A STUDY OF RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CALL AND FOREIGN LANGUAGE ANXIETY IN L۲ LEARNERS

Foreign language anxiety (FLA) is a debilitating affective factor, the lowest possible level of which is desirable in the process of L۲ learning. Considering the fact that computers are becoming more and more integrated in the process of L۲ learning over time, this study sought to investigate the (possible) relationship between computer-assisted language learning (CALL) and FLA, with the aim of exploring the (possible) difference in this relationship across demographic variables (i.e., gender, educational level, and age). An online questionnaire was sent to ۱۵۵ young adult Iranian university students majoring in English literature, TEFL and Translation, who were selected according to the convenience sampling principle. A correlation test was conducted on the collected data. Afterward, the correlation coefficients of the different demographic groups were examined and compared. The results showed a very weak, nonsignificant negative correlation between the two variables in the study, with no statistical difference between the correlation coefficients of the different demographic groups. It is noteworthy that the distribution of the weekly hours of CALL variable was not normal; therefore, it can be interpreted as non-normalization of CALL in the context of this study. Results highlight the lack of understanding of the relationship between CALL and FLA, the consequent impacts they have on each other, and the factors that influence this association. It can be inferred from the results that CALL is not being used in an effective way to reduce FLA. Ultimately, it should be considered that computers are tools, so the way they are used is of great importance.

Keywords:

computer-assisted language learning (CALL) , foreign language anxiety (FLA) , L۲ learning