Overcoming Japanese EFL Learners' Fear of Speaking

要旨

This article looks at language anxiety as it affects Japanese EFL learners when performing oral tasks. A review\nof the literature illustrates the perspectives from which foreign language anxiety research has been conducted.\nThe reasons Japanese EFL learners experience language anxiety when performing oral tasks are explored. Some\nof the potential causes of Japanese EFL learners’ language anxiety have been identified as communication\napprehension, social evaluation, and inter-learner competition. This article provides several suggestions\ndesigned to assist foreign EFL teachers in Japan in dealing with their learners’ language anxiety. Foreign EFL\nteachers in Japan are encouraged to learn as much as possible about Japanese society and culture, so as to better\nunderstand how these factors may influence learners when speaking a foreign language. It is also suggested that\nEFL teachers in Japan strive towards making their classrooms more intimate (i.e., less formal), and move away\nfrom the evaluation paradigm, which seems ingrained in the values of Japanese society.

主題