Abstract
This study investigates anxiety in foreign language learning from a positive psychology perspective, and in doing so, it considers some of the ways in which anxiety can interact with other aspects of language learner psychology to contribute to improved learning outcomes and improved learner well-being. The paper reports on a small-scale mixed-method study of English learners at a university in northern Japan. It shows how for many learners some of the most anxiety-provoking episodes were also the most rewarding and enjoyable, suggesting a need to reconsider simplistic accounts that present anxiety as an impediment to successful language learning. This is done by shifting to a positive psychology perspective. The paper concludes with a tentative model of how anxiety, when reframed as tension, can function as a core component of a more productive language learning experience.
About the authors
Aya HAYASAKI is a PhD student at Waseda University, Japan. Her research interests include emotions, mindset, and wellbeing in language learning and teaching, learning beyond the classroom, and transformative learning.
Stephen RYAN has been involved in language education for over 25 years and for most of that time he has been based in Japan. He is currently a professor in the School of Culture, Media and Society at Waseda University, Japan and his research and publications cover various aspects of psychology in language learning. He is co-series editor, with Sarah Mercer, of the Multilingual Matter book series Psychology of Language Learning and Teaching.
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