Foreign language anxiety revisited : is FLA also present in the online language learning environment?.

Anxiety has commonly been regarded as one of the most significant affective obstacles in language learning achievement, and has been the subject matter of many second language researches 4 6 7 10 12. Although anxiety has been studied in traditional foreign language environments since the 1980s, very few studies have examined language anxiety in the context of the online learning environment. Given the large number of students who are currently engaged in online or remote language learning due to COVID-19, it is important to consider how affective factors, such as anxiety, can impede learning outcomes. Furthermore, language educators and their students were required to make the transition to the online environment rapidly without being given the sufficient time or preparation for it, which is an additional cause of stress for both students and instructors alike. The primary purpose of the the present study is (1) to develop a more refined understanding of foreign language anxiety in the online learning environment, (2) to investigate students- attitude towards acquiring a second/foreign language in the online space, (3) to determine the causes of the on-line language learning anxiety and (4) to make suggestions and recommendations that could reduce the on-line language learning anxiety among language learners. To gain the necessary data a questionnaire-based research among university and college students studying in digital online English language courses at different universities and colleges in the country was conducted, the results of which are going to be demonstrated in this paper