986) reported that approxi-
mately one-third of foreign language students experience FLA. Most or all students
experience at least some anxiety to different degrees and different ends. Even high-
achieving, successful students may suffer the debilitating effects of FLA when they must
perform (e.g., speak, write) in a foreign language (MacIntyre 1999). Batumlu and Erden
(2007) found that learners at all academic levels showed a significant negative
relationship between FLA and English language achievement. Some studies have
indicated that high anxiety has a negative impact on language learning (Gregersen
2003; Krashen 1985; MacIntyre and Gardner 1991; Price 1991), but mild concern or
worry, paired with interest in learning the language, motivates students (Bailey 1983).
In the context of foreign language learning, causes and consequences of anxiety are
not fully understood. FLA can be provoked by many situations, such as not knowing the
meaning of a word and speaking in front of peers (e.g., Bailey 1983; Horwitz, Horwitz,
and Cope 1986; MacIntyre and Gardner 1991; Phillips 1992; Young 1991). FLA can also
be related to personal and interpersonal anxieties, students’ beliefs about learning,
instructors’ beliefs about teaching, instructor-student interactions, classroom procedures
and testing (Young 1991). Low self-esteem and competitiveness have been noted as
related to high anxiety in foreign language students (e.g., Bailey 1983; Young 1991).
Mastering a language requires using it to communicate, but struggling to express
ideas in the new language has been described as psychologically unsettling (Guiora 1983)
and can threaten adults’ views of themselves as intelligent and skilful communicators
Innovation in Language Learning and Teaching 259
(e.g., Horwitz, Horwitz, and Cope 1986). Adults, who normally see themselves as
reasonably intelligent and socially adept, may find they do not know how their attempts
to communicate in the target language are perceived, evaluated or interpreted. Indeed,
anxiety in foreign language learning manifests primarily in listening to and speaking in
the foreign language (Daly 1991; Horwitz et al. 1986; Young 1990). In Horwitz, Horwitz,
and Cope’s (1986) study, students reported being relatively comfortable answering drill
questions or delivering rehearsed speeches, but froze when extemporaneous speaking was
required (i.e., in role-play situations). In a qualitative, interview-based study that brings
some methodological diversity, Price (1991) found that the most frequently reported
source of anxiety was speaking in the target language in front of peers. Students were
afraid they would be laughed at or they would make fools of themselves when speaking
the target language (Guiora 1983; Price 1991).
Students might be particularly prone to anxiety during the early phases of learning,
like when starting beginners’ language classes. All of the students in Price’s (1991) study
reported that the transition from relatively easy high school language courses to
demanding college courses was stressful. This pattern was also observed in 62 native
English speakers learning French in an intensive summer school, where more advanced
students indicated experiencing less anxiety (Gardner, Smythe, and Brunet 1977;
reviewed by MacIntyre and Gardner 1991).
FLA and culture

That which is known about FLA has primarily come from research in the United States
(e.g., Horwitz, Horwitz, and Cope 1986) and Canada (e.g., MacIntyre and Gardner 1991),
but a handful of studies have been conducted in other regions. In the context of FLA, this
is important because education systems around the world differ, and each exists within a
broader cultural context. According to Brown (2007), a culture is ‘ideas, customs, skills,
arts, and tools that characterize a given group of people in a given period of time’ (380).
When people identify as members of a social group, their interactions with other
members of the same social group (e.g., family, school, religious group) reinforce shared
views (Kramsch 2001). Behaviours indicative of FLA (like those of general anxiety) are
culturally nested (Oxford 2005). Cultural norms dictate expected behaviour for students
in a classroom. Whether results from studies of FLA conducted in North America
generalise to accurately describe language learners in other countries must be carefully
considered.
Based on her review of existing research studies, Horwitz (2001) concluded that FLA
varies across cultural groups. Meaningful regional and cultural differences have been
found in studies examining FLA in non-Western students. For example, the language-
learning experiences of a sample of 532 Chinese university students learning English as a
foreign language (EFL) in Shanghai revealed that even regional differences within a
country can be related to differences in experience and behaviour (Yan and Horwitz
2008). Specifically, a major theme the authors identified was regional differences in and
around China. This came as a surprise to Yan and Horwitz, who noted that students’
regions of origin or geographic backgrounds had never been discussed as significantly
related to anxiety. In their study, however, they noted that cultural differences between
regions of China appeared substantial, and they highlighted parental influence and
students’ feelings of superiority or inferiority based on the province or region from which
they came.
260 T.M. Al-Saraj
FLA’s causes and relationship with performance were examined in a study of 47

Asian international students (from China, Japan and Korea) learning academic English at
a university in Australia (Woodrow 2006). Specifically, Woodrow wanted to evaluate the
major causes of second language anxiety and the relationship between anxiety and second
language performance. According to Woodrow, the tools that existed for assessing FLA
(e.g., the FLCAS) were not suitable for use with this population of students or in their
language environment, and so a new questionnaire – the Second Language Speaking
Anxiety Scale, or SLSAS – was constructed. In her research, she conceptualised second
language anxiety as a two-dimensional construct, including communication within the
classroom and outside the classroom in everyday communicative situations, which were
particularly important for the population she studied, because they were living in a
country where their target language was the common language.
Methods for exploring FLA

The majority of FLA research, such as studies using the SLSAS (Woodrow 2006) and
FLCAS (Horwitz, Horwitz, and Cope 1986), has been quantitative. FLA is considered a
situation-specific form of anxiety, and so it makes sense that researchers have focused on
specific situations, such as those easily addressed in questionnaires. However, using
mixed methods (e.g., qualitative and quantitative) affords many benefits (Dörnyei 2007).
Using diverse methodologies can offset the weaknesses of any single method, thereby
increasing the strength and accuracy of research. Brown (2007) suggested that
observational research, interviews and indirect assessment to assess anxiety are preferable
and more accurate than using questionnaires alone. Mixed methods afford opportunity for
multilevel analyses and the development of a deeper understanding of issues examined.
Furthermore, mixed methods improve validity by bringing together converging evidence
and corroborating findings (Dörnyei 2007). In recent work, Yan and Horwitz (2008)
reiterated Kvale’s (1996) suggestion to ask individuals about their experiences, arguing
that students’ own voices should be a source of information. Using mixed methods and,
in particular, incorporating qualitative methods makes it possible to develop an
understanding of FLA based on the students’ experiences and perspectives in the context
of their own culture.
The present research

The research presented here is a novel exploration of the anxiety-related experiences of
10 young, Arabic-speaking female students studying EFL in Saudi Arabia. In this study,
an under-studied population with a relatively short history of formal education is
examined. Furthermore, the present research is informed by the ideals and recommenda-
tions of previous studies, using mixed methodology. The goal of this research is to
understand students’ anxiety-related experiences while learning English. Two specific
research questions are addressed: (1) What is the experience of FLA in EFL students in
this programme? (2) What are commonly identified prompts of anxiety, from the
students’ perspective? and (3) How do behaviour, FLA and anxiety prompts differ as
related to students’ experience level and EFL proficiency? Additionally, implications for
how to improve students’ classroom experiences and learning, and reduce FLA, will be
considered.
Following recommendations (e.g., Yan and Horwitz 2008) and responding to Kvale’s
(1996) call, this research utilised the innovative approach of listening to students’ own
voices in open-ended interviews about the experience of learning EFL. Young Saudi
students have a unique perspective to share, having witnessed educational reform that
continues to challenge complex social and cultural norms in Saudi Arabia. In recent
years, Saudi Arabia has gone through large-scale changes due to economic development
from oil business and an influx of technology, and has seen the return of students who
obtained higher education abroad. Pressures from inside Saudi Arabia (e.g., government’s
drive to have a presence in the global market) and from outside (e.g., increasing
prevalence of English in technological fields and increasing importance of global trade)
are pushing for changes, including the development of new English programmes and the
improvement of existing programmes (Donn and Al Manthri 2010).
To meet this need, the Saudi Ministry of Higher Education has legalised privately
owned, post-secondary institutions. In 1999, Effat College (which was expanded to a full
university in 2009) and Dar Al-Hekma College, colleges for women in Jeddah and Prince
Sultan College, a college with separate campuses for men and women in Riyadh, were
among the first of this type of post-secondary institutions to open. (As tradition and law
dictate in Saudi Arabia and most neighbouring Arab countries, men and women always
attend separate schools.) Since then, more private colleges and universities have opened
across Saudi Arabia. These private, English-medium colleges are more like American
colleges in terms of culture than they are like the existing Saudi colleges; the new
colleges have debate teams and other extracurricular clubs, which do not exist in Saudi
colleges but are commonplace on American college campuses.
The students who took part in the current study were attending a private, all-female,
English-medium college in Jeddah. They were enrolled in a College Preparatory
Programme (CPP) to improve their English before entering the main college, where
classes were taught in English. The study took place for one full semester, spanning from
September through February. Due to a three-week break from school for Ramadan in
October, the data collection began at the end of October. The researcher who conducted
this study is female, and so working with a women’s college facilitated the research,
because women are not allowed to enter men’s colleges. The college where this research
took place is very similar in curriculum to other private colleges (for men and women) in
Saudi Arabia and in neighbouring Arab Gulf countries.
Methods
Drawing from the work of Brown (2007) and Dörnyei (2007), the research design for the
current case studies employs multiple methods, including both traditional, quantitative
methods and more fluid and meaning-focused qualitative methods. Consistent with
Kvale’s (1996) challenge and Yan and Horwitz’s (2008) recommendations, I sought to
gain information and insight into students’ experiences through their voices, including a
qualitative approach to understanding FLA means emphasising the qualities and meaning
of the experience in ways that are not measured in terms of quantity, amount, intensity or
frequency (Denzin and Lincoln 2011). As Denzin and Lincoln highlight, this sort of
inquiry strategy puts the relationship between the researcher and subject, as well as the
context or situation, at the centre of the study. It also provides an opportunity for
students’ voices to be heard. Case studies and a qualitative approach allows development
of an in-depth, holistic examination of the matter under investigation in a way that would
not be possible through numerical analysis alone (e.g., Cohen, Manion, and Morrison
2007; Merriam 1988).
262 T.M. Al-Saraj
Analysis of the case studies involved triangulation of information with an eye for
recurring themes across assessments (see Cohen, Manion, and Morrison 2007; Denzin
1970; Leech and Onwuegbuzie 2007). A questionnaire, classroom observations (with
field notes), and transcripts of individual and group interviews were used. I transcribed
the interviews, which were then translated from Arabic to English by an independent,
professional translator. I then reviewed the translated transcriptions, comparing them to
the original, audio-taped interviews, to ensure the translations accurately reflected the
content.
The questionnaire
Questionnaires have strengths and weaknesses. A questionnaire can be used to tap into
participants’ knowledge, opinions and experiences (e.g., McDonough and McDonough,
1997; Robson, 2002; and Wallace, 1998). Furthermore, questionnaires provide a simple
method for gathering information about attitudes, values, beliefs and motives. Of
particular importance to the current study, questionnaires are easy to quickly administer
to large groups.
Many of the disadvantages associated with questionnaires can be overcome if the
questionnaires are supplemented with other data collection methods. The quality and
depth of information collected using questionnaires alone is limited by the questions
included. In using a self-report to assess anxiety, the validity of the data depends on the
degree to which the individual completing the questionnaire has consciously, accurately
identified and accepted the experience of anxiety (Williams 1991). The person must also
admit anxiety (i.e., not be dissuaded by self-presentation biases). For the present study, a
quantitative questionnaire was paired with extensive qualitative methods.
The Arabic FLA Questionnaire, or AFLAQ (Al-Saraj, manuscript submitted for
publication), which was designed in an earlier study of the same population, was used.
The new scale was developed specifically drawing from the experiences of students in
Saudi Arabia so that the students would be able to relate to the anxiety prompts described
in each item. The AFLAQ contains 33 items and utilises a five-point Likert scale ranging
from ‘Strongly disagree’ (1) to ‘Strongly agree’ (5). Scores on the questionnaire fall into
five categories: very un-anxious (mean score of 1–1.7), un-anxious (1.8–2.5), moderate
(2.6–3.4), anxious (3.5–4.2) and very anxious (4.3–5). Although all of the anxiety
prompts addressed in the AFLAQ can also be experienced by students in other cultures,
the proportion of items addressing each topic and the particular issues (e.g., Listening and
Speaking class) are tailored to the Arab student population. Specifically, the questionnaire
has a particular focus on prompts of anxiety and stressors prevalent in this population,
including practised and spontaneous public speaking and a particular fear of negative
evaluation. The AFLAQ was administered to students in October after students returned
from the Ramadan holidays and during the third week of classes.
Observations
Observations were used to construct an understanding of the EFL classroom and to
provide reference points for interviews. The goal of observations was to identify factors
that trigger FLA. All observations were conducted in Listening and Speaking classes
between the first week of November (when students returned to classes after Ramadan)
and last week of January. The CPP, like other EFL programmes in the Arab region,
divides classes by skill area into Listening and Speaking, Reading and Writing and
Grammar. Listening and Speaking class was chosen for observations because it was
hypothesised to be both the most interactive (and thus useful to observe) and the most
anxiety filled due to the anxiety-provoking nature of public speaking.
Field notes
Field notes are used to create a thorough, accurate record of observed situations (e.g.,
Lynch 1996). Using field notes allowed me to keep careful records of classroom
observations and related thoughts or questions. Field notes informed analyses of the case
studies and questions asked during interviews.
Interviews
Interviews allowed students to voice feelings and perspectives regarding their classroom
experiences and studies. I conducted interviews individually (weekly) and in groups

(fortnightly) from the beginning of November (after Ramadan) through the end of
January. I used a combination of unstructured and semi-structured formats to take
advantage of the strengths of each (Gubrium and Holstein 2002; Maykut and Morehouse
1994; Roulston, de Marrais, and Lewis 2003). During semi-structured interviews, I
prompted students by asking them about their AFLAQ responses and classroom
situations I had observed.
Participants
Participant selection
Students were recruited for participation based on several criteria. Potential participants
were students categorised as moderately to very anxious by AFLAQ scores. Two subsets
of students were recruited: (1) five students from Level 1 who had just completed high
school (and therefore lacked college experience) and had relatively weak English skills;
and (2) five students from Level 3 who had at least one semester in the college EFL
programme (and were therefore familiar with the environment and teaching methods). A
total of ten students were randomly selected from the students who met the inclusion
criteria. The five participants from each level attended class together, enabling
observations and group interviews.
FLA assessed by AFLAQ

During the second week of the semester, all Level 1 and 3 students gathered in an
auditorium for an explanation (in their native language, Arabic) of this research. The
potential benefits of participating were explained. Students were told participating was
fully voluntary; it was their choice to participate by completing the AFLAQ or to opt out.
A total of 75 students (22 from Level 1, 53 from Level 3) completed the AFLAQ. The
students completed the AFLAQ early in the semester, prior to having much experience in
their classes or receiving substantial feedback from teachers.
Case study participants

Potential participants were invited to participate in the semester-long case study. Students
were told the research would involve the questionnaire they had already completed,
classroom observations and notes, and audio-recording of individual and group
264 T.M. Al-Saraj
interviews. They were informed that participation was voluntary and would have no
impact on their grades. In addition, pseudonyms would ensure confidentiality. It was
stressed that the research was student-centred and nothing that the students disclosed
would be shared with their teachers. Students who agreed to participate were given
consent forms to review and sign.
Analyses
AFLAQ responses, observations, field notes, and individual and group interviews were
combined to construct an understanding of each participant’s experience. Special
attention was given to the students’ perspectives regarding how they experienced FLA
and what caused them anxiety in learning English. Results from participants were
considered, by level, to identify repeating patterns and themes.
Results
Level 1
There were 23 students in Level 1, all in one section. The five Level 1 students who
participated in this research were given the pseudonyms Hind, Maha, Sabah, Samaher
and Zakia (see Table 1). All five were from Saudi Arabia and had come to the college
directly from high school. All the students in Level 1 were approximately the same age
(18–19 years). Of the 23 students in Level 1, two did not attend for the full semester and
three others failed. Of the five case study participants, four passed Level 1, and one
(Maha) stopped attending class.
AFLAQ
Of the five Level 1 case studies, the average AFLAQ score was 3.87 (SD = 0.92), or
‘anxious’ (see Table 1). Samaher had the lowest score (3.15, or ‘moderate’) and Hind had
the highest score (4.30, or ‘very anxious’). The students were concerned about their
performance. As indicated by the mean score of five (SD = 0) on item 24 (see Table 2),
all five students participating in the Level 1 case studies feared failing their language
class.
In response to items 11, 15 and 27 (listed in Table 2), four of the students indicated
strong agreement. For each of these items, a single student (different for each item)
responded with ‘agree’ instead of ‘strongly agree’. These responses indicate the students
Table 1. Level 1 participant information.
AFLAQ Score
Pseudonym Age Previous education Past CPP semesters Mean Category Final grade
Samaher 19 Private 0 3.15 Moderate B+
Sabah 18 Public 0 3.82 Anxious B
Maha 18 Public 0 3.94 Anxious Withdrew
Zakia 18 Private 0 4.16* Anxious C+
Hind 18 Public 0 4.30 Very C+
Anxious
Note: All schools are unique public or private high schools.
*Zakia’s score is averaged across 32 items; she did not provide a response to item 6 of the questionnaire
Table 2. AFLAQ items associated with highest anxiety scores for Level 1.
Item Mean SD
24. I fear failing my foreign language class. 5.00 0.00
11. I feel anxious when I see classmates better than me in my foreign language 4.80 0.45
class.
15. I get anxious when I feel that I cannot speak well in front of other language 4.80 0.45
students not in my class.
27. I feel nervous when I am around more experienced foreign language users. 4.80 0.45
2. I feel anxious when the teacher asks me a question that I have not prepared for. 4.60 0.55
26. I feel anxious about speaking the foreign language in front of other students. 4.60 0.55
29. In language class, I can get so nervous I forget things I know. 4.60 0.55
33. I feel nervous when standing or giving a presentation in front of the class. 4.60 0.55
3. I feel nervous and confused when the language teacher is unsuccessful in 4.60 0.89
explaining the lesson.
Note: In cases in which the mean scores are the same, all items with that mean score are presented; they are
ordered by mean, then by the standard deviation associated with that mean.
were concerned about being compared to their classmates (item 11) or other English
speakers (item 27), and speaking in front of others (item 15).
Group demeanour
Generally, the Level 1 students (including case study participants and the other students)
seemed hard-working and keen to learn English. They appeared to respect or even revere
their teachers, as illustrated by their quiet attendance to what the teachers said. Students in
Level 1 very rarely questioned and never challenged anything a teacher said.
The students in Level 1 were shy and hesitant to speak, typically talking quietly and
only to each other. The students generally stayed together, sitting together in the cafeteria
and in the hallways, and also stayed in touch when away from school. Hind stated, ‘…
even when we go outside of the college, we all go out together or we send mobile text
messages to each other. We always have some kind of communication’. In staying
together and expressing concern when classmates struggled, the Level 1 students
appeared supportive of one another and concerned for each other’s welfare.
Level 1 students’ perspectives on anxiety-provoking issues

The same issues and concerns appeared repeatedly in AFLAQ responses, classroom
observations and interviews (see Table 3). Students often identified and discussed the
teacher as a source or cause of anxiety, as in the below passage from the first group
interview during the fifth week of classes (in the first week of November).
Hind: I feel that the teacher plays a leading role in making the students feel anxious or not
anxious. For example, I get anxious quickly… Another example is that in the Listening and
Speaking class, I don’t get anxious; but in my Reading and Writing class, I feel very anxious.
Therefore, I think anxiousness depends on each student’s interaction with the teacher and the
teacher’s interaction with the student. This may increase or decrease the student’s anxiety.
Researcher: And what do you all think?
Maha: I agree. The teacher plays a role in students’ feeling anxiety or not.
266 T.M. Al-Saraj
Table 3. Summary of anxiety-provoking situations for Level 1.
Student Anxiety-provoking issue or situation

Samaher . Speaking in front of students or teacher (concern over negative evaluation)
. Teacher/power/grades
. Teaching methods
. Instructor/learner interactions
Sabah . Teacher
. Topic studied
. Speaking out loud
Maha . Teacher
. Harder content
. Competitiveness
. Teaching methods
Zakia . Answering questions
.
Student familiarity
. Naturally immune to anxiety
Hind . Instructor/ learner interactions
. Competitiveness
. Specific topics
Researcher: And what do you think about the subject? Doesn’t the subject have an effect on
the students?
Maha: The subject itself does not affect the students’ feeling anxiety as much as the teacher
herself.
Sabah: I feel that both of them together have an effect on the student.
Researcher: What do you mean by that?
Maha: The subject being studied could be easy; but if the teacher is unsuccessful in
explaining the lesson to the students, students begin to feel the anxiety… which will then
lead the students’ to lose their concentration in the lesson and the subject.
Students showed mild to extreme avoidance behaviours (e.g., skipping class on test days).
The participants talked about the negative consequences of their actions, but still showed
avoidance behaviours and other behaviours that interfered with learning. For example,
Zakia knew she needed to participate in class and interact with other students to get better
grades, but she failed to participate in class at the beginning. During the first group
interview, Zakia discussed her experience of attempting to participate.
Researcher: Zakia, when your turn came to answer the question in the class, what did
you feel?
Zakia: I don’t know. I felt that I knew what to say, but I forgot how to read.
Researcher: Even though it was in front of you, and you were the one that wrote it?
Zakia: Yes…but I forgot.

Later, once Zakia was familiar with her classmates, she began to participate more. Zakia’s
anxiety was not static and permanent, but rather it decreased after time spent in the EFL
classroom and after getting to know classmates. The snapshot of her anxiety level very
early in class and in the first interview did not represent her anxiety level by the end of
class.
Maha stands out from other students because she stopped attending class. While she
was attending, she took part in a few group interviews. In the first group interview, Maha
said she was ill-prepared for studying English and in particular that her high school
programme had not prepared her to learn and understand English at the college level.
The students all the way from seventh grade to twelfth grade used to only memorise what’s
in these papers [study guides handed out by the teacher] without understanding what these
words mean. Therefore, all the students could not grasp the English language, for they were
dependent on memorising and not understanding. (Maha, in group interview)
In Maha’s view, the content and subject being studied does not provoke as much anxiety
as the teacher herself does. She believed that anxiety begins when students do not
understand a teacher’s explanation of a concept or subject and the students begin to feel
lost and confused. Given that Maha never attended an individual interview, she and I did
not have time to sit together and discuss her situation, other than during the first and
second group interviews. After Maha stopped attending the CPP, one of her teachers
called her home to check on her. Later, other participants from Level 1 informed me that
Maha wished for me to call her. I suggested Maha come to my office at the college to
talk, but she said that she could not, because she could not enter the college. Maha
believed her circumstance was what would literally translate from Arabic as a ‘bad eye’,
which could be called a jinx. When someone has a ‘bad eye’, something negative is
happening. Maha believed that she was having bad experiences because others envied her
attending a relatively prestigious college. She did not recognise that she was experiencing
anxiety, and instead considered her experience to be fully due to the ‘bad eye’. Maha
explained that she had met with an Islamic religious figure to read parts of the Quran in
an attempt to remove the jinx. Maha stated that because she had this jinx, she could not
enter the college. ‘No, you don’t understand’, she said (translated from Arabic), ‘I cannot
step into this college’. When I asked her why, she described her experience of attempting
to come to the college:
The minute the driver [women do not drive in Saudi Arabia] pulls up to the college, I feel my
chest is, my heart is pumping so hard as if my heart was coming out of my chest. I start to
panic. I can’t enter. I tell the driver to go around again, and then I tell him to take me
back home.
Maha’s experiences and behaviours (e.g., failing to attend class) are classic symptoms of
anxiety. Maha’s description of her severe, acute experience closely matches the
description of the physiological experience of anxiety or fear (Oxford 2005; Ehrman
1996). The description includes sweaty palms, a buzzing sound in one’s ears, and a racing
heart. Maha had discussed these experiences, and they were so strong for her that they
were prompted by coming near the college so that she would not even step inside the
college. Maha insisted during our phone call that she wanted to continue in the CPP, but
she could not. In more conventional or quantitative FLA research, this very profound and
personal experience would have gone undiscovered. Indeed, Maha’s anxiety level on the
AFLAQ was only ‘anxious’, perhaps because the AFLAQ was earlier in the semester, or
Maha may have underreported her own anxiety level because she, though from the
Western perspective clearly was experiencing extreme anxiety, attributed her experience
to a culturally embedded phenomenon (the ‘bad eye’).
268 T.M. Al-Saraj
In the second group interview, the students focused on talking in class and the
teachers as causing anxiety.
Hind: For me, just seeing a microphone and hearing my voice out loud makes me anxious.
Researcher: What about you? [referring to the other students in the interview]
Sabah: We feel anxious in class activities because we are not used to speaking English
out loud.
Researcher: But all of the students who are listening to your presentations are your
classmates, and you all know each other…?
Sabah: Yes.
Researcher: Even though you have been friends for some time now…
Hind: For me, no.
Samaher: I get anxious because of the teacher.
Researcher: The teacher?
Samaher: Yes, she [the teacher] makes me anxious more than the other students in class.
Researcher: Why?
Samaher: Because she is in control of everything, for example, our grades.

Through the course of the semester, Samaher made progress in learning English and in
taking part in class. In the beginning, Samaher described herself as stuttering when she
spoke in English because she was afraid, even going on to say that it was as if she did not
know how to talk (in English). When asked to describe herself during an interview three
weeks before the end of the semester, after five months in the programme, Samaher said,
‘I am normal. <pause> I like to depend on others a lot. <pause> This is what I see’. The
college environment requires students act and learn somewhat independently. The
students themselves must learn to speak and express their own thoughts. By the end of
the semester, Samaher, who avoided speaking at all in the beginning of the semester, had
begun to ask questions during class instead on relying on other students to ask the
questions and get the information or clarification she needed. ‘Now, I am dependent on
myself’, she stated. Samaher’s increased independence and self-confidence, and her
decreased stuttering, all appeared related to the English language skills she gained
through the course of the semester.
Level 3
All Level 3 case study participants had attended private high schools. All five participants
were 18–19 years old at the time of the study. The pseudonyms used for Level 3
participants were Farida, Noura, Sara, Tamara and Youssra (see Table 4). Three of the
participants were Saudi Arabian, one student (Noura) was from Yemen, and the father of
one student (Tamara) was Turkish, though her mother was Saudi Arabian. Of the 17
Table 4. Level 3 participant information.
AFLAQ Score
Pseudonym Age Previous education Past CPP semesters Mean Category Final grade
Noura 19 Private 1 3.15 Moderate Failed
Tamara 19 Private 2 3.58 Anxious C
Sara 19 Private 1 3.61 Anxious B
Youssra 19 Private 2 3.85 Anxious Failed
Farida 18 Private 2 3.88 Anxious Failed
Note: All schools are unique private high schools, as indicated, except those that are underlined; the underlined
listings refer to a single private school that had been attended by two students.
students in the observed section of Level 3, four students were dropped (for not
attending) and three failed. All three students who failed were case study participants.
AFLAQ
Of the five case studies from Level 3, the average AFLAQ score was 3.61 (SD = 0.83).
Of the Level 3 case studies, Noura had the lowest AFLAQ score (3.15, or ‘moderate’)
and Farida had the highest (3.88, or ‘anxious’; see Table 4).
All five Level 3 students strongly agreed with item 21, ‘I get nervous when the
language teacher gives us a lot of things to do in so little time’ (see Table 5). The students
also had concerns about communicating ideas, indicated by responses to AFLAQ items 1,
2, 15 and 33. A global fear of failing the class (item 24) was also expressed.
Group demeanour
Overall, students in Level 3 appeared confident and willing to adopt the culture of the
college. They did not shy away from the main college and instead tried to blend in with
the mainstream college students. Like many women in the main college, many women in
Level 3 wore Western clothes and hairstyles within the walls of the college. However, not
all of the women in Level 3 adopted the Western culture of the college.
Table 5. AFLAQ items associated with highest anxiety scores for Level 3.
Item Mean SD
21. I get nervous when the language teacher gives us a lot of things to do in so 5.00 0.00
little time
1. I feel nervous when I can’t write or express myself in the foreign language 4.80 0.45
24. I fear failing my foreign language class 4.80 0.45
6. I get nervous when there is a lot of vocabulary that I don’t understand being 4.60 0.55
used in my foreign language class
2. I feel anxious when the teacher asks me a question that I have not prepared for. 4.40 0.89
15. I get anxious when I feel that I can’t speak well in front of other language 4.40 0.89
students not in my class
33. I feel nervous when standing or giving a presentation in front of the class. 4.40 0.89
270 T.M. Al-Saraj
Unofficially, the women in section 1 of Level 3 were divided into two social
subgroups. One group was a higher status in-group. The in-group students had been
placed directly into Level 3 upon entering the college, and so none met the experience-
related criterion for participating in the case studies. They were typically somewhat
proficient in English due to travel, English-speaking nannies and/or media exposure.
However, their informal English acquisition was evident in that they were able to speak
English but lacked comparable writing skills. Most of them were upper middle class; their
parents were relatively wealthy, well educated, liberal minded and well travelled. In many
cases, the students’ parents had pushed them to attend college. They stood out in terms of
appearance because they wore designer clothes. This in-group consisted of girls who
were self-confident almost to the point of being arrogant, and they constantly disrupted
the class.
The out-group included six girls who were more modest in dress (preferring
traditional Saudi attire) and behaviour. They appeared shy and only socialised with
others students in Level 3. The five case study participants from Level 3 were all from
this out-group. Women belonging to the out-group constantly complained (discussed
below) about the in-group’s disrupting class.
During the second week of classroom observations, about two months into the
semester, it was apparent that these two groups did not mingle:
‘The Group’ [in-group] is sticking together and doesn’t want to be split-up… when one of
my participants asked one of the members of ‘The Group’ to join them in their team, the
member of ‘The Group’ refused impolitely and turned to join her usual ‘Group’ team.
It may be that the out-group student, one of the case study participants, wanted to be part
of ‘The Group’. A desire to join with the group might have motivated the student’s asking
one of the in-group or popular students to be her partner for the project, or she may have
had other reasons. The case study participant was not forced or under any pressure to
suggest anyone to work with her on the project; the teacher allowed the students to
choose their groups for the class project.
Level 3 students’ perspectives on anxiety-provoking issues

Common trends were noted among the five Level 3 participants (see Table 6). The
participants frequently indicated the teacher was largely responsible for student anxiety,
and the students (Sara, Youssra) discussed about seeking but not receiving feedback,
correction and support from the teacher. Many of the students avoided completing their
work. Level 3 participants had anxiety focused on specific teacher–student social
interactions and teacher behaviours (e.g., favouritism) and the specific classroom tasks
(e.g., presentations).
All of the Level 3 students, including both the in-group and the quieter out-group,
were assertive in class and about how they wanted to be taught. During interviews, Level
3 participants discussed specific examples of things the teacher could do to make the
class better, make them feel supported and reduce their anxiety. Sara wanted the teacher
to allow more time for listening tasks. All five students believed they would benefit from
more constructive (not overly critical or negative) feedback and encouragement from
teachers. Youssra conveyed that she wanted to receive printed copies of the questions the
teacher would ask regarding listening tasks so she could figure out which parts of a
recorded conversation to focus on.
Table 6. Summary of anxiety-provoking situations for Level 3.
Student Anxiety-provoking issue or situation

Noura . Speaking in class (concern over negative evaluation)
. Teaching methods
. Classroom presentations
Tamara . Answering questions
. Fear of negative evaluation
. Speaking out loud/in front of new students
. Teacher: favouritism, not receiving feedback from teacher, no encouragement
Sara . Teacher
. Fear of negative evaluation
. Listening/need more time to gather thoughts
. Need feedback from teacher
.
Classroom presentations
Youssra . Speaking in front of new students in class
. Teacher: favouritism, not receiving feedback from teacher, clarification, support, lack of
encouragement
. Competitiveness: grades, comparison
Farida . Speaking in front of new students in class and in front of teacher
. Teacher: lack of attention, lack of encouragement, manner (monotonous), no clear
instructions
. Different teaching methods used
The Level 3 case study participants also expressed concerns that they were not being
taught adequately during their Listening and Speaking class because of interruptions from
their classmates (the in-group). The students identified favouritism towards the in-group
as a problem that negatively impacted their learning. Partway through the semester, the
students dreaded attending class, as discussed during a group interview.
Youssra: … Plus she [the teacher] only concentrates on them.
Sara: Yes. She targets the conversation during the explanation of the lesson to them only.
Researcher: And how do you feel about that?
Youssra: This depresses us to a degree that we do not want to go in to our English class.
Noura: This does not lift our spirit.
Youssra: I began to feel burdened to enter the English class.
Farida: I started hating my English class.

The students showed avoidance behaviours that appeared to be in reaction to their anxiety
about studying English. For example, they chose not to complete their assignments on
time, did not prepare oral presentations, and generally avoided doing live presentations
(e.g., audio taped themselves reading the presentation from a script and played the tape in
272 T.M. Al-Saraj
class). Students said that they preferred taping oral presentations so that they would not
make mistakes and suffer through being judged by the teacher and other students.
Discussion
In comparing and contrasting the student participants from Levels 1 and 3, patterns can
be identified. Below, these similarities and differences are expounded. Then, students’
experiences of anxiety are discussed with regard to existing research and practical
implications.
Social dynamics
Students in Level 1 felt and appeared as though all students in their class were close and
supportive. All students in Level 1 were in regular contact (i.e., by mobile phone). The
students in Level 1 all appeared to be from the same socioeconomic class and had similar
English language skills and experience, thus allowing them to be a cohesive group. In
contrast, Level 3 students’ discussion during interviews and my observation of their class
highlighted the social division of the class. The talkative in-group in Level 3 received
attention from the teacher and dominated the class. The students in Level 3 were from
different socioeconomic backgrounds, had different types of experience with English, and
were even in the college for different reasons (some students’ attended the college for its
reputation or prestige status within the community, while others for genuine gain of
education). These differences created a clear division between the students, with the
talkative group being from wealthier and more privileged families with less pressure on
them to perform well. Level 3 students who took part in case studies expressed a great
deal of frustration with the in-group and the teacher’s preferential treatment of them.
In Level 3, the in-group made it difficult for other students to learn. In addition to
teacher favouritism, off-topic discussions (sometimes in Arabic), and, eventually, feelings
of dread and dismay about attending class interfered with the out-group’s learning and,
they felt, with the flow of the class. The divided group dynamic in the specific context of
education has been discussed before. Dörnyei and Murphey (2003) explain that if
conflict, rebellious attitudes, or unwillingness to cooperate emerges in the classroom, the
language class becomes an unpleasant environment. Even the most driven student will
lose motivation. The students’ interactions in Level 1 and in Level 3 likely started the
patterns of group dynamics that emerged in each, but the teachers’ leadership encouraged
or supported the disparate and, in the case of Level 3, detrimental dynamics.
Experience of anxiety
Relationships to previous research
The first research question addressed in this study regarded the nature of students’
experience of FLA. Overall, from classroom observations to individual and group
interviews, participants in Levels 1 and 3 all experienced anxiety. For some students, the
anxiety was a surmountable challenge. For other students, such as Maha, this anxiety was
so severe as to be debilitating, and it drove her away from theprogramme.
The second research question addressed in this study regarded prompts of anxiety.
Some anxiety prompts were common (e.g., the teacher, teacher-student interaction,
concern over negative evaluation), and others were not shared across all students. Using
mixed methodology to examine prompts of anxiety allowed the present study to identify
themes that recurred for each student. These findings are consistent with previous
researchers (e.g., Ellis 2008; Horwitz 2001), who have found that different individual
learners find different specific situations anxiety-provoking. It is likely the case that some
students are simply more prone to anxiety (e.g., Maha) and others to recovering from or
adapting to challenges (e.g., Zakia).
The third research question addressed the difference between students in Level 1
versus Level 3 relative to FLA. Based on the AFLAQ scores alone, the case study
participants in Level 1 may have been slightly more anxious (mean = 3.87; SD = 0.92)
than the participants in Level 3 (mean = 3.62; SD = 0.83). The case study participants
were selected based on their having moderate to high levels of anxiety according to self-
report on the AFLAQ. During class, the participants showed anxiety in the situations they
listed as prompting anxiety. Their anxiety-related behaviour was consistent with
symptoms of language-related anxiety discussed by Ehrman (1996), Oxford (2005),
Horwitz, Horwitz, and Cope (1986), and others. Furthermore, the consistency of
behavioural observations and self-reports bolsters confidence in the accuracy of each.

Level 1 case study participants were understandably anxious. They were in a new
environment, encountering unfamiliar teaching methods, and navigating demands in a
new college. Such circumstances prompt anxiety (e.g., MacIntyre and Gardner 1991;
Price 1991; Tallon 2009). The difference between English language courses in high
school and the CPP was dramatic and may have resulted in culture shock (as defined by
Horwitz 2008). Both Hind and Maha felt ill-prepared for college, because they had
learned only very basic English in high school. Price (1991) suggested that students who
experience high anxiety actually do have weaker language skills than their classmates.
Hind, who had received the highest score of all the case study participants on the AFLAQ
(4.30, very anxious), worked very hard in her classes and achieved an average grade of a
‘C + ’ at the end of the semester. However, the course work was quite difficult for her and
she may have been accurate in seeing her own language skills as weaker than those of her
peers.
In Level 3, the case study participants’ anxiety came not so much from the task of
learning English, but from the social context of classroom. Anxiety was prompted by the
teacher, classmates, group dynamics and the giving of presentations. This finding is
consistent with research from Price (1991) and exemplifies Block’s (2003) argument that
the social setting in which learning occurs plays a significant role in the language learning
process.
Students in Level 3 had more experience with the programme and English. Previous
research has found that advanced learners may have high levels of anxiety but still
perform well (Marcos-Llinas and Garau 2009), but findings from the current research
contradict that observation. In the present study, more advanced learners (in Level 3) also
experienced anxiety, perhaps even as much anxiety as students in Level 1, but for
different reasons. Level 3 students’ continued anxiety may have negatively impacted their
performance; three of the five case study participants from Level 3 failed the semester.
The majority of the students in both Levels 1 and 3 described teachers as contributing
to the level of anxiety experienced by students in the classrooms. Some of the students
discussed specific issues, such as a teacher’s explaining of a subject in a way that does
not make sense (Maha), over-correcting students when they speak (Sara), and showing
favouritism (Farida). It has been previously argued that the teacher plays a significant role
in increasing or decreasing student anxiety in the foreign language classroom (Dörnyei
and Murphey 2003; Gregersen 2003; Price 1991; Wu 2010). Students need a teacher to
offer encouragement and support without being excessively critical of errors.
274 T.M. Al-Saraj
Although some of the teachers in the CPP came from America and others were from
Arab countries (e.g., Saudi Arabia, Lebanon), all utilised Western teaching methods (e.g.,
group projects instead of only individual work, in-class presentations) that were dissimilar
from those used in Saudi high schools. Student-teacher interactions were a major source
of anxiety for students, and this might have been because the interactions were in the
context of unfamiliar expectations and assignments. Students might have had unrealistic
expectations, that teachers used teaching methods that were unfamiliar, or that teachers
behaved in ways that were atypical within the Saudi Arabian culture. The impact that
teachers have on students when they violate social norms and when they use novel
teaching methods warrants further research.
Practical implications
A final goal of this study is to learn from what the students have shared and convey that
information in a useful way to teachers and classrooms in order to possibly improve
learning and decrease anxiety. Excess anxiety can interfere with students’ learning, and so
teachers might be able to improve students’ learning and in-class performance by helping
the students to have lower levels of anxiety. In Krashen’s (1982) model of how anxiety
interferes with language learning, which can be seen as a metaphor, anxiety leads to a
barrier or a dense ‘affective filter’ that will not allow information to pass through so that it
can be absorbed by the student. If the teacher is to engage the students in the learning
process, the teacher must ensure the students are receptive. If the anxiety level becomes
too high, it may become debilitating (Scovel 1978) or cause the raising of such a filter.
The interviews and perspectives of students in this research might allow teachers
insight into students’ experiences. Teachers’ understanding of the classroom could be
bolstered by their seeing it as a social setting (Curran 1961; Tallon 2009; Wu 2010). In
the current study, students reported seeing teachers as having authority, and students also
looked to teachers for feedback and encouragement. According to the case study
participants, the teacher should not interrupt the students while they give presentations (a
particularly stressful task), but should give each student or group personalised feedback
privately so that students are not criticised or embarrassed in front of classmates. Other
issues Level 3 case study participants identified as anxiety-provoking can also suggest
ways teachers might modify their classroom behaviour to reduce the students’ anxiety.
For example, Sara stated that she needed the teacher to allow more time for her to
formulate her answers to questions. Other students suggested teachers could pass out
written questions before listening exercises to help students figure out what to focus on
when overwhelmed by listening.
In early stages of language learning, students may be going through major life
changes (i.e., from high school to college, with the accompanying changes in teaching
methodology, expectations and environment). The students may be under significant
stress and identify the teacher as a cause of their anxiety when, indeed, multiple factors
are involved. The students most likely point to the teachers as causing their anxiety,
because the teacher is at the centre of the classroom and is making demands on the
student. In high school, students in Saudi Arabia may become accustomed to having
rather little interaction with their teachers. It is the norm in the high school setting that the
teacher supplies information, which the students attempt to absorb (or memorise).
However, high school teachers are less likely to push the students to talk in class and to
participate by giving in-class presentations.
A great deal of the anxiety that was experienced by students who took part in these
case studies was likely due to the American teaching methods utilised in the CPP and the
mismatch between those unfamiliar teaching methods and the students’ previous
experiences. In order to learn English and be able to speak in English, however, the
students must practise using the language, a skill unfamiliar to most students who have
learned English only in a classroom setting in Saudi Arabia. In the CPP, the teachers tell
the students that they must participate in these anxiety-provoking activities. The students
might enter the college unprepared to ask questions of the teacher, and especially
unprepared to speak in English in beginning English classes. The teachers could improve
the students’ overall learning experience and potentially reduce their anxiety by
recognising the significant differences between the students’ college EFL experience
and how the classroom culture places novel demands on the students. Teachers might
ease students’ anxiety by normalising the experience or discussing how anxiety is
common, and by encouraging the students to continue on despite anxiety. Teachers could
also reduce their students’ anxiety by taking specific steps, including allowing students
time to speak and allowing them to speak in their native language at the beginning of the
class and helping the students to rephrase and repeat their ideas in the target language (as
suggested by Curran 1961 and discussed by Wu 2010).
Conclusion
The study presented here was pioneering in that it examined FLA in a population outside
of the West, but in a population that is also very underrepresented in the academic
research literature: women of the Arab world. Furthermore, this study was innovative in
that students’ voices were sought, heard and respected as a source of information about
their own experiences in learning EFL. Findings from this study that are similar to
findings in other studies of FLA, such as anxiety over negative evaluation and speaking
in a foreign language, are interesting in that they show these experiences might be
relatively universal. Findings that are unique to this study, such as Maha’s understanding
that a ‘bad eye’ or jinx prohibited her from entering the college, highlight the importance
of respecting cultural differences. This study’s unusual multimethod design facilitates
greater confidence in the findings, which were not a remnant of any one method of
collecting data. The newly developed AFLAQ, designed specifically for working with
students in the Arab world, was useful in identifying students with high levels of anxiety.
However, perhaps most important are the students’ own voices, a simple, valid and
valuable source of information about what students go through when striving to learn a
new language.
Notes on contributor
Taghreed M. Al-Saraj, PhD, is currently a research fellow at Birkbeck, University of London.
She earned her PhD from the Institute of Education, University of London in 2011. She received
her Undergraduate and Masters’ degrees from the University of Miami, Florida. Prior to beginning
her doctoral research, Dr Al-Saraj was an English language lecturer at Dar Al-Hekma College in
Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Having seen firsthand the debilitating effects of FLA in the classroom, Dr
Al-Saraj is very motivated to raise teachers’ awareness about FLA in the Middle East. Dr Al-Saraj
has presented on the topic of Foreign Language Anxiety (FLA) in the Arab World at international
conferences around the world, including at Waseda University in Tokyo, Saudi Ministry of
Education in Jeddah, TESOL Arabia in Dubai, TESOL International in the United States,
University of Texas at Austin, and the British Association for Applied Linguistics (BAAL) in the
United Kingdom.
276 T.M. Al-Saraj
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Foreign language anxiety in female

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Foreign language anxiety in female Arabs learning English: case

Department of Applied Linguistics and Communication, University of London, London, UK

learning English as a Foreign Language in Saudi Arabia, where English is becoming

Steinar Kvale offered a disarmingly simple challenge:

why not talk with them? (1996, 1).

© 2013 Taylor & Francis

Foreign language anxiety (FLA)

FLA and culture

FLA’s causes and relationship with performance were examined in a study of 47

Methods for exploring FLA

The present research

experiences and studies. I conducted interviews individually (weekly) and in groups

FLA assessed by AFLAQ

Case study participants

Table 1. Level 1 participant information.

Level 1 students’ perspectives on anxiety-provoking issues

Researcher: And what do you all think?

Table 3. Summary of anxiety-provoking situations for Level 1.

Student Anxiety-provoking issue or situation

Researcher: What do you mean by that?

Zakia: Yes…but I forgot.

Hind: For me, no.

Samaher: I get anxious because of the teacher.

Researcher: The teacher?

Samaher: Because she is in control of everything, for example, our grades.

Table 4. Level 3 participant information.

Level 3 students’ perspectives on anxiety-provoking issues

Table 6. Summary of anxiety-provoking situations for Level 3.

Student Anxiety-provoking issue or situation

Youssra: … Plus she [the teacher] only concentrates on them.

Researcher: And how do you feel about that?

Noura: This does not lift our spirit.

Youssra: I began to feel burdened to enter the English class.

Farida: I started hating my English class.

behavioural observations and self-reports bolsters confidence in the accuracy of each.

Bilingualism 12: 1–20.

Horwitz, E. K. 2008. Becoming a Language Teacher: A Practical Guide to Second Language

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