Language Learning is Emotional. Let's talk about it.

Overcoming Foreign Language Anxiety (FLA)

New here? I’m Christina. I’m a language teacher and language learner fascinated by how we learn languages.

There’s no magic method to language learning, but there are effective strategies and techniques that make the process smoother and more rewarding. That’s what I share through Love to Lingo: practical insights to help you figure out what truly works for you.

If that sounds useful, I’d love to have you subscribe.

Happy language learning! ♡

---

When I was studying French at university, I had this very intense teacher, M. Thai. One of the activities we did in his French Grammar 400 class was read aloud. Just like little children, each of us read a paragraph before passing to the next person. Our teacher stopped each reader mid-sentence to correct pronunciation, and Alec Baldwin’s famous SNL “French Class” sketch was repeated student after student.

We usually stopped after 10-15 students, so I always tried to sit strategically in the middle rows so I wouldn’t have to read.

One day, he chose to start with a student in the row next to mine. I don’t think I’ve ever felt such a strong sense of panic as I did that day. It was more than just dread at being humiliated in front of the whole class. I felt physically sick, which of course made me start to worry that I’d actually throw up on the table.

Once it was clear I was going to have to read, I grabbed my things and ran out the room. I ran away from…French? 🤦‍♀️

My reaction to this definitely says a lot about who I was as a young university student, but curiously, I still have a slight sense of “panic” when I use French. While I feel more confident with Spanish, there are definitely times when I get “blocked” and then doubt my abilities. Ironically, this often happens when I’m stressed, tired or otherwise emotional—just when clear communication is most useful.

This is a very common phenomenon. Even high-level language users report feeling “byelingual” from time to time.

It’s clear that using another language can stir up strong emotions, and those emotions often influence how well we’re able to use the language. In the next section, we’ll take a closer look at this connection and explore some practical suggestions for managing Foreign Language Anxiety.

Affect in Foreign Language Learning: A Brief Overview

In second language acquisition, affective factors refer to the emotional side of learning. Things like motivation, anxiety, confidence, and attitudes are especially important for adults. Stephen Krashen famously proposed the “Affective Filter Hypothesis,” which suggests that negative emotions like stress, fear, or low confidence can block language input from being processed (Krashen, 1982). When the filter is high, even comprehensible input doesn’t get through. When it’s low, we are more open and ready to learn.

This idea has been influential in both teaching and research. Unsurprisingly, anxiety tends to have a negative effect on language performance, especially in speaking tasks (Horwitz et al., 1986; Aida, 1994). This means that when you’re feeling stressed and nervous, your output might actually be worse than normal. Seems so unfair, doesn’t it?

Luckily, positive emotions can boost performance and may even outweigh the effects of anxiety (Dewaele & Alfawzan, 2018). Self-confidence and emotional regulation also play important roles. Learners who feel good about themselves and know how to manage their emotions tend to do better, persist longer, and use the language more often (Clément et al., 1994; Pishghadam, 2009).

I wish I had worked on leaning into my nerves instead of running away. Let’s look at some ways to approach this.

Overcoming FLA (Foreign Language Anxiety)

Set realistic expectations

I always show my English students videos of highly-effective, but realistic, non-native English speakers. Sometimes I show videos of people like Rosalia, who communicate excellently, but whose expressions and accents are not “native-like.” When I worked in a language school, I had higher level learners give presentations to lower level classes or pair up students as mentor/mentees. When our expectations are closer to reality, we tend to feel less anxious.

This approach is grounded in research on language attitudes: seeing successful L2 users from similar backgrounds helps learners build a more achievable vision of themselves (Csizér & Dörnyei, 2005).

Find a role model who speaks the same first language as you. This could be someone famous or a friend/teacher/classmate. When you feel frustrated, remember they managed to do it, and so can you! Feel free to collect lots of role models or change them as you improve!

Find Positive Environments

Positive emotions positively influence outcomes more than anxiety hinders them (Dewaele & Alfawzan, 2018). Going to classes and playing games with other learners can give you the balance you need to keep practicing and persevere. In a classroom setting, supportive peer interaction and culturally inclusive environments have been shown to reduce anxiety and improve participation (Yashima, 2002; Gardner et al., 2004).

If you don’t have access to classes or can’t choose the types of classes/classmates that are right for you, be sure to build in some time for fun, games and interest in your learning routine. Duolingo is popular for a reason!

That said, working with others and feeling like part of a group probably has a longer-term positive effect than gamification and daily streaks. Look for positive moments and assume goodwill on the part of your “correctors” and interlocutors. Try reframing mistakes as a normal part of communication — because they are.

Get Experience

Although anxiety can hinder language learning, motivation plays an even more influential role in determining success (Masgoret & Gardner, 2003). Even better, anxiety has been shown to have the smallest effect among affective variables, and its impact tends to diminish over time as learners gain more experience (Alrabai & Moskovsky, 2016).

That means that you can use your motivation to push through and practice, even when it feels uncomfortable. This will build your self-confidence, which in turn encourages more language use, creating a virtuous cycle (MacIntyre et al., 1997).

Let it Go

Bad days will happen. You’ll get stuck. You’ll make mistakes. People will struggle to understand you from time to time. This happens in your first language, too, but you probably don’t notice. It’s totally normal, but when it happens in our target language, we can sometimes develop a complex about it.

Accepting and brushing off “bad Spanish/French/Korean days” will reduce your stress so you can get back into it the next day. It’s not a big deal. It’s part of the process.

And you?

What about you? Do you use any tricks to manage your emotions as you’re using your target language? Have you noticed your anxiety disappearing the more you practice?

If you’re interested in exploring this topic in your language journal, here are some prompts I posted on Thursday you might like to try:

⭐ Beginner (A1/A2): Describe how you feel when you practice your target language. Are there any places, people, or situations where you feel especially “safe” or comfortable? What are they like? Why do they help you feel this way?

⭐⭐ Intermediate (B1/B2): Write about a time you pushed yourself to try something difficult in your target language. How did it feel before, during, and after? What did you learn about yourself?

⭐⭐⭐ Advanced (C1/C2): Explore the emotional impact of not being able to express yourself fully in a second language. How do you navigate those moments, and how has your emotional experience changed as your fluency has grown?

---

If you found this post useful, consider sharing Love to Lingo with other language learners or teachers in your life.

And if you haven’t already, I also encourage you to check out the ready-made language learning notebooks I’m selling through Amazon (for now).

I’m especially excited about a flexible journal I’m currently designing that will work for any language. It’s inspired by my B2 English Journal, which includes 50 prompts plus a handy reference section for grammar and vocabulary (plus the amazing cover my sister-in-law designed). I love how it turned out, and I’m now thinking about how to adapt the concept for a wider range of learners, even those of us who already speak English.

---

References

Aida, Y. (1994). Examination of Horwitz, Horwitz, and Cope’s construct of foreign language anxiety. The Modern Language Journal, 78(2), 155–168.

Alrabai, F., & Moskovsky, C. (2016). The relationship between learners’ affective variables and second language achievement. Arab World English Journal, 7(2), 66–89.

Arnold, J., & Brown, H. D. (1999). Affect in language learning. Cambridge University Press.

Clément, R., Dörnyei, Z., & Noels, K. A. (1994). Motivation, self-confidence, and group cohesion in the foreign language classroom. Language Learning, 44(3), 417–448.

Csizér, K., & Dörnyei, Z. (2005). The internal structure of language learning motivation and its relationship with language choice and learning effort. The Modern Language Journal, 89(1), 19–36.

Dewaele, J.-M., & Alfawzan, M. (2018). Does the effect of enjoyment outweigh that of anxiety in foreign language performance? Studies in Second Language Learning and Teaching, 8(1), 21–45.

Gardner, R. C., & Lambert, W. E. (1972). Attitudes and motivation in second-language learning. Newbury House.

Gardner, R. C., Tremblay, P. F., & Masgoret, A.-M. (1997). Towards a full model of second language learning: An empirical investigation. The Modern Language Journal, 81(3), 344–362.

Horwitz, E. K., Horwitz, M. B., & Cope, J. (1986). Foreign language classroom anxiety. The Modern Language Journal, 70(2), 125–132.

Krashen, S. D. (1982). Principles and practice in second language acquisition. Pergamon.

MacIntyre, P. D., Clément, R., Dörnyei, Z., & Noels, K. A. (1997). Conceptualizing willingness to communicate in a L2. The Modern Language Journal, 82(4), 545–562.

Masgoret, A.-M., & Gardner, R. C. (2003). Attitudes, motivation, and second language learning: A meta-analysis of studies conducted by Gardner and associates. Language Learning, 53(1), 123–163.

Pishghadam, R. (2009). Emotional and verbal intelligence in language learning. European Journal of Social Sciences, 11(3), 469–481.

Yashima, T. (2002). Willingness to communicate in a second language: The Japanese EFL context. The Modern Language Journal, 86(1), 54–66.