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Yuanyuan Sun
Hanan Alqarni
Introduction
This paper aims to shed light on the relationship between anxiety and L2 written
production. With a clearer understanding of the correlation between the two, L2 writing anxiety
in the classroom can begin to be better addressed. In order to target specific changes in the
classroom that will reduce anxiety in L2 learners, and therefore improve written production,
there must be theoretical justifications to support these claims. The following section is a review
of past and current research on the topic of anxiety and L2 written production, as well as L2
production as a whole. This is followed by a brief summary of that research. Lastly, this paper
concludes with an implications section that discusses how the findings of this research can be
Literature Review
Anxiety
It is widely accepted that when learners experience high levels of anxiety, their academic
performance correspondingly drops (Gass, 2013). In other words, the more anxious a student
feels, the more poorly they are likely to perform. However, evidence is needed to substantiate
this claim, and the statement remains too broad. There are a variety of types of anxiety that can
be caused by multiple factors. Additionally, one could ask what specific aspects of a students
performance was adversely affected by anxiety: written production, oral production, or both.
This paper will narrow the focus to anxiety that stems only from L2 written production.
and worry (Horwitz, 1986, p. 125). Anxiety can also be associated with feelings of self-doubt,
uneasiness, frustration and worry, and other various individual, non-linguistically based
differences such as motivation and personality. More specifically, looking through a socio-
ANXIETY AND L2 WRITTEN PRODUCTION 3
psychological lens, anxiety is broken down into three possible categories: state anxiety, trait
anxiety, and situation-specific anxiety. Foreign language anxiety falls within the situation-
specific category of anxiety (Horwitz, 2001). Situation-specific anxiety differs from the general
feeling of anxiousness that people experience in a variety of everyday situations. This is known
as trait anxiety. As its name suggests, trait anxiety is caused by specific factors, in this case
foreign language learning. This means that people who may not generally experience anxiety in
their day-to-day lives can still experience high levels of anxiety when learning a second or
foreign language.
Situation-specific foreign language anxiety can then be contrasted with writing anxiety,
which, according to Thompson (1980), is having a fear of the writing process that outweighs the
projected gain from the ability to write. This fear in the writing process is thought to exist in part
because writing requires individual work and is product-oriented. When L2 learners write, they
do not always receive the encouragement or support that they feel they need from their peers or
language instructors. This lack of support can then manifest itself into a feeling of helplessness,
which in turn can lead to students disliking the writing process as a whole (Tsui, 1996).
Cheng (2002), carried out a study comparing second language classroom anxiety with
second language writing-specific anxiety in order to examine whether or not the two types of
anxiety can justifiably fall into different categories. The results, obtained through the use of the
Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (FLCAS) and a modified Writing Apprehension Test
(WAT), indicated that second language classroom anxiety and second language writing anxiety,
although sharing many similarities, are in fact two separate constructs. Therefore, they should be
The FLCAS is an important scale used in measuring anxiety in second language learners
and deserves further attention. Developed by Horwitz and Cope (1986), the FLCAS is a 33-
question survey where students are asked questions ranging from their fears of evaluation, test
apprehension and anxiety, and fears of communicating orally in front of peers or language
teachers in their L2. Students answer these questions independently using a Likert scale, (see
Appendix A for an example of the FLCAS). This scale was developed with the understanding
that second language anxiety can be split into three categories: fear of negative evaluation, test
anxiety, and fear of communication (Horwitz, 1986). These categories that helped develop the
FLCAS show that within a situation-specific anxiety construct, there are many specific factors
that can induce anxiety. The FLCAS does not specifically address second language writing
anxiety, however, and so an offshoot of the FLCAS was developed to target and test L2 writing-
specific anxiety, called the Second Language Writing Apprehension Test (SLWAT). SLWAT is an
adaptation to Daly and Millers (1975s) development of the WAT, which is similar to the
FLCAS with its multi-question survey that students answer independently through the use of a
Writing Apprehension
The term writing apprehension, coined by the developers of the WAT, Daly and Miller
(1975), varies slightly from the term anxiety, as it deals primarily more with avoidance behavior.
The results of a recent study by Kirmizi (2015), which looked at foreign language students at a
Turkish university, indicated that low writing apprehension correlates strongly with higher test
scores of writing skills. In another study, Zheng (2011) focused on writing anxiety among
Chinese English majors. She used correlation analysis that suggested a strong negative
relationship between ESL writing anxiety and ESL writing performance. She identified, through
ANXIETY AND L2 WRITTEN PRODUCTION 5
the use of the SLWAT, that low self-confidence, insufficient writing practice, fear of test-taking,
and an overall lack of writing knowledge as the main contributors to the students writing
anxiety.
According to Cheng (2002), while there has been ample research in the field of foreign
and second language anxiety in relation to oral production, there has been little research in the
field of anxiety in relation to L2 written production. This is because oral communication in the
L2 is thought to produce the most fear, apprehension, and anxiousness in students. Written
production, on the other hand, is generally completed quietly and independently and therefore is
assumed to be the cause of little anxiety. What research has been done in this field is
induced anxieties, it was suggested by that oral production was the largest factor in L2 anxiety.
However, more recent studies have helped to validate writing anxiety as its own type of anxiety,
specific to the language skill of writing. It is now supported that writing apprehension is a strong
Most of the inconclusive data regarding L2 writing anxiety stems from research
suggesting that L2 learners actually need to experience some levels of anxiety in order to
perform well and boost motivation to learn. Negari (2012) suggests that in a low-stress, low-
anxiety, and low-pressure environments, students may not take the content being taught in class
seriously. With this view, some level of stress and feelings of anxiousness can be productive and
actually push students to perform better and concentrate more on the task at hand. Contrary to
studies done by Kirmizi (2015) and Zheng (2011) that strongly suggest a negative relationship
between writing anxiety and writing performance, Negaris data suggests that students
ANXIETY AND L2 WRITTEN PRODUCTION 6
experiencing higher levels of anxiety will perform better on L2 written tests than those who
Interestingly, there have been several studies looking at the relationship between
language teachers own writing anxieties and how those effect their students in the language
classroom. Claypools (1980) study, for example, assessed how high school teachers own levels
of anxiety correlated with the frequency of writing tasks assigned to students. The study revealed
a negative relationship between the two, indicating that teachers with high levels of writing
anxiety assigned far fewer writing tasks to students, putting them at a disadvantage by limiting
their opportunities for production practice. In regards to language processing and automaticity, as
explained by Gass (2013), practice, or output, is critical to determining future language use and
success in second or foreign language learning. Students need ample practice in order for their
explicit writing knowledge to become implicit. When this knowledge of particular writing skills
or structures become second nature to students, their writing anxieties lessen while writing
that foreign or second language instructors, particularly those teaching writing, not let their own
Another reason it is vital that L2 writing students receiving ample practice is to look at
some of the theories regarding input and output. Early beliefs stemming from behaviorist views
suggested that input alone was sufficient in acquiring a language. Gass (2013) believes, however,
that comprehensible output, or the language that is produced by the learner, is critical to language
learning success. Input alone will never be enough for acquisition. To support this claim, Swain
(1995) writes that it is critical for language students to be presented with the opportunity to
practice comprehensible output, whether oral or written, for various reasons. These include
ANXIETY AND L2 WRITTEN PRODUCTION 7
measuring the progress and success of the student, and allowing them to gain confidence in their
Summary
language classroom, the overwhelming majority of research supports the claim that anxiety
Additionally, developing activities that increase students writing output will help students gain
Implications
As a future ESL teacher, this review of literature has given me excellent insight into
anxiety and L2 written production. It is clear from these findings that anxiety is prevalent among
L2 writers, and that this anxiety is disadvantageous. In order to reduce anxiety levels in L2
writing students, Cohen (2002) believes that students learn the most when they
classes to reduce stress and anxiety among the students, which then
message, surveys and reports, timelines, and letter exchanges. To view these
specific activities in more detail, see Nations (2008) book titled Teaching
record thoughts, can help learners work through negative feelings towards
writing which can then reduce their writing anxiety. Process-writing activities
also allow the teacher to gain better insight into how students are feeling
and can influence what types of future activities are implemented. Other
References
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ANXIETY AND L2 WRITTEN PRODUCTION 11
Appendix A
Each question is rated using a 5-point Likert scale, ranging from Strongly Agree to
Strongly Disagree.
1. I feel nervous using the foreign language outside of the college or class.
2. I am not nervous speaking the foreign language in front of my classmates.
3. I get nervous when I arrive late to class or the day following my absence.
4. I get anxious when there are too many foreign language students registered in my class.
5. I feel anxious when I see classmates better than me in my foreign language class.
6. I feel comfortable in speaking with my foreign language teacher.
7. I feel anxious in reading/writing and grammar class.
8. I get upset due to the method of testing in the foreign language class.
9. I get anxious when I feel that I can't speak well in front of other language students not in
my class.
10. I get nervous when looking at my grades.
11. I get nervous and confused when I am speaking in my language class.
12. During language class, I find myself thinking about things that have nothing to do with
the course.
13. I tremble when I know that I'm going to be called on in language class.
14. I feel nervous when talking in the foreign language to someone I just met.
15. I get nervous when the language teacher gives us a lot of things to do in so little time.
16. I feel overwhelmed by the number of grammatical rules I have to learn in the foreign
language.
17. I fear pronouncing words incorrectly in my foreign language class.
18. I fear failing my foreign language class.
19. I feel low self-confidence about speaking the foreign language in front of the class.
20. I feel anxious about speaking the foreign language in front of other students.
21. I feel nervous when I am around more experienced foreign language users.
22. I don't feel anxious when learning a foreign language.
23. In language class, I can get so nervous I forget things I know.
24. I feel anxious when I don't understand what the teacher is saying in the foreign language.
25. I feel anxious when I want to volunteer to say something but can't find the proper words
ANXIETY AND L2 WRITTEN PRODUCTION 12
Appendix B
Below are a series of statements about English writing. There is no right or wrong answers to
these statements. Please indicate the degree to which each statement applies to you by circling
whether you (1) Strongly Disagree, (2) Disagree, (3) are Uncertain, (4) Agree, or (5) Strongly
Agree with the statement.
1. I avoid writing.