Exploring foreign language anxiety in secondary level online English language classes during pandemic

Abstract

Foreign language anxiety among learners is a vital issue around the globe in the field of foreign language education. As the educational institutions of Bangladesh had to take an unexpected shift towards online learning in order to continue education during this covid-19 pandemic, it is essential to improve the quality of English language classes in the online platform. Therefore, this research focuses on foreign language anxiety in online English language classrooms. The present research has adopted a qualitative method with some supporting quantitative data and collected data from five secondary level schools in Dhaka to explore both the teachers‟ and students‟ perception regarding foreign language anxiety in online English classes as well as sought to find out the reasons behind it. The findings provided in this research paper highlight that foreign language anxiety is less in online English language classrooms despite some challenges. It also identified that students‟ personality, self-motivation, learning environment and teacher student relationship have substantial impact in causing foreign language anxiety in online English classes.