THE CRITICAL INFLUENCE OF MINDFULNESS IN REDUCING FOREIGN LANGUAGE ANXIETY: A STUDY ON MALAYSIA’S NATIONAL SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS

Abstract

The learning of a foreign language is generally an arduous, anxiety-laden psychological experience. However, recent studies have observed the virtues of mindfulness practices in education in yielding positive benefits for a smoother learning outcome. To test its efficacy in the local context, this quantitative non-experimental correlational research surveyed 429 students from 32 secondary schools in Selangor, Malaysia. First, it examined the levels of mindfulness and foreign language anxiety among the target population using the Theory of Foreign Language Anxiety and the Mindfulness Model. Next, it investigated the direct effects of mindfulness on foreign language anxiety. Questionnaires with measurement scales co-opted from previous studies were used as survey instruments. These included the Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale by Horwitz et al. (1986) and the Child and Adolescent Mindfulness Measure by Greco et al. (2011). Conclusively, the research findings showed a distinct relationship between mindfulness and foreign language classroom anxiety, with mindfulness exerting a mediating influence in alleviating foreign language anxiety. Accordingly, the research encourages the development of learning environments that are strategically empathetic in bolstering students’ confidence for successful foreign language acquisition.