The Effect of Foreign Language Anxiety (FLA) ThroughNonverbal Cues on Performance and Behavior of Iranianintermediate EFL in a Speaking Exam

One of the best predictors of L2 achievement is Foreign LanguageAnxiety (FLA). It is a complex affective factor that has been well documented in EFL literature, yet the methods employed to investigatethe phenomena have been largely constrained to surveys and traditionalqualitative methods, such as diaries and interviews leaving gaps in ourunderstanding of how it manifests itself in the student’s nonverbalbehavior in real time. In addition to investigating FLA in relation toperformance, this study is the first to analyze nonverbal behavior in anIranian context by adapting methods first introduced by Gregersen(2005). Though findings show a negative relationship using Spearman’scorrelation (= -.7, p<0.05, N=8) in comparing the FLA to speakingexam scores, this study was unable to demonstrate results consistentwith Gregersen’s (2005) findings. The implications of this study drawattention to the role pedagogy in design and delivery of speakingexams.

Keywords:

Anxiety , Nonverbal Cues , Performance , Behavior