Foreign language anxiety and variables in distance learning

Abstract

Foreign language anxiety is a common phenomenon experienced by language learners, which can lead to negative feelings, decreased motivation, and poor language learning outcomes (Horwitz, Horwitz, & Cope, 1986). While the experience of foreign language anxiety is widely acknowledged, there is still much to learn about the variables that contribute to it. In this article, we will explore some of the variables that have been identified in research as significant contributors to foreign language anxiety, how a person's first language affects their foreign language anxiety, aims to provide an overview of the current literature on the relationship between foreign language anxiety and brain functions, highlighting the neural mechanisms underlying this relationship and its implications for language learning.