Second Language Anxiety: Affective or Linguistic Variable?

by Richard L. Sparks

Overview

This book traces and summarizes theoretical insights and empirical findings on the topic of whether or not anxiety for language learning could be a causal variable for individual differences in language learning. The author brings together three decades of research to show that first language (L1) skills and second language (L2) aptitude are confounding variables in studies of language anxiety and that learners’ levels of anxiety for L2 learning are strongly related to their levels of language achievement. These findings have suggested that language anxiety instruments reflect students’ (accurate) self-perceptions of their language skills and their levels of L1 achievement and L2 aptitude. The research presented in this book holds the potential to change the ways in which L2 educators and researchers think about language anxiety, how language anxiety is assessed, how investigations into language anxiety are conducted and how L2 teachers respond to anxiety in the classroom.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781800418776
Publisher:	Channel View Publications
Publication date:	08/12/2025
Series:	Psychology of Language Learning and Teaching , #31
Pages:	348
Product dimensions:	6.15(w) x 9.20(h) x 0.85(d)

About the Author

Richard L. Sparks is Professor Emeritus in the Department of Graduate Education at Mount St. Joseph University, USA. His research interests include L2 aptitude, L1-L2 relationships, language and learning disabilities, and foreign language anxiety, and he has published extensively in foreign language and learning disability journals. He is the author of Exploring L1-L2 Relationships: The Impact of Individual Differences (Multilingual Matters, 2022).

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments

Prelude: A Cautionary Tale about Causal Explanations

Richard L. Sparks: Introduction and Overview

Part 1: Theoretical Insights into Language Anxiety: Is Language Anxiety Related to Students’ Levels of L1 Achievement, L2 Aptitude and L2 Achievement?

Chapter 1. Richard L. Sparks and Leonore Ganschow: Foreign Language Learning Differences: Affective or Native Language Aptitude Differences?

Chapter 2. Richard L. Sparks and Leonore Ganschow: A Strong Inference Approach to Causal Factors in Foreign Language Learning: A Response to MacIntyre

Chapter 3. Richard L. Sparks, Leonore Ganschow, Reed Anderson, James Javorsky, Sue Skinner and Jon Patton: Differences in Language Performance among High-, Average-, and Low-Anxious College Foreign Language Learners

Chapter 4. Leonore Ganschow and Richard L. Sparks: Anxiety about Foreign Language Learning among High School Women

Chapter 5. Richard L. Sparks, Leonore Ganschow, Marge Artzer, David Siebenhar and Mark Plageman: Language Anxiety and Proficiency in a Foreign Language

Part 2: Do L2 Anxiety Scales Measure Anxiety or Language Ability?: Evidence from a Ten-Year Longitudinal Study

Chapter 6. Richard L. Sparks and Leonore Ganschow: Is the Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (FLCAS) Measuring Anxiety or Language Skills?

Chapter 7. Richard L. Sparks and Jon Patton: Relationship of L1 Skills and L2 Aptitude to L2 Anxiety on the Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale

Part 3: L2 Reading Anxiety and Language Achievement: Déjà Vu All Over Again?

Chapter 8. Richard L. Sparks, Leonore Ganschow and James Javorsky: Déjà Vu All Over Again: A Response to Saito, Horwitz and Garza

Chapter 9. Richard L. Sparks, Julie Luebbers, Martha Castañeda and Jon Patton: High School Spanish Students and Foreign Language Reading Anxiety: Déjà Vu All Over Again All Over Again

Chapter 10. Richard L. Sparks, Jon Patton and Julie Luebbers: L2 Anxiety and the Foreign Language Reading Anxiety Scale (FLRAS): Listening to the Evidence

Part 4: Is L2 Anxiety a Causal Variable for L2 Learning? Evidence from Studies Using Structural Equation Modeling and Latent Growth Curve Modeling

Chapter 11. Richard L. Sparks and Abdullah Alamer: Long-Term Impacts of L1 Language Skills on L2 Anxiety: The Mediating Role of Language Aptitude and L2 Achievement

Chapter 12. Richard L. Sparks and Abdullah Alamer: How Does First Language Achievement Impact Second Language Reading Anxiety? Exploration of Mediator Variables

Chapter 13. Richard L. Sparks and Abdullah Alamer: It’s Not Anxiety that Predicts L2 Writing Growth, It’s L1 Writing Achievement: The Latent Growth Curve Model Approach

Part 5: Other Issues, Other Voices on Language Anxiety

Chapter 14. Benjamin J. Lovett: General Problems with Anxiety Explanations: The Case of Test Anxiety

Chapter 15. Ekaterina Sudina: Scale Quality in L2 Anxiety Research: Issues and Challenges

Chapter 16. Abdullah Alamer: The Mirage of Cause-and-Effect in Cross-Sectional Data: The Case of Language Anxiety Research

Richard L. Sparks: Conclusions and Implications

Appendices
References
Index

Editorial Reviews

This book sheds new light on anxiety as an independent, dependent, or intervening variable in interaction with many others, predicting both learning and communication processes. It is a welcome addition to the individual differences literature that tends to focus on aptitude and motivation.

Robert M. DeKeyser

Drawing on his wealth of expertise and experience as a researcher and practitioner, Sparks makes a compelling case explaining why the theoretical conceptualisation of L2 anxiety and the most popular measure associated with it are problematic, and why, as a consequence, anxiety cannot be regarded as a direct cause of language learning outcomes. Essential and highly thought-provoking reading for all L2 researchers interested in individual learner differences, this truly is a landmark contribution to our field.

Karen Roehr-Brackin

A comprehensive exploration of 33 years of research into the L2 anxiety hypothesis, examining the relationship between L1 skills, L2 aptitude, and language achievement. This volume critically evaluates anxiety measurement tools and offers new insights, making a valuable contribution to the study of individual differences in second language acquisition.

Adriana Biedroń