A measure of Chinese language learning anxiety: Scale development and preliminary validation

Abstract

As the Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (FLCAS), the most widely used measure for foreign language anxiety, is a generic instrument that mainly addresses speaking anxiety and does not take into consideration of the characteristics of target languages, this study attempts to develop a Chinese Language Learning Anxiety Scale reflective of anxieties associated with the four skills. The initial pool of items approved by five experts were administered to 447 Chinese language learners from two large public universities in the U.S. Exploratory factor analyses yielded a three-factor solution of the scale, i.e., Speaking Anxiety, Listening Anxiety, and Reading & Writing Anxiety, lending support to the construct validity of the scale. Results of reliability analysis and correlation analyses indicated that the Chinese Language Learning Anxiety Scale and its three sub-scales have good internal consistency reliability, convergent and discriminant validity, and criterion-related validity.