This book provides an overview of current theory, research and practice in the field of language anxiety and brings together a range of perspectives on this psychological construct in a single volume. Chapters show that language anxiety can be viewed as a complex and dynamic construct and can be researched using different methods and frameworks.

This book provides an overview of current theory, research and practice in the field of language anxiety and brings together a range of perspectives on this psychological construct in a single volume. Chapters in the volume are divided into three sections. Part 1 revisits language anxiety theory, showing that it can be viewed as a complex and dynamic construct and that it is linked to other psychological variables, such as the self and personality. In Part 2, a series of contextualised studies on language anxiety are presented, with a key feature of these studies being the diverse research designs which are applied in different instructional settings across the globe. Part 3 bridges theory and practice by presenting coping strategies and practice activities with a view to informing classroom practice and pedagogical interventions.

1. Mark Daubney, Jean-Marc Dewaele and Christina Gkonou: Introduction

Part 1: Theoretical Insights

2. Peter D. Macintyre: An Overview of Language Anxiety Research and Trends in Its Development

3. Elaine Horwitz: On the Misreading Of Horwitz, Horwitz, and Cope (1986) and the Need to Balance Anxiety Research and the Experiences of Anxious Language Learners

Part 2: Empirical Investigations 

4. Erdi Şimşek and Zoltán Dörnyei: Anxiety and L2 Self-Images: The ‘Anxious Self’

5. Jean-Marc Dewaele: Are Perfectionists More Anxious Foreign Language Learners and Users?

6. Jim King and Lesley Smith: Social Anxiety and Silence in Japan’s Tertiary Foreign Language Classrooms

7. Tammy Gregersen, Peter D. Macintyre and Tucker Olson: Do You See What I Feel? An Idiodynamic Assessment of Expert and Peer’s Reading of Nonverbal Language Anxiety Cues

8. Christina Gkonou: Towards an Ecological Understanding of Language Anxiety

9. Zsuzsa Tóth: Exploring the Relationship between Anxiety and Advanced Hungarian EFL Learners’ Communication Experiences in the Target Language: A Study of High- Vs. Low-Anxious Learners

Part 3: Implications for Practice

10. Rebecca L. Oxford: Anxious Language Learners Can Change Their Minds: Ideas and Strategies from Traditional Psychology and Positive Psychology

11. Fernando D. Rubio-Alcalá: The Links between Self-Esteem and Language Anxiety and Implications for the Classroom

12. Christina Gkonou, Jean-Marc Dewaele and Mark Daubney: Conclusion