Foreign language reading anxiety: Chinese as a foreign language in the United States
This study examined the foreign language (FL) reading anxiety level of English-speaking university students learning Chinese as a foreign language ( n = 114) in the United States. Data from two anxiety measures, a background information questionnaire, and an email interview indicated that learners of Chinese experienced a level of FL reading anxiety similar to general FL anxiety. FL reading anxiety was associated with course level and experience with China but not with gender. Moreover, FL reading anxiety was found to be negatively correlated with FL reading performance among Elementary Level I and Intermediate Level students but not among Elementary Level II students. Unfamiliar scripts, unfamiliar topics, and worry about comprehension were identified as the major sources of FL reading anxiety. Findings suggest that reading anxiety was a salient problem for learners of Chinese whose native language was English. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
This article describes an EFL course website and blog for a Global Issues communicative English course for first year dentistry students at a university in Tokyo.The rationale for and benefits ofestablishing an online component are explained.An analysis of the students� comments on the blogas well as the result of a student surveyis also explored.Finally future extensions to the online component are discussed.