Sources of Foreign Language Anxiety in the student-teachers’ English classrooms: a case study in a Spanish university

Abstract

Foreign Language Anxiety is a common problem among learners. Yet, more relevant if the learners are future teachers. This paper presents a qualitative case study that aims to provide an in-depth analysis of the reasons for foreign language anxiety among undergraduate students learning English in a Spanish Faculty of Education. The objective was to identify and understand the causes of anxiety in this context. We gathered information from 63 students and 4 teachers through classroom observations, questionnaires and a focus group. The results identify three interrelated categories of causes of language anxiety. Furthermore, the explanatory model proposed here introduces the classification of these causes into root sources, triggering sources, and contributing sources. More specifically, we postulate that root sources can be traced to the learners themselves (low level in oral English, low self-efficacy, etc.) and, because of this, other external factors, mainly, speaking exercises in front of the classroom, can trigger language anxiety experiences. This model improves our understanding of how sources of language anxiety interact in this context and other similar learning settings.