A DESCRIPTIVE STUDY ON FOREIGN LANGUAGE TEACHING ANXIETY

Abstract

Anxiety is one of the most commonly investigated topics in the field of foreign languageeducation; however, foreign language anxiety is attributed to learners extensively eventhough most teachers suffer from high levels of anxiety both as language teachers andlanguage users while teaching. In this study, foreign language teaching anxiety is investigateddescriptively to provide a clear picture concerning the terrain of this teacher emotion. Usingthe Foreign Language Teaching Anxiety Scale (FLTAS) and data collected from 156 teacherswith diverse nationalities, the study aims to give a cross-culturally consistent understandingof the phenomenon. The results show that foreign language teaching anxiety cannot belimited to language use of teachers; factors such as low interest among learners and beingobserved by colleagues, mentors, or supervisors are also anxiety-provoking factors. To add,variables such as age, gender, school type, and teaching experience can also lead tosignificant results. Accordingly, several implications and recommendations are presented toelevate emotional sustainability in the teaching profession.