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【Abstract】Foreign language anxiety is an important emotional factor，which affects language learning.Some researches proved that anxiety could interfere the acquisition，retention and production of the new language.Knowing about the factors of anxiety can help teachers understand and analyze the problems that caused by anxiety among students，so that this can improve students’ learning outcomes.
【Key Words】foreign language anxiety； language learning； factors； measures
【摘要】外语语言焦虑是影响外语学习的一个重要情感因素。一些研究表明，焦虑影响新知识的习得，记忆与产出。了解一些与焦虑有关的因素能够帮助教师理解并分析其给学生带来的问题，以此来提高学习效果。
【关键词】外语焦虑 语言学习 因素 方法
I Introduction
With the reform of English Curriculums，English learning becomes more important in recent years.As we all know，besides the linguistic characteristics of English itself，English learning is also influenced by some other factors，such as anxiety.Some researchers maintain that anxiety stands out as one of the main impediments for effective language learning.Research（Young1990，1991）has revealed that anxiety can impede foreign language production and achievement.Krashen（1989）held the opinion that anxiety inhabits the learner’s ability to process incoming language and shorten the process of acquisition.What’s more，the current foreign language teaching practice also proves that foreign language anxiety affects students’ ability to acquire and understand the language.Therefore，it is imperative for teachers to think about its causes and take measures to reduce the harmful effect.
II Basic Concept of Foreign Language Anxiety
2.1 Definition of Foreign Language Anxiety
According to our common sense，anxiety is a kind of feeling with uneasiness，frustration，self-doubt or worry.Different researchers define it in different ways.Scovel（1978：134）defined anxiety as“a state of apprehension，a vague fear.”Spielberger（1983）treated anxiety as the subjective feeling of tension，apprehension，nervousness and worry，which is connected with the automatic nervousness system.Since 1986，Horwitz and other researchers regarded language anxiety as bad feelings of uneasiness，frustration，self-doubt，apprehension or worry，which are produced during the process of learners’ learning and using the target language.
From the above definitions and the understanding of the anxiety，we can know language anxiety is a kind of feeling with tension，apprehension，uneasiness when students learn the target language.
2.2 Classification and aspect of Foreign Language Anxiety The research on anxiety suggests that anxiety can be categorized into three levels： trait anxiety，state anxiety and situation-specific anxiety.Spielberger（1983）thought trait anxiety as an individual’s personality.A person with high trait anxiety would be more frequently become apprehensive in different situations.State anxiety can be defined as apprehension that is experienced at a particular moment，for instance，take examinations.Situation specific anxiety，which is aroused by a specific type of situation or event such as public speaking or class participation.
Besides the above classification，Horwitz ettal（1986）subdivided it into three aspects： communication apprehension，test anxiety and fear of negative evaluation.In foreign language context，learner’s inability to express oneself fully or to understand what other people says can lead to frustration and apprehension，we call it as communication anxiety.Test anxiety involves worries about the frequent testing and examinations in a language classroom.Fear of negative evaluation is“apprehension about others’ evaluations”.
From the above statements，we can know different types of anxiety，only the learners know what types of anxiety they belong to，can they deal with their problems fluently.
III Factors of Foreign Language Anxiety
In order to take effective strategies to help students learn language smoothly，it is necessary to discuss the factors that make learners produce anxiety in foreign language learning.There are main factors that lead to foreign language anxiety.
3.1 Learners’ Competitive Natures
Some diaries indicate that learners’ competitive natures can be treated as a source of anxiety.Bailey（1983）analyzed the diaries of 11 learners and found that they tended to become anxious when they compared themselves with other learners.She noted that when learners perceived themselves are more proficient，their anxiety would decrease.We know that competitiveness sometimes hinders students’ progress，however，at other times it motivates them to study harder.So learners should have a right attitude to treat it.
3.2 Teachers’ Attitudes to Errors
In foreign language context，it is the teachers who identify and correct errors.Teachers’ attitudes to errors are based on the perspective that language learning is the product of habit formation.They can’t tolerate the bad habit or some serious errors.And the limited class time and over-loaded content may result in teachers’ immediate interruption by giving some feedback or evaluation.If some anxious students are corrected or given negative evaluation，they are more likely to feel themselves less component than their classmates who are positively evaluated.Thus，the anxiety will arise.So teachers should pay attention to their attitudes and behaviors. IV Effect of Anxiety on Foreign Language Learning
The relationship between anxiety and foreign language learning is complicated.However，there is no doubt that anxiety has effect on students’ classroom behavior and learning achievement.
4.1 Anxiety Impedes Communication in Foreign Language Classroom
In foreign language classroom，we often see students are inhibited by their fear of making mistakes and negative evaluation.These often lead to a loss of concentration，because their anxiety distract attention from the task that they pay attention to.They worry about their performance，the consequence of failure and how to express their ideas successfully.Sometimes，they experience emotional interference in the forms of psychological arousal.To some extent，all these worries may impede their communication.
4.2 Intensive Anxiety Make Students Lose Heart
Intensive anxiety leads to the lack of concentration，thus，affecting students’ learning performance and their anxiety levels will be further raised.They experience cycles of anxiety and failure that eventually discourage them from learning well.In consequence，this anxiety causes students to lose heart in learning.Sometimes it produces continuing failure and results in“impaired language learning”.
V Measures to Reduce Foreign Language Anxiety
Based on the above analysis，anxiety has some effects on foreign language learning.Therefore，in order to improve foreign language learning，we should find some ways to reduce them.
5.1 Raising Students’ Self-esteem
In language learning，the teacher plays a crucial role in raising learners’ esteem.If a teacher regards one learner as an unintelligent person，this may lead him to lose self-esteem.But if a teacher has a good evaluation on learners’ aptitude，they will not assume that they lack ability.Even if they fail a test，they might think that the task is too difficult or they haven’t work hard enough，not because they are stupid.So teachers should respect students’ esteem and enhance their confidence to learn language well.
5.2 Building up the Relaxed Classroom Atmosphere
In traditional classroom teaching，teachers are controllers.But now they play as the following new roles to build up relaxed classroom atmosphere.（1）Facilitator： they should try to communicate with students in time.（2）Organizer： they need to efficiently organize teaching by adopting various class activities.（3）Motivator： they should give priority to motivate students，because it provides the primary impetus to initiate learning foreign language.（4）Evaluator： they need to make evaluation of students’ performance properly and allow mutual evaluation between students.Maybe if teachers change their roles，the relaxed classroom can be achieved and learners’ anxiety can be reduced. VI Conclusion
To sum up，anxiety has a negative impact on students’ foreign language learning，so in the teaching process，the negative effect of language anxiety can’t be neglected.Teachers should find ways to reduce it and cultivate students to master the learning strategies.Thus，improving their learning proficiency.What’s more，teachers should give students more encouragement and praise.Only in this way，can we make foreign language learning and teaching more efficient.
References：
[1]Ellis.Rod.Understanding Second Language Acquisition[M].Shanghai：Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press.1999.
[2]Horwitz，EK，Horwitz.MB.
【Key Words】foreign language anxiety； language learning； factors； measures
【摘要】外语语言焦虑是影响外语学习的一个重要情感因素。一些研究表明，焦虑影响新知识的习得，记忆与产出。了解一些与焦虑有关的因素能够帮助教师理解并分析其给学生带来的问题，以此来提高学习效果。
【关键词】外语焦虑 语言学习 因素 方法
I Introduction
With the reform of English Curriculums，English learning becomes more important in recent years.As we all know，besides the linguistic characteristics of English itself，English learning is also influenced by some other factors，such as anxiety.Some researchers maintain that anxiety stands out as one of the main impediments for effective language learning.Research（Young1990，1991）has revealed that anxiety can impede foreign language production and achievement.Krashen（1989）held the opinion that anxiety inhabits the learner’s ability to process incoming language and shorten the process of acquisition.What’s more，the current foreign language teaching practice also proves that foreign language anxiety affects students’ ability to acquire and understand the language.Therefore，it is imperative for teachers to think about its causes and take measures to reduce the harmful effect.
II Basic Concept of Foreign Language Anxiety
2.1 Definition of Foreign Language Anxiety
According to our common sense，anxiety is a kind of feeling with uneasiness，frustration，self-doubt or worry.Different researchers define it in different ways.Scovel（1978：134）defined anxiety as“a state of apprehension，a vague fear.”Spielberger（1983）treated anxiety as the subjective feeling of tension，apprehension，nervousness and worry，which is connected with the automatic nervousness system.Since 1986，Horwitz and other researchers regarded language anxiety as bad feelings of uneasiness，frustration，self-doubt，apprehension or worry，which are produced during the process of learners’ learning and using the target language.
From the above definitions and the understanding of the anxiety，we can know language anxiety is a kind of feeling with tension，apprehension，uneasiness when students learn the target language.
2.2 Classification and aspect of Foreign Language Anxiety The research on anxiety suggests that anxiety can be categorized into three levels： trait anxiety，state anxiety and situation-specific anxiety.Spielberger（1983）thought trait anxiety as an individual’s personality.A person with high trait anxiety would be more frequently become apprehensive in different situations.State anxiety can be defined as apprehension that is experienced at a particular moment，for instance，take examinations.Situation specific anxiety，which is aroused by a specific type of situation or event such as public speaking or class participation.
Besides the above classification，Horwitz ettal（1986）subdivided it into three aspects： communication apprehension，test anxiety and fear of negative evaluation.In foreign language context，learner’s inability to express oneself fully or to understand what other people says can lead to frustration and apprehension，we call it as communication anxiety.Test anxiety involves worries about the frequent testing and examinations in a language classroom.Fear of negative evaluation is“apprehension about others’ evaluations”.
From the above statements，we can know different types of anxiety，only the learners know what types of anxiety they belong to，can they deal with their problems fluently.
III Factors of Foreign Language Anxiety
In order to take effective strategies to help students learn language smoothly，it is necessary to discuss the factors that make learners produce anxiety in foreign language learning.There are main factors that lead to foreign language anxiety.
3.1 Learners’ Competitive Natures
Some diaries indicate that learners’ competitive natures can be treated as a source of anxiety.Bailey（1983）analyzed the diaries of 11 learners and found that they tended to become anxious when they compared themselves with other learners.She noted that when learners perceived themselves are more proficient，their anxiety would decrease.We know that competitiveness sometimes hinders students’ progress，however，at other times it motivates them to study harder.So learners should have a right attitude to treat it.
3.2 Teachers’ Attitudes to Errors
In foreign language context，it is the teachers who identify and correct errors.Teachers’ attitudes to errors are based on the perspective that language learning is the product of habit formation.They can’t tolerate the bad habit or some serious errors.And the limited class time and over-loaded content may result in teachers’ immediate interruption by giving some feedback or evaluation.If some anxious students are corrected or given negative evaluation，they are more likely to feel themselves less component than their classmates who are positively evaluated.Thus，the anxiety will arise.So teachers should pay attention to their attitudes and behaviors. IV Effect of Anxiety on Foreign Language Learning
The relationship between anxiety and foreign language learning is complicated.However，there is no doubt that anxiety has effect on students’ classroom behavior and learning achievement.
4.1 Anxiety Impedes Communication in Foreign Language Classroom
In foreign language classroom，we often see students are inhibited by their fear of making mistakes and negative evaluation.These often lead to a loss of concentration，because their anxiety distract attention from the task that they pay attention to.They worry about their performance，the consequence of failure and how to express their ideas successfully.Sometimes，they experience emotional interference in the forms of psychological arousal.To some extent，all these worries may impede their communication.
4.2 Intensive Anxiety Make Students Lose Heart
Intensive anxiety leads to the lack of concentration，thus，affecting students’ learning performance and their anxiety levels will be further raised.They experience cycles of anxiety and failure that eventually discourage them from learning well.In consequence，this anxiety causes students to lose heart in learning.Sometimes it produces continuing failure and results in“impaired language learning”.
V Measures to Reduce Foreign Language Anxiety
Based on the above analysis，anxiety has some effects on foreign language learning.Therefore，in order to improve foreign language learning，we should find some ways to reduce them.
5.1 Raising Students’ Self-esteem
In language learning，the teacher plays a crucial role in raising learners’ esteem.If a teacher regards one learner as an unintelligent person，this may lead him to lose self-esteem.But if a teacher has a good evaluation on learners’ aptitude，they will not assume that they lack ability.Even if they fail a test，they might think that the task is too difficult or they haven’t work hard enough，not because they are stupid.So teachers should respect students’ esteem and enhance their confidence to learn language well.
5.2 Building up the Relaxed Classroom Atmosphere
In traditional classroom teaching，teachers are controllers.But now they play as the following new roles to build up relaxed classroom atmosphere.（1）Facilitator： they should try to communicate with students in time.（2）Organizer： they need to efficiently organize teaching by adopting various class activities.（3）Motivator： they should give priority to motivate students，because it provides the primary impetus to initiate learning foreign language.（4）Evaluator： they need to make evaluation of students’ performance properly and allow mutual evaluation between students.Maybe if teachers change their roles，the relaxed classroom can be achieved and learners’ anxiety can be reduced. VI Conclusion
To sum up，anxiety has a negative impact on students’ foreign language learning，so in the teaching process，the negative effect of language anxiety can’t be neglected.Teachers should find ways to reduce it and cultivate students to master the learning strategies.Thus，improving their learning proficiency.What’s more，teachers should give students more encouragement and praise.Only in this way，can we make foreign language learning and teaching more efficient.
References：
[1]Ellis.Rod.Understanding Second Language Acquisition[M].Shanghai：Shanghai Foreign Language Education Press.1999.
[2]Horwitz，EK，Horwitz.MB.