foreign-language-anxiety
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- PaperLanguage Teaching22 Jun 2026
A critical review of foreign language anxiety-reduction interventions: Toward a conceptual turn in foreign language anxiety research
Han Luo
This critical review synthesizes experimental studies on foreign language anxiety (FLA) reduction interventions, categorizing them into emotion regulation, cognitive restructuring, skill building, and classroom environment enhancement. The author argues for a conceptual shift from eliminating anxiety as a symptom to understanding it as a meaningful psychological signal, integrating psychological theories including Daoism-inspired perspectives to inform language teaching.
Original abstract
Foreign language anxiety (FLA) has been widely studied over the past four decades, yet the effectiveness of anxiety-reduction strategies remains insufficiently understood. This article offers a critical review of research on FLA-reduction interventions, synthesizing the findings from experimental studies across four major categories: emotion regulation, cognitive restructuring, skill building, and classroom environment enhancement. While many strategies show promise, the field lacks a coherent, psychologically grounded framework for supporting anxious learners. Drawing on psychological theories including cognitive-behavioral, acceptance-based, and analytical frameworks and emerging Daoism-inspired psychological perspectives, this article argues for a conceptual shift in FLA research: from viewing anxiety as a surface-level symptom to be eliminated toward understanding it as a meaningful psychological signal that may reflect deeper learner-internal processes. The article proposes an interdisciplinary approach that integrates pedagogical practice with psychological insight, positioning anxiety as a potential catalyst for self-awareness and growth. Implications for language teaching and future directions for FLA research are discussed.
- PaperApplied Linguistics5 Jun 2026
L2 grit unboxed: A meta-analytic journey into L2 grit and its correlates
Tutku Başöz
This meta-analysis of 34 studies (N=13,068) found that L2 motivation is the strongest correlate of L2 grit, while foreign language anxiety is the strongest negative correlate. Other correlates include foreign language enjoyment, ideal L2 self, growth mindset, and teacher support.
Original abstract
As an emerging field of study within second language acquisition (SLA), the notion of grit has gained immediate relevance as it is considered to play a key role in language achievement. Although recent years have witnessed increasing attention to second language (L2) grit due to its merits in foreign/second language learning processes, a comprehensive meta-analysis synthesizing the results of all available studies on the relationship between L2 grit and its frequently associated variables is currently lacking. Therefore, the current meta-analytic study scrutinized the total mean correlation between L2 grit and six main correlates examined in the research domain: foreign language enjoyment, L2 motivation, foreign language anxiety (FLA), ideal L2 self, growth mindset, and teacher support. A total of k = 34 effect sizes were analyzed with an overall sample size of N = 13,068 in random-effects models with correlation coefficients. The findings indicated that L2 motivation is the strongest correlate of L2 grit (r = .58), indicating a large effect size. The other five variables were moderately correlated with L2 grit, with FLA (r = −.47) being the strongest correlate and growth mindset (r = .33) being the weakest correlate. Implications of these findings and directions for future research are discussed.