Unraveling Online Chinese Language Learning Anxiety Among South American Learners: Exploring the Influencing Factors
PDF

Keywords

Chinese language learning
Anxiety
South America
Online teaching

How to Cite

Gou, D. (2025). Unraveling Online Chinese Language Learning Anxiety Among South American Learners: Exploring the Influencing Factors. International Theory and Practice in Humanities and Social Sciences, 2(3), 179–193. https://doi.org/10.70693/itphss.v2i3.314
Received 2025-01-01
Accepted 2025-01-21
Published 2025-03-17

Abstract

Purpose: This study aims to uncover the primary factors contributing to online Chinese language learning anxiety among learners in South America, investigate how anxiety differs across groups with varying backgrounds, and provide empirical evidence to inform the optimization of Chinese language teaching strategies and cross-cultural instructional practices.

Methodology: Data were gathered via an online questionnaire, yielding 182 valid responses. Descriptive statistical analysis, correlation analysis, and multiple linear regression models were employed, complemented by subsample regression analyses to assess the impact of key variables on Chinese language learning anxiety.

Results: The findings indicate that perceived learning ability and age each exert a significant positive impact on anxiety, whereas higher perceived learning achievement and perceived importance can effectively alleviate it. Further subsample regression analysis shows that learners with Chinese heritage differ from those without such heritage in terms of what drives their anxiety, especially with regard to age, perceived difficulty, and perceived importance.

Conclusion: Emphasizing real-world applications of Chinese, systematically addressing challenges related to tones and characters, and enhancing interactive engagement are all crucial steps to alleviate anxiety and foster more positive learning experiences in online settings.

https://doi.org/10.70693/itphss.v2i3.314
PDF

References

Ali, B. J., & Anwar, G. (2021). Anxiety and Foreign Language Learning: Analysis of students’ anxiety towards Foreign language learning. Ali, BJ, & Anwar, G.(2021). Anxiety and Foreign Language Learning: Analysis of students’ anxiety towards Foreign language learning. International Journal of English Literature and Social Sciences, 6(3), 234-244. https://doi.org/10.22161/ijels

Almotiary, H. (2022). Potential Causes of Foreign Language Anxiety among Saudi Female Students in the United States. Arab World English Journal, 13(2), 267-281. https://doi.org/10.24093/awej/vol13no2.18

Argaman, O., & Abu-Rabia, S. (2002). The influence of language anxiety on English reading and writing tasks among native Hebrew speakers. Language Culture and Curriculum, 15(2), 143-160. https://doi.org/10.1080/07908310208666640

Baroi, B., Sultwana, Z., Sultana, R., Muhammad, N., & Saha, A. K. (2020). Factors influencing foreign language speaking anxiety among undergraduate students. Journal of Psychosocial Research, 15(2), 639-649. https://doi.org/10.32381/JPR.2020.15.02.13

Carreira, J. M. (2006). Relationships between motivation for learning English and foreign language anxiety: A pilot study. JALT Hokkaido Journal, 10(16-28). https://hokkaido.jalt.org/pluginfile.php/52/course/section/26/Matsuzaki.pdf

Chen, Z. (2024). A Study of Chinese Undergraduate Students’ English Language Speaking Anxiety, Expectancy-Value Beliefs and Spoken English Proficiency. SAGE Open, 14(1), 21582440231219312. https://doi.org/10.1177/21582440231219312

Cheng, Y. S. (2002). Factors associated with foreign language writing anxiety. Foreign language annals, 35(6), 647-656. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1944-9720.2002.tb01903.x

Craske, M. G., Stein, M. B., Eley, T. C., Milad, M. R., Holmes, A., Rapee, R. M., & Wittchen, H. U. (2017). Anxiety disorders. Nature reviews. Disease primers, 3, 17024. https://doi.org/10.1038/nrdp.2017.24

Crocq, M. A. (2015). A history of anxiety: from Hippocrates to DSM. Dialogues in clinical neuroscience, 17(3), 319-325. https://doi.org/10.31887/DCNS.2015.17.3/macrocq

Effiong, O. (2016). Getting them speaking: Classroom social factors and foreign language anxiety. Tesol Journal, 7(1), 132-161. https://doi.org/10.1002/tesj.194

Er, S. (2015). Foreign language learning anxiety of Turkish children at different ages. International Online Journal of Education and Teaching (IOJET), 2(2), 68-78. http://iojet.org/index.php/IOJET/article/view/81/106

Fındıklı, S., & Büyükkarcı, K. (2023). Factors affecting students' speaking anxiety in English language classroom. Focus on ELT Journal, 5(1), 98-114. https://doi.org/10.14744/felt.2023.5.1.6

Ganschow, L., & Sparks, R. (1991). A screening instrument for the identification of foreign language learning problems. Foreign Language Annals, 24(5), 383-398. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1944-9720.1991.tb00484.x

Horwitz, E. (2001). Language anxiety and achievement. Annual review of applied linguistics, 21, 112-126. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0267190501000071

Horwitz, E. K., Horwitz, M. B., & Cope, J. (1986). Foreign language classroom anxiety. The Modern language journal, 70(2), 125-132. https://doi.org/10.2307/327317

Horwitz, E. K., Tallon, M., & Luo, H. (2010). Foreign language anxiety. Anxiety in schools: The causes, consequences, and solutions for academic anxieties, 2, 96-115. https://doi.org/10.1017/S026144480999036X

Huang, H., Grant, S., & Yan, J. (2024). ‘How anxious I am’: the effect of different online modalities on Chinese language beginners’ classroom anxiety. The Language Learning Journal, 52(5), 539-555. https://doi.org/10.1080/09571736.2024.2365375

Hurd, S. (2007). Anxiety and non-anxiety in a distance language learning environment: The distance factor as a modifying influence. System, 35(4), 487-508. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2007.05.001

Julian, L. J. (2011). Measures of anxiety. Arthritis care & research, 63(0 11). https://doi.org/10.1002/acr.20561

Khreisat, M. N. (2024). Navigating the Maze: Re-evaluating the Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (FLCAS) in the Saudi EFL Context. The Journal of AsiaTEFL, 21(3), 618-639. https://doi.org/10.18823/asiatefl.2024.21.3.7.618

Le, J. (2004). Affective characteristics of American students studying Chinese in China: a study of heritage and non-heritage learners' beliefs and foreign language anxiety. http://hdl.handle.net/2152/1352

Lileikienė, A., & Danilevičienė, L. (2016). Foreign language anxiety in student learning. Baltic journal of sport and health sciences, 3(102). https://doi.org/10.33607/bjshs.v3i102.61

Liu, M., & Huang, W. (2011). An exploration of foreign language anxiety and English learning motivation. Education Research International, 2011(1), 493167. https://doi.org/10.1155/2011/493167

Luo, H. (2011). Construction of a Chinese as a foreign language (CFL) anxiety scale: towards a theoretical model of foreign language anxiety. http://hdl.handle.net/2152/ETD-UT-2011-05-3493

Luo, H. (2013). Foreign language anxiety: Past and future. Chinese Journal of Applied Linguistics, 36(4), 442-464. https://doi.org/10.1515/cjal-2013-0030

Luo, H. (2014). A measure of Chinese language learning anxiety: Scale development and preliminary validation. Chinese as a Second Language Research, 3(2), 147-174. https://doi.org/10.1515/caslar-2014-0009

Luo, H. (2018). Predictors of foreign language anxiety: A study of college-level L2 learners of Chinese. Chinese Journal of Applied Linguistics, 41(1), 3-24. https://doi.org/10.1515/cjal-2018-0001

MacIntyre, P. D., Noels, K. A., & Clément, R. (1997). Biases in self‐ratings of second language proficiency: The role of language anxiety. Language learning, 47(2), 265-287. https://doi.org/10.1111/0023-8333.81997008

Nowak, W. (2021). Trade of the EU and China with South America After the 2008 Financial Crisis. In Eurasian Economic Perspectives: Proceedings of the 29th Eurasia Business and Economics Society Conference (pp. 233-243). Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-63149-9_15

Peng, R., Wang, S., & Liu, N. (2024). Factors influencing Chinese EFL students’ online learning anxiety in the post-COVID-19 era. Heliyon, 10(4). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e26112

Piniel, K., & Zólyomi, A. (2022). Gender differences in foreign language classroom anxiety: Results of a meta-analysis. Studies in Second Language Learning and Teaching, 12(2), 173-203. https://doi.org/10.14746/ssllt.2022.12.2.2

Rama, A. N., Lasitiha, H. I., Sukmawati, S., & Hartati, H. (2024). An Analysis Of Students’ Speaking Anxiety In English Foreign Language At Lakidende University. Innovative: Journal Of Social Science Research, 4(4), 13225-13232. https://doi.org/10.31004/innovative.v4i4.14642

Saito, Y., Garza, T. J., & Horwitz, E. K. (1999). Foreign language reading anxiety. The modern language journal, 83(2), 202-218. https://doi.org/10.1111/0026-7902.00016

Sung, K. Y., & Ko-Yin, X. (2019). Factors Influencing Chinese Language Learning Anxiety in the Classroom Setting. New Waves-Educational Research and Development Journal, 22(2), 1-15. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1243013

Tanveer, M. (2007). Investigation of the factors that cause language anxiety for ESL/EFL learners in learning speaking skills and the influence it casts on communication in the target language. University of Glasgow, Scotland. https://www.asian-efl-journal.com/thesis/investigation-of-the-factors-that-cause-language-anxiety-for-eslefl-learners-in-learning-speaking-skills-and-the-influence-it-casts-on-communication-in-the-target-language/

Umisara, E., Faridi, A., & Yulianto, H. J. (2021). An evaluation of the psychological factors influencing the students’ anxiety in speaking English. English Education Journal, 11(4), 496-505. https://doi.org/10.15294/eej.v11i1.47800

Wang, X., & Zhang, W. (2021). Psychological anxiety of college Students' foreign language learning in online course. Frontiers in psychology, 12, 598992. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.598992

Weda, S., & Sakti, A. E. F. (2018). Factors influencing students’ anxiety in English as a foreign language classroom. In Journal of Physics: Conference Series (Vol. 1028, No. 1, p. 012100). IOP Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1088/1742-6596/1028/1/012100

Yan, J. X., & Horwitz, E. K. (2008). Learners' perceptions of how anxiety interacts with personal and instructional factors to influence their achievement in English: A qualitative analysis of EFL learners in China. Language learning, 58(1), 151-183. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9922.2007.00437.x

Yao, S., Zhang, D., & Shen, Q. (2022). Research on Anxiety of Learning Chinese as a Second or Foreign Language in and Outside Mainland China: A Systematic Review of the Literature 1999–2020. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, 843858. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.843858

Zambak, A. (2016). Factors affecting foreign language speaking anxiety levels of 8th grade students at public secondary schools (Master's thesis, Çağ Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü). https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12507/376

Zhang, C. (2024). Analysis of Classroom Environmental Factors and Teaching Strategies for Foreign Language Learning Anxiety. Journal of Education and Educational Research, 7(3), 261-263. https://doi.org/10.54097/5v410a54

Zhang, M. (2024). The Relationship Between Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety, Motivation and their Predictive Effects on Chinese University Students’ English Learning Achievement. Journal of Education, Humanities and Social Sciences, 29, 208-213. https://doi.org/10.54097/ejw2fs16

Zhang, S., & Lai, C. (2024). Investigation of factors underlying foreign language classroom anxiety in Chinese university English majors. Applied Linguistics Review, 15(5), 1939-1963. https://doi.org/10.1515/applirev-2021-0062

Zhou, S., Chiu, M. M., Dong, Z., & Zhou, W. (2023). Foreign language anxiety and foreign language self-efficacy: A meta-analysis. Current Psychology, 42(35), 31536-31550. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-022-04110-x

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

Copyright (c) 2025 Dan Gou (Author)

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.