Validating the Short-form Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale

2022/04/14 by Elouise Botes, Lindie van der Westhuizen, Jean‐Marc Dewaele +4 · 7 citations
Arts and Humanities · Social Sciences · Psychology · #EFL/ESL Teaching and Learning #Teacher Professional Development and Motivation #Stuttering Research and Treatment

paper · doi:10.1093/applin/amac018

Abstract

Abstract Foreign language classroom anxiety (FLCA) is a popular construct in applied linguistics research, traditionally measured with the 33-item Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (FLCAS). However, recent studies have started utilizing the eight-item Short-Form FLCAS (S-FLCAS). There is therefore a need, which this study addressed in five sequential steps, to validate the S-FLCAS in order to ensure the validity and reliability of the scale. A sample of n = 370 foreign language learners was utilized in the validation efforts, which included exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses, the establishment of convergent and discriminant validity, and invariance testing. The S-FLCAS was found to have a unidimensional structure with the eight items loading on a single latent variable. Evidence was provided of the internal consistency and the convergent and discriminate validity of the S-FLCAS. In addition, the measure was found to be fully invariant across age, gender, educational levels, and L1 groups. It is, therefore, with some considerable confidence that we can recommend the future use of the S-FLCAS in peer-reviewed research.

Citations

• Measurement Invariance, Factor Analysis and Factorial Invariance
• Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety
• Preliminary Evidence for the Reliability and Validity of a Foreign Language Anxiety Scale
• Language Anxiety: Differentiating Writing and Speaking Components
• Foreign Language Anxiety and Foreign Language Performance: A Meta‐Analysis
• The Development and Validation of the Short Form of the Foreign Language Enjoyment Scale

Cited by

• Foreign language learner well-being: operationalization and validation of the E4MC model
• The role of positive and negative emotions in foreign language learning: A research agenda
• The mediating role of emotion regulation in the link between enjoyment, anxiety, and emotional disengagement in multilingual learning: a response surface analysis
• Foreign language enjoyment overcomes anxiety and boredom to boost oral proficiency in the first year of English foreign language learning
• Levels of foreign language enjoyment, anxiety and boredom in emergency remote teaching and in in-person classes
• The Impact of Game‐Based Metaverse on Language Learning Motivation, Anxiety, and Vocabulary
• Artificial intelligence in EFL speaking: Impact on enjoyment, anxiety, and willingness to communicate

Related

• The Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale and Academic Achievement: An Overview of the Prevailing Literature and a Meta-analysis
• Methods and Results in the Study of Anxiety and Language Learning: A Review of the Literature*
• Foreign and second language anxiety
• Language anxiety and achievement
• Language Anxiety: Differentiating Writing and Speaking Components