Communication; Language and Linguistics; Linguistics and Language
Abstract :
[en] 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.
Disciplines :
Education & instruction
Author, co-author :
BOTES, Elouise ; University of Luxembourg > Faculty of Humanities, Education and Social Sciences (FHSE) > Department of Behavioural and Cognitive Sciences (DBCS) > Cognitive Science and Assessment ; Department of Developmental and Educational Psychology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
Van Der Westhuizen, Lindie; Cognitive and Behavioural Sciences, University of Luxembourg, Esch-sur-Alzette, Luxembourg
Dewaele, Jean-Marc; Applied Linguistics, Birkbeck University of London, London, United Kingdom
Aida, Y. 1994. 'Examination of Horwitz, Horwitz, and Cope's construct of foreign language anxiety: The case of students of Japanese,' The Modern Language Journal 78/2: 155-68.
Alenezi, S. M. 2020. 'Foreign language enjoyment and anxiety among the Northern Borders University EFL students: Links to gender and majors,' Journal for Educational, Psychological, and Social Research 39/185: 1203-33.
Barrett, P. 2007. 'Structural equation modelling: Adjudging model fit,' Personality and Individual Differences 42/5: 815-24.
Bensalem, E. 2021. 'Classroom enjoyment and anxiety among Saudi undergraduate EFL students: Does gender matter?,' Vigo International Journal of Applied Linguistics 18: 9-34.
Borgers, N., D. Sikkel, and J. Hox. 2004. 'Response effects in surveys on children and adolescents: The effect of number of response options, negative wording, and neutral midpoint,' Quality & Quantity 38: 17-33.
Botes, E., J.-M. Dewaele, and S. Greiff. 2020a. 'The power to improve: Effects of multilingualism and perceived proficiency on enjoyment and anxiety in foreign language learning,' European Journal of Applied Linguistics 8/2: 279-306.
Botes, E., J.-M. Dewaele, and S. Greiff; University of Luxembourg. 2020b. 'The foreign language classroom anxiety scale and academic achievement: An overview of the prevailing literature and a meta-Analysis,' Journal for the Psychology of Language Learning 2: 26-56.
Botes, E. J., M. Dewaele, and S. Greiff. 2022a. 'The development of a short-form foreign language enjoyment scale,' The Modern Language Journal 105/4: 858-76.
Botes, E. J., M. Dewaele, and S. Greiff. 2022b. Taking Stock: An Overview of the Literature and a Preliminary Meta-Analysis of Foreign Language Enjoyment and Other Individual Difference Variables. Unpublished Manuscript. Retrieved 7 December, 2021 from https://doi. org/10.31234/osf.io/guaj5
Carlson, M., R. Wilcox, C. P. Chou, M. Chang, F. Yang, J. Blanchard, A. Marterella, A. Kuo, and F. Clark. 2011. 'Psychometric properties of reverse-scored items on the CES-D in a sample of ethnically diverse older adults,' Psychological Assessment 23/2: 558-62.
Chen, F. F. 2007. 'Sensitivity of goodness of fit indexes to lack of measurement invariance,' Structural Equation Modeling: A Multidisciplinary Journal 14: 464-504.
Cheng, Y., E. K. Horwitz, and D. L. Schallert. 1999. 'Language Anxiety: Differentiating Writing and Speaking Components,' Language Learning 49/3: 417-46.
Cheung, G. W. And R. B. Rensvold. 2002. 'Evaluating goodness-of-fit indexes for testing measurement invariance,' Structural Equation Modeling: A Multidisciplinary Journal 9: 233-55.
Clark, L. A. And D. Watson. 1995. 'Constructing validity: Basic issues in objective scale development,' Psychological Assessment 7/3: 309-19.
Conrad, K. J., B. D. Wright, P. McKnight, M. McFall, A. Fontana, and R. Rosenheck. 2004. 'Comparing traditional and Rasch analyses of the Mississippi PTSD Scale: Revealing limitations of reverse-scored items,' Journal of Applied Measurement 5/1: 15-30.
Crookall, D. And R. L. Oxford. 1991. 'Dealing with anxiety: Some practical activities for language learners and teacher trainees' in E. K. Horwitz and D. J. Young (eds): Language Anxiety: From Theory and Research to Classroom Implications. Pearson College.
Dewaele, J.-M. 2019. 'The effect of classroom emotions, attitudes toward English, and teacher behavior on willingness to communicate among English foreign language learners,' Journal of Language and Social Psychology 38/4: 523-35.
Dewaele, J.-M. And M. Alfawzan. 2018. 'Does the effect of enjoyment outweigh that of anxiety in foreign language performance?,' Studies in Second Language Learning and Teaching 8/1: 21-45.
Dewaele, J.-M., X. Chen, A. M. Padilla, and J. Lake. 2019. 'The flowering of positive psychology in foreign language teaching and acquisition research,' Frontiers in Psychology 10: 2128. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02128.
Dewaele, J.-M. And P. D. MacIntyre. 2014. 'The two faces of Janus? Anxiety and enjoyment in the foreign language classroom,' Studies in Second Language Learning and Teaching IV/2: 237-74.
Dewaele, J.-M. And P. D. MacIntyre. 2016. 'Foreign language enjoyment and foreign language classroom anxiety. The right and left feet of FL learning?' in P. MacIntyre, T. Gregersen, and S. Mercer (eds): Positive Psychology in SLA. Multilingual Matters. http:// www.multilingual-matters.com/display. Asp?K=9781783095353
Dewaele, J.-M., P. D. MacIntyre, C. Boudreau, and L. Dewaele. 2016. 'Do girls have all the fun? Anxiety and Enjoyment in the Foreign Language Classroom,' Theory and Practice of Second Language Acquisition 2/1: 41-63.
Dewaele, J. M., C. Özdemir, D. Karci, S. Uysal, E. D. Özdemir, and N. Balta. 2022. 'How distinctive is the foreign language enjoyment and foreign language classroom anxiety of Kazakh learners of Turkish?,' Applied Linguistics Review 13: 243-65.
De Winter, J. C. And D. Dodou. 2012. 'Factor recovery by principal axis factoring and maximum likelihood factor analysis as a function of factor pattern and sample size,' Journal of Applied Statistics 39/4: 695-710.
Dordinejad, G. F. And A. H. F. Nasab. 2013. 'Examination of the relationship between perfectionism and English achievement as mediated by foreign language classroom anxiety,' Asia Pacific Education Review 14/4: 603-14.
Elkhafaifi, H. 2005. 'Listening comprehension and anxiety in the Arabic language classroom,' The Modern Language Journal 89/2: 206-20.
Fathi, J. And F. Mohammaddokht. 2021. 'Foreign language enjoyment and anxiety as the correlates of the ideal L2 self in the EFL context,' Frontiers in Psychology, 5509. https:// doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.790648
Ferketich, S. 1991. 'Focus on psychometrics: Aspects of item analysis,' Research in Nursing & Health 14/2: 165-68.
Field, A. 2013. Discovering Statistics Using SPSS, 5th edn. Sage Publications.
Finch, H. W., B. F. French, and M. E. Hernández Finch. 2018. 'Comparison of methods for factor invariance testing of a 1-factor model with small samples and skewed latent traits,' Frontiers in Psychology 9: 332.
Flake, J. K. And E. I. Fried. 2020. 'Measurement schmeasurement: Questionable measurement practices and how to avoid them,' Advances in Methods and Practices in Psychological Science 3/4: 456-65.
Gardner, R. C. 1985. Social Psychology and Second Language Learning: The Role of Attitudes and Motivation. Edward Arnold.
Gocer, A. 2014. 'The relationship between anxiety and attitude of students learning Turkish as a foreign language and their achievement on target language,' Educational Research and Review 9/20: 879-84.
Hagtvet, K. And K. Sipos. 2016. 'Creating short forms for construct measures: The role of exchangeable forms,' Pedagogika 66/6: 689-713.
Heene, M., S. Bollmann, and M. Bühner. 2014. 'Much ado about nothing, or much to do about something? Effects of scale shortening on criterion validity and mean differences,' Journal of Individual Differences 35/4: 245-49.
Hembree, R. 1990. 'The nature, effects, and relief of mathematics anxiety,' Journal for Research in Mathematics Education 21/1: 33-46.
Hopko, D. R., D. L. Reas, J. G. Beck, M. A. Stanley, J. L. Wetherell, D. M. Novy, and P. M. Averill. 2003. 'Assessing worry in older adults: Confirmatory factor analysis of the Penn State Worry Questionnaire and psychometric properties of an abbreviated model,' Psychological Assessment 15/2: 173-83.
Horwitz, E. K. 1986. 'Preliminary evidence for the reliability and validity of a foreign language anxiety scale,' TESOL Quarterly 20/3: 559-62.
Horwitz, E. K. 2001. 'Language anxiety and achievement,' Annual Review of Applied Linguistics 21: 112-26.
Horwitz, E. K. 2017. 'On the misreading of Horwitz, Horwitz and Cope (1986) and the need to balance anxiety research and the experiences of anxious language learners' in C. Gkonou, M. Daubney, and J.-M. Dewaele (eds): New Insights into Language Anxiety. Multilingual Matters.
Horwitz, E. K., M. B. Horwitz, and J. Cope. 1986. 'Foreign language classroom anxiety,' The Modern Language Journal 70/2: 125-32.
Hu, L. T. And P. M. Bentler. 1999. 'Cutoff criteria for fit indexes in covariance structure analysis: Conventional criteria versus new alternatives,' Structural Equation Modeling: A Multidisciplinary Journal 6: 1-55.
Hung, M. T. 2020. Teacher Support and Intrinsic Motivation: The Mediating Roles of Enjoyment, Anxiety, and Self-Efficacy (Doctoral Dissertation). Mississippi State University. JASP Team. 2020. JASP (Version 0.13.1) [Computer software]. JASP.
Jee, M. J. 2016. 'Exploring Korean heritage language learners' anxiety: "We are not afraid of Korean",' Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development 37/1: 56-74.
Kenny, D. A. 2020. 'Measuring model fit,' available at http://davidakenny.net/cm/fit.htm.
Khodadady, E. And G. H. Khajavy. 2013. 'Exploring the role of anxiety and motivation in foreign language achievement: A structural equation modeling approach,' Porta Linguarum 20: 269-86.
Kitoaka, K. 2021. 'An empirical study of classroom enjoyment and negative emotions: A model of the use of authentic materials in the Japanese EFL context,' Research in the Teaching of English 26: 87-100.
Kline, P. 2014. An Easy Guide to Factor Analysis. Taylor and Francis.
Kline, R. B. 2013. 'Assessing statistical aspects of test fairness with structural equation modelling,' Educational Research and Evaluation 19/2: 204-22.
Kline, T. 2005. Psychological Testing: A Practical Approach to Design and Evaluation. Sage.
Li, C., J.-M. Dewaele, and Y. Hu. 2021. 'Foreign language learning boredom: Conceptualization and measurement,' Applied Linguistics Review. Advanced online publication.
Liu, H.-J. 2013. 'Effects of foreign language anxiety and perceived competence on learning strategy use,' International Journal of English Linguistics 3/3: 76-87.
Liu, M., and J. Jackson. 2008. 'An exploration of Chinese EFL Learners' unwillingness to communicate and foreign language anxiety,' The Modern Language Journal 92/1: 71-86.
Liu, M., and X. Zhang. 2013. 'An investigation of Chinese University students' foreign language anxiety and English learning motivation,' English Linguistics Research 2/1: 1-13.
MacIntyre, P. D. 1992. Anxiety and Language Learning from a Stages of Processing Perspective (Unpublished Doctoral Dissertation). The University of Western Ontario.
MacIntyre, P. D. 2017. 'An overview of language anxiety research and trends in its development,' New Insights into Language Anxiety: Theory, Research and Educational Implications 1: 11-30.
MacIntyre, P. D., and R. C. Gardner. 1988. 'The measurement of anxiety and applications to second language learning: An annotated bibliography,' Department of Psychology Research Bulletin 672.
MacIntyre, P. D., and T. Gregersen. 2012. 'Affect: The role of language anxiety and other emotions in language learning' in S. Mercer, S. Ryan, and M. Williams (eds): Psychology for Language Learning. Palgrave Macmillan.
Mallow, J. V. 2006. 'Science Anxiety: Research and action' in J. J. Mintzes (ed.): Handbook of College Science Teaching. National Science Teachers Association.
Marsh, H. W., L. A. Ellis, R. H. Parada, G. Richards, and B. G. Heubeck. 2005. 'A short version of the Self-Description Questionnaire II: Operationalizing criteria for short-form evaluation with new applications of confirmatory factor analyses,' Psychological Assessment 17/1: 81-102.
Meade, A. W. And D. J. Bauer. 2007. 'Power and precision in confirmatory factor analytic tests of measurement invariance,' Structural Equation Modeling: A Multidisciplinary Journal 14: 611-35.
Meredith, W. 1993. 'Measurement invariance, factor analysis and factorial invariance,' Psychometrika 58: 525-43.
Millsap, R. E. 2011. Statistical Approaches to Measurement Invariance. Routledge.
Moskowitz, S. And J.-M. Dewaele. 2020. 'The role of intellectual humility in foreign language enjoyment and foreign language classroom anxiety,' Eurasian Journal of Applied Linguistics 6/3: 521-41.
Onwuegbuzie, A. J., P. Bailey, and C. E. Daley. 1999. 'Factors associated with foreign language anxiety,' Applied Psycholinguistics 20/2: 217-39.
Park, G. P. 2014. 'Factor analysis of the foreign language classroom anxiety scale in Korean learners of English as a foreign language,' Psychological Reports 115: 261-75.
Park, G.-P. And B. F. French. 2013. 'Gender differences in the Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale,' System 41/2: 462-71.
Resnik, P. And J.-M. Dewaele. 2020. 'Trait emotional intelligence, positive and negative emotions in first and foreign language classes: A mixed-methods approach,' System 94: 102324.
Rezazadeh, M. And N. Zarrinabadi. 2020. 'Examining need for closure and need for cognition as predictors of foreign language anxiety and enjoyment,' Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development 1.
Rodebaugh, T. L., C. M. Woods, D. M. Thissen, R. G. Heimberg, D. L. Chambless, and R. M. Rapee. 2004. 'More information from fewer questions: The factor structure and item properties of the original and brief fear of negative evaluation scale,' Psychological Assessment 16/2: 169-81.
Rosseel, Y. 2012. 'Lavaan: An R package for structural equation modeling and more,' (Version 0.5-12) Journal of Statistical Software 48/2: 1-36.
Šafranj, J. And J. Zivlak. 2019. 'Effects of big five personality traits and fear of negative evaluation on foreign language anxiety,' Croatian Journal of Education-Hrvatski Casopis za Odgoj i Obrazovanje 21/1: 275-306.
Scovel, T. 1978. 'The effect of affect on foreign language learning: A review of the anxiety research,' Language Learning 28/1: 129-42.
Shirvan, E. M. And T. Taherian. 2018. 'Longitudinal examination of university students' foreign language enjoyment and foreign language classroom anxiety in the course of general English: Latent growth curve modelling,' International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism 24/1: 31-49.
Stevens, J. P. 1992. Applied Multivariate Statistics for the Social Sciences. Erlbaum.
Su, H. 2022. 'Foreign language enjoyment and classroom anxiety of chinese efl learners with intermediate and low English proficiency,' Journal of Language Teaching and Research 13/1: 101-9.
Szyszka, M. 2011. 'Foreign language anxiety and self-perceived English pronunciation competence,' Studies in Second Language Learning and Teaching 1/2: 283-300.
Tabachnick, B. G. And L. S. Fidell. 2007. Using Multivariate Statistics, 5th edn. Pearson Education Inc.
Teimouri, Y., J. Goetze, and L. Plonsky. 2019. 'Second language anxiety and achievement,' Studies in Second Language Acquisition 41/2: 363-25.
Tóth, Z. 2008. 'A foreign language anxiety scale for Hungarian learners of English,' Working Papers in Language Pedagogy 2: 55-78.
Tzoannopoulou, M. 2016. 'Foreign language anxiety and fear of negative evaluation in the Greek university classroom,' Selected, Papers on Theoretical and Applied Linguistics 21: 823-38.
Uzun, K. 2017. 'Compulsory English courses in higher education: A source of angst or thrill?,' The Journal of Language Teaching and Learning 7/2: 1-20.
Woods, C. M. 2006. 'Careless responding to reverse-worded items: Implications for confirmatory factor analysis,' Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment 28/3: 186-91.
Yoon, M. And M. H. C. Lai. 2018. 'Testing factorial invariance with unbalanced samples,' Structural Equation Modeling: A,' Structural Equation Modeling: A Multidisciplinary Journal 25: 201-13.
Zhang, X. 2019. 'Foreign language anxiety and foreign language performance: A meta-Analysis,' The Modern Language Journal 103/4: 763-81.
Ziegler, M., C. J. Kemper, and P. M. Kruyen. 2014. 'Short scales-five misunderstandings and ways to overcome them,' Journal of Individual Differences 35: 185-89.
