Foreign language anxiety and study abroad: Chinese students’ voices of experiencing foreign language anxiety during their graduate study in Australia

Abstract

Foreign language anxiety (FLA) has been investigated as a significant factor in language performance and achievement. Increasing studies have revealed relevant factors of FLA relating to learning environments, and the study abroad context is one of them. In Australia, Chinese students consist of one of the biggest groups of international students. Given that language learning is an integral part of Chinese students’ graduate experiences in Australia, it is significant to explore their FLA during their studies in Australia and shed light on the broader scope of investigating FLA within study abroad contexts. This study draws meaning from the data collected by interviewing four Chinese graduate students studying in Australia to explore their experiences of FLA, influential factors, and feasible strategies to manage FLA while studying abroad. Findings suggest that Chinese graduate students’ FLA in Australia is associated with the high academic English demands for graduate students, high self-expectations, inadequate contextual language competence, and the significant differences between tertiary contexts in China and Australia (more interactive and conversational activities). Novel suggestions by participants for managing FLA during study abroad are: recognising both positive and negative aspects of FLA and practising and communicating more with non-native EFL students from other countries.

Keywords

• Foreign language anxiety
• study abroad
• language learning experience
• international students
• graduate education
• Anatoly Oleksiyenko, The Education University of Hong Kong Faculty of of Education and Human Development, Hong Kong