Sources of Foreign Language Anxiety in the Student-teachers’ English Classrooms: A Case Study in a Spanish University

Resumen

Foreign Language Anxiety is a common problem among learners, even more relevant if they are future teachers. This paper presents a case study that aims to identify and understand the reasons for foreign language anxiety among undergraduates learning English in a Spanish Faculty of Education. We gathered information from 63 students and 4 teachers through classroom observations, questionnaires and a focus group. The results identify three interrelated categories of causes of language anxiety. Furthermore, the explanatory model proposed here introduces the classification of root sources, triggering sources, and contributing sources. More specifically, we postulate that root sources can be traced to the learners themselves (poor English proficiency, low self-efficacy, etc.) and, because of this, other external factors, mainly, speaking exercises in front of the classroom, can trigger anxiety experiences. This model improves our understanding of how sources of language anxiety interact in this context and other similar learning settings.