Anxiety in adult foreign language learning: The case of Ghanaian undergraduate students of Spanish

Abstract

This study investigates students’ anxiety levels through the administration of the Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (FLCAS) among Spanish learners at a Ghanaian University. The differences according to level of instruction, the association between classroom anxiety and performance, as well as the possible relationship between language immersion and anxiety are also analysed using descriptive statistics, and Pearson’s Moment Correlation Coefficient. The findings indicate that the majority of student participants experienced foreign language classroom anxiety. Nonetheless, contrary to previous research findings, anxiety was not found to decrease systematically as proficiency increased. Additionally, as confirmed by previous studies, the result of the Pearson correlation analysis showed that students’ overall Spanish classroom anxiety and their classroom achievement had a negative association.