Study habits and anxiety about learning foreign languages

Abstract

The purpose was to investigate the relationship of self-reported study habits to anxiety about learning foreign languages. 219 college students from a variety of disciplinary backgrounds were enrolled in either Spanish, French, German, or Japanese classes. Correlational analyses, using the Bonferroni adjustment, indicated that students with the highest anxiety about foreign languages tended to report that (1) they spend too much time on some subjects and not enough time on others, (2) they frequently do not get enough sleep and feel sluggish in class or when studying, (3) they do not try to space study periods to avoid becoming too tired while studying, and (4) they have trouble settling down to work and do not begin to study as soon as they sit down. The implications of these findings are discussed.