Learning Process and the social anxiety.
This is the chapter focuses on the background and literature review on ESL students and their social anxiety in class. The next section will dwell on the historical ground of the language anxiety. The main reason for this is to expose the process of discovery of social anxiety in various disciplines. The next section 2.2 will deal with language conceptualization in regards to social anxiety and its theoretical framewok.More so, the next section 2.3 will be the introduction of social anxiety with the introduction of the English language as the second language. This will be in line with the researchers focus on the language acquisition. The next section is 2.4 and will focus on language and social anxiety in classrooms as accompanied during presentations. Lastly is the 2.5 section. This section reflects on the previous studies inn literature and the current ideas which may be insightful to the project. This is according to social anxiety and the development of the second language.
Learning Process and the social anxiety.
Anxieties have been an area of interest to the researchers. This has prompted them to conduct various studies in linguistics and other areas such as psychology. The main result from these studies have resulted them to learning different languages. Most of these languages are the second languages and English as a language is the main language being learnt.All these started during the twentieth century. According to Young, 2019, he says that instructions were supported through both disciplines and its aim was to support language learning in various surface levels. He also states that researchers have explored in learning languages deeply and figuring out the similarities and differences of the foreign languages. These explorations are the ones which have guided them in adapting to the second language learning.
Learning a new language has many perceptions. Some people regard it as the process which is controlled then predicted. This is according to the past researchers. According to Skinner, 2017, his thought is that language is a practice of verbal communication but under certain conditions such as during reinforcement. In this case, language cis then considered as a process of adopting a strange language through a verbal and a controlled process. In such a scenario, students can be seen to be emphasized during their process of learning. There have been advocates in the language learning ng sector. An example is the advocates on the Audiolingual Method (ALM).This sector has been seen as having failed since they no longer advocate for the learning of the second language as expected. This is because it does not consider students by recognizing them especially in making sure that the process of learning ids followed and adhered to. Most students think while learning and this is not a normal ability to all.ALM has always been considered as a method used to learn and teach many langiuages.This method was used long ago because of its nature to integrate more than three languages. These are mainly foreign languages and the experiences from this method has made sure that unpleasant experiences are dealt with using a mechanical drill (Shrum & Glisan, 2014).
It is also evident that acts of human nature were among the focus of this research. There have been studies conducted in regard to social anxiety in students. These studies are mostly done by psychologists. Their main areas of focus are the behaviors of the students. Linguists always deal with the language. This was done beyond the level of the surface(Young,2019).He explains that the use of mechanical language inn explaining behavioral activities to students had no enough explanation on how learners in the learning institutions get to cope with the new language. A hypotheses by Chomsky was used to explain how Language Acquisition Device exists. This device is used in the explanation of structures mainly syntactic (Chomsky, 2016).According to his hypothesis, it is clear that language acquisition is developed when human beings are born. This was challenge to the language learning that focused on behaviourism-based.This hypothesis by Chomsky gathered some support from other researchers such bas Richard, 2018.Social anxiety can be linked with some language anxiety because both are processes developed in accordance to the human behavior which composed of the linguistic surroundings in their environments. Accord to Richard, 2018, interactive human society had been ignored from the past research that major in the language acquisition process. Schema theory was used to support this process of new language acquisition. This theory incorporates the past learners experiences that existed before. These include the cultural and the social knowledge. It also includes the newly acquired language (Bransford, 2019).This theory does explains and emphasizes environments. The external environment is the major part which constitutes and affects new language acquisition. It is therefore clear that it does not only focus on its existence in the human mind.
Another theory in this research is the cognition theory. This theory has an emotional characteristics which is believed to have existed since the twentieth century. Emotions is the difference between the life creatures and the human mind. This difference is mainly crucial. Emotions are thus a form of information which has been processed but are then subjected to unconscious human products (LeDoux, 2016).This shows that the characteristics of emotions are not related to others. Human beings regulate this emotions in their mind and are independent. Social anxiety in learning is thus affected by emotions especially when it comes to language processing. In most studies related to this one, it is clear that there have been research meant to explore the reasons that contribute to foreign language being linked to emotions(Young,2019).According to Schumann 2017,there are implications that explore how and why social anxiety has an effect on their language. In this study, there is an investigation on the relationship between the learner’s language and the social anxiety. The results was that attitude was a factor. This was because of the classroom set up. It is clear that the agendas of the teachers may have differed but on very few points. The study also confirmed the relationship between student’s emotions and their social life. Some of the obstacles found are that there exists obstacles in learning and interaction between students and teachers. This then hindered students from getting to acquire their second language. It is clear that the higher the anxiety then the higher the filters and thus information cannot be supplied to the brain as expected (Dulay & Burt, 2017).
Social anxiety is said to be a disorder which affects teenagers. This is mainly the youths. It is therefore clear that undergraduate students in Toronto are mostly youths. The characteristics of social anxiety include fear. Fear is developed in an unfamiliar surroundings. Most people are strange and cannot socialize with one another due to new faces or scrutiny by others. Social anxiety is therefore a disorder and mainly affects the university students. This type of anxiety may be influenced by negative events of life. There are other several risk factors associated with social anxiety. One of the factors is temperament. This issue mainly affects persons who are new to a certain environment of these people are shy and cannot express themselves in a good manner. The situations worsens if the person is exposed or faces a new situation in life. Most of these undergraduate students try to do something for their first time due to peer pressure. This makes them anxious especially when they speculate on what may happen thereafter. It is also clear that family history may also be part of the risk factor in the spread of social anxiety. A person may develop this kind of anxiety especially if their family have biological traces of social anxiety. It is also evident that work demands and new social life is a contributing factor. In most instances at the university, there is a lot of interaction with one another. This makes it sure for undergraduate students to trigger some symptom s of social disorder. This is because of the events they attend and may be required to give a speech. This exposes them to new people who they have not interacted before thus increasing their chances of anxiety.
Students who speak English as their second language in their classrooms for the first time in their undergraduate classroom may explore some nature of social anxiety. In the university, most learners may have history with the language they learn for the first time in their life. These memories can either be negative or positive. It is clear that when there is a negative memory, the student may not be interested to review the language again. If the experience cis positive, then the student is likely to have a good memory and give them some familiar platform where they can practice more. The second language which is mainly English in the university, may have several challenges to the person practicing it as compared to other disciplines. It is evident that when undergraduate students learn a new language, they are required to communicate using it.Failure to communicate triggers them some fears which may paralyze their social anxiety(Foster,1997).The communication always takes place with their peers being physically present. There is need for the university students to take risks in order to acquire a new language. This can be achieved by using the language especially when an opportunity arises (Brown, 2010).However, it is difficult to understand the language and to deliver the message as required at the same time. This is because of the language barrier challenges such as choosing the right vocabulary and delivering the information with the correct pronunciation. First language may limit most of these students to prosper in their second language due to low self-esteem and poor confidence (Storti, 2011).
The anxiety of language can be identified as a specific anxiety that has some relationship with the second language. The feelings associated with this language is tension,nervousness,apprehension and some worry which can be linked with the nervous system and dh ow it arouses(Tanveer,2007).According to the author, English language can be provocative when spoken without any practice of the social contexts. It is evident that when the students feel some weaknesses in their language, then there is possibility of triggering some anxiety. Anxiety has been confirmed to be adapted by students when their feelings are low and when they may not have sufficient knowledge to display (Tanveer, 2007).Some of the factors contributing to the anxiety in language can be uncertain since there is no clear fact or on the type of language usage is taking place. There might be a different language of learning which is chosen by the student. The target of the language may also be influenced by the cultural factors which may arise according to the community of origin. Anxiety may be caused by the insecurities which may develop during negotiation of norms and traditions. In such a scenario the learner may feel inferior(Tanveer,2007).Some of the manifestations of anxiety resulting from language include the changes in behavior for example talking negatively about self and
doubting of the poor performance. Others include setting high standards which cannot be realized (Tanveer, 2007).There are three categories of language anxiety based on their performance. These include anxiety while communicating, anxiety in testing and the negative fear on the social evaluation. Some level of anxiety can be facilitated highly in order to boost an individual performance (Brown, 2000).
Tutors and lecturers ta the university have a duty in minimizing anxiety in language. There are some recommendations that have been put in place in order to assist these tutors in aiding students with overcoming the social anxiety in class. It is important for these tutors to understand the anxiety of the language of the students in class so that they can provide the necessary support. There is need to implement an approach that is communicative in order r to overcome the social anxiety. It has also been stated that skills of the language which are restricted can have some limitation on personal expression. Students know how to present themselves in class though there might be some despair with how they know who they are (Foster, 2017).
ESL students learning English their second language are likely to develop some social anxiety. These students who learn a new language often describe their feelings over the choices which are uncertain especially in case of a new context. Some of these learners may describe some of the disturbing scenarios where they have been undergoing harsh conditions(Fenimore,2017).Some of the aspects which are useful in learning the second language include social identity, intercultural and the cultural identities. Some of the consequences of the second language is the far of losing the first language. The participants who are the students in Toronto universities do not come from the same culture but meet and study on different cultures.
Social anxiety development in class
Undergraduate students experience various anxieties especially during Interaction with people in their social setting. This mainly happens in classroom. In this research there are various potential sources that have been established under various categories under theoretical framework. These are the experiences under the social anxiety in class that have been accomplished through interviews with undergraduate students. Social anxiety tend to develop amongst students especially in areas of pronunciation and good grammar when students from foreign lands are comfortable when they are involved in language mistakes in some learning areas. Such a moment is referred to as a construct in social and language anxiety. This is a strategy which works for other social places such as the public speaking gatherings and other test anxieties (Beaty & Andriate, 2015).These constructs states the differences that exists between the social anxieties of the undergraduate students I n class and their language anxiety. Those students who are fond of being anxious with their language are mainly the users of the social anxiety platforms but may have different feelings in their language use. The performance of the undergraduate students cannot be affected by their social anxiety since there are other factors which hinder their language anxiety. These factors include the student’s personality and the surroundings environment in the classroom (Beaty & Andriate, 2015).A research by Skehaan on the student’s language anxiety and their social anxiety presented different kinds of undergraduate students. There are students who are introverts while others are extroverts. From the research, it can be noted that extroverted students get to enjoy their communication having less anxiety in language. On the other hand, the introverted students are affected by social anxiety in class. The level of anxiety among these students is spread according to the subjects. The introverted students may do well in courses such sciences and applied mathematics. This is because they are experienced with language anxiety and have less social anxiety in class. These students may also devise different ways in order to regulate their behavior (MacIntyre, 2015).Social anxiety was regarded as the type of anxiety which is different from the language anxiety especially in a class. It is therefore recommended for tutors in the classroom to assist undergraduate students in overcoming anxiety in order to improve social anxiety and the language. In the research, there was an examination of the correlations in the performance of the university students and their social anxiety. There was an oral anxiety in ESL students during their communication with their sorroundings.It was found that when they speak in English while being faced by the native speakers they become more anxious (Woodrow, 2016).
Social anxiety and language anxiety in classrooms.
In every classroom, communication skills is core especially during teaching and learning. Students who are proficient in business subjects can be seen to have their future careers to be on point. This is because most of their presentation skills are in English. In this case, these students practice these courses just for their normal degree programs while they focus on a new career (Nakamura, 2002).Social anxiety may vary according to student’s proficiency in language. Social anxiety and language anxiety can be promoted through adopting coral presentations to the undergraduate students in the class. Sourcing feedback from undergraduate students is a crucial thing in presentations since it links the learners and their classmates to interact (Prince & O’Donovan, 2013).According to this research, the role of the teachers need to be changed in order to prevent student’s language anxiety. Some teachers are perceived to be authoritative instead of being facilitative. Authoritative act can be seen to as not being flexible to the students. This is because it induces fear to the students. The teachers should then comfort their students especially regarding public speaking through literature communication. This method can be beneficial to the undergraduate students who are native speakers because social anxiety may affect those students who have adopted other languages especially English(King,2002).The most appropriate way of reducing anxiety bin thee classrooms, there is need to clarify the language of the students. This will assist teachers in developing proper skills that will boost student speaking instructions. There is also need to explore some new environments which can help in decreasing the anxiety of the students during presentations. Students with high social anxiety are able to cope effectively in situations of social gatherings and thus become more productive in academic fields.