Relationship of L1 Skills and L2 Aptitude to L2 Anxiety on the Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale

The Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (FLCAS) has been challenged on the grounds that it may also assess language learning skills. In this study, 128 students who had been administered measures of first language (L1) skills in elementary school were followed from 1st to 10th grade. Fifty‐thre...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Language learning 2013-12, Vol.63 (4), p.870-895
Main Authors: Sparks, Richard L., Patton, Jon
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adults. Performance, acquisition
Anxiety
Correlation
Elementary School Students
Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale
full information maximum likelihood (FIML)
Grade 10
High School Students
High Schools
Individual Differences
L1 skills
L2 anxiety
L2 aptitude
Language Aptitude
Language Skills
Language Tests
Linguistics
longitudinal
Longitudinal Studies
Measures (Individuals)
Modern Language Aptitude Test
Native Language
path analysis
Production and comprehension processes
Psycholinguistics
Psychology of language
Reading Skills
Regression (Statistics)
Second Language Instruction
Second Language Learning
Self Efficacy
Spelling
Transfer of Training
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Summary:The Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (FLCAS) has been challenged on the grounds that it may also assess language learning skills. In this study, 128 students who had been administered measures of first language (L1) skills in elementary school were followed from 1st to 10th grade. Fifty‐three students had completed second language (L2) courses in high school where they were administered the Modern Language Aptitude Test (MLAT), FLCAS, and measures of L1 skills. A full information likelihood procedure (FIML) was used to conduct a path analysis and hierarchical regressions. The results showed that the FLCAS accounted for significant unique variance in L1 skills in elementary school several years before the students’ engaged in L2 study as well as significant unique variance on the MLAT and L1 skills measured in high school. Hierarchical regressions found that the FLCAS predicted growth in L1 skills (reading, spelling, language) in elementary school and also from elementary to high school. Findings suggest that the FLCAS is likely to be measuring individual differences in students’ language skills and/or self‐perceptions about their language learning skills rather than anxiety unique to L2 learning.
ISSN:0023-8333
1467-9922
DOI:10.1111/lang.12025