Investigating the Factors that Cause Language Anxiety in Iraqi EFL Learners

Abstract

Anxiety is an important affective variable in language learning andteaching which must not be overlooked. It should be investigated since itmay interfere negatively or positively with the learning process at differentlevels affecting the learners' performance and achievements. With feelingsof discomfort and insecurity, learners of English as a foreign language findit difficult to share their opinions and participate in class discussions.The current study is designed to investigate the relationship betweenforeign language anxiety and students’ achievement. For this purpose 59fourth-year students at College of Education, University of Basrah, Iraq,are selected. To investigate the factors that cause the students' classroomanxiety, Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (FLCAS), developedby Horwitz, Horwitz and Cope (1986) is administered to measure thestudents’ foreign language classroom anxiety level. The study ends up withconclusions and references.