Foreign language anxiety is also known as xenoglossophobia. Foreign language anxiety means a sense of worry or apprehension when using or learning a foreign language. For example, if a Brazilian person is learning English they may feel nervous or uncomfortable
- speaking English to an English speaker
- or writing a letter of complaint in English.
Not all language learners suffer from this type of anxiety and some may only feel slightly uncomfortable when using the second language whereas others may feel extremely anxious all the time.
State foreign language anxiety is the emotional reaction a person has towards using a foreign language. In other words, a person who experiences state foreign language anxiety feels nervous or uncomfortable temporarily, in certain situations. For example the Brazilian person may feel anxious talking to an English speaker for the first time but after a couple of exchanges the language learner begins to feel more comfortable talking to the English speaker.
Whereas trait foreign language anxiety is used to talk about the various differences in the emotional reaction of a person with foreign language anxiety. Which means that a person who suffers from trait anxiety is prone to feeling nervous or apprehensive on a regular basis.
A person with state foreign language anxiety becomes less anxious over time and starts to become more comfortable with the second language. This is not the case for a person with trait foreign language anxiety as they constantly feel nervous using the foreign language.
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