Based on our core readings for this week (Roed 2003, Horwitz 1986, von Worde 2003 and Hurd 2007) here is my list of priorities for an Anxiety-Free Learning Experience:

I feel that my role as a teacher, the transferor of knowledge, is facilitated when students are at ease. In fact, I feel that if my students are not comfortable and happy in my classroom, they cannot learn. In fact, the acquisition of words and grammar, or, learning the language, is the very last step in the learning process.

Recently, I just started two new classes, and accurately predicted that the first lessons would be somewhat erratic because I didn’t ‘know’ my students (their likes/dislikes, strengths/abilities, general English level). So I agree entirely with James in his view that ‘engaging with students on a personal level’ is invaluable.

Now I am a few lessons in, I know who can do what, when to play a song, when is a good time to move them around, and what activities they like. This leads me to establishing a routine, where the repetition of certain activities brings familiarity, and, in turn, comfort, to my students. I often take to boarding the main activities of the class, so the students know what is coming next, and are not taken by surprise (by something like a test, which is almost always referred to as a quiz!).

I also try to focus on making those tasks that are generally perceived as difficult, easier. Whether it be a listening task or speaking task, providing scaffolding (Bruner, 1978) is essential. For example, activating background knowledge prior to the introduction of a new topic, pre-teaching blocking lexis or providing visual images to support oral instructions. Taking time to ‘set up’ tasks like this, builds student confidence and means they are more likely to be successful in completing their task.

Finally, rotational pair and group work, is a key feature of my lessons. Indeed, the interviews conducted in the von Worde journal about anxiety and language learning indicated that “an atmosphere of cordiality, communality, and friendship among the students themselves seems to ease learner anxiety” (von Worde, 2003, p8).Frequently working with different students, means they get to know each other better, and having forged strong bonds, are likely to produce more fluent and accurate output.

In this way, I continuously “create student support systems” in the form or small, group work, and “closely monitor the classroom climate to identify specific sources of student anxiety”, in the form of regular, short, informal questionnaires (Horowitz, Horowitz and Cope, 1986, p131).

References

Roed 2003, Language Learner Behaviour in a Virtual Environment. Computer Assisted Language Learning, 16, 2-3, pp. 155-172.

Horwitz 1986, Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety. The Modern Language Journal, 70, 2 (Summer, 1986), pp. 125-132.

von Worde 2003, Student’s perspectives on foreign language anxiety, Inquiry, 8.1