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Investigation of Japanese Students' Language Anxiety in English Speaking Classes

Research Project

Project/Area Number 22K20274
Research Category

Grant-in-Aid for Research Activity Start-up

Allocation TypeMulti-year Fund
Review Section :Education and related fields
Research InstitutionThe University of Tokyo

Principal Investigator

Bordilovskaya Anna  東京大学, グローバル教育センター(ALESS/A), 特任講師 (70758573)

Project Period (FY) 2022-08-31 – 2024-03-31
Project Status Completed (Fiscal Year 2023)
Budget Amount *help
¥1,690,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,300,000、Indirect Cost: ¥390,000)
Fiscal Year 2023: ¥910,000 (Direct Cost: ¥700,000、Indirect Cost: ¥210,000)
Fiscal Year 2022: ¥780,000 (Direct Cost: ¥600,000、Indirect Cost: ¥180,000)
Keywordslanguage anxiety / affective factors / motivation / Japanese students / iwakan / communication skills / English language
Outline of Research at the Start

This project spans over the period of two years. During the 1st year of the research project the preparation of the quantitative surveys and interviews will be conducted. During the 2nd year of the research project: data analysis and presentation of the results will be implemented.

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Foreign language anxiety (FLA) is a complex phenomenon that has been become one of the central topics in the applied linguistics. Present research adopted quantitative and qualitative data collection procedures to explore the two interrelated affective factors: anxiety fuan (anxiety) and iwakan (incongruity) by conducting an anonymous survey and interviews among first-year Japanese university students enrolled in compulsory active learning English courses. The findings of this study show that depending on the situation Japanese EFL learners can and do experience both: fuan or iwakan in different proportions. For example, the feeling of iwakan seems to be more prevalent in the classroom setting due to the lack of authenticity of English use. The results also show that fuan and iwakan refer to different dimensions of FLA. Fuan is by students to describe their communicative anxiety while iwakan in the internal concern related to their linguistic abilities and language identity.

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

Findings of these research are crucial for developing the methods to reduce Japanese students' foreign language anxiety (FLA) in classroom environment and real-life situations. Understanding the fuan/iwakan differences can be used to provide focused support to students with different forms of FLA.

Report

(3 results)
  • 2023 Annual Research Report   Final Research Report ( PDF )
  • 2022 Research-status Report
  • Research Products

    (4 results)

All 2024 2023

All Presentation (4 results) (of which Int'l Joint Research: 3 results)

  • [Presentation] Anxiety and Incongruity: Affective Factors Influencing Japanese English Learners2024

    • Author(s)
      Bordilovskaya Anna
    • Organizer
      TESOL International Convention & Expo
    • Related Report
      2023 Annual Research Report
    • Int'l Joint Research
  • [Presentation] "Japanese students’ English-Speaking Anxiety in Post-Covid Classrooms"2023

    • Author(s)
      Bordilovskaya Anna
    • Organizer
      PanSIG 2023, Kyoto, Kyoto Sangyo University
    • Related Report
      2023 Annual Research Report
    • Int'l Joint Research
  • [Presentation] Japanese students’ Language Anxiety: Affective and Cultural Factors2023

    • Author(s)
      Bordilovskaya Anna
    • Organizer
      ETA-ROC The 32nd International Symposium on English Language Teaching and Learning and Book Fair
    • Related Report
      2023 Annual Research Report
    • Int'l Joint Research
  • [Presentation] Fuan vs. Iwakan: Japanese students’ English-Speaking Anxiety in Post-Covid Classrooms2023

    • Author(s)
      Bordilovskaya Anna
    • Organizer
      PanSIG2023
    • Related Report
      2022 Research-status Report

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Published: 2022-09-01   Modified: 2025-01-30  

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