The classroom aroma : Examining the relationship between teacher immediacy, foreign language enjoyment and foreign language classroom anxiety in adolescent learners of English as a foreign language

Abstract

This study examines how FL teachers' verbal and nonverbal immediacy impacts adolescent students' Foreign Language Enjoyment (FLE) and Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety (FLCA). Using a mixed-method approach, involving five native-speaker English instructors and 25 Catalan/Spanish bilingual adolescent students, this research found a moderate to strong positive correlation between FLE and perceived teacher immediacy, and a moderate negative correlation between FLCA and perceived teacher immediacy. These findings suggest that enhancing teacher immediacy can boost student enjoyment and reduce anxiety, highlighting the importance of the affective dimension in FL learning. Future research should explore strategies to further alleviate FLCA.

Aquest estudi examina com la immediatesa verbal i no verbal dels professors de llengües estrangeres (LE) impacta el gaudi (FLE) i l'ansietat (FLCA) dels estudiants adolescents. Amb un enfocament de mètodes mixtos, cinc instructors de parla nativa d'anglès i 25 estudiants adolescents bilingües catalans/espanyols van participar. La recerca va trobar una correlació positiva moderada a forta entre FLE i la percepció de la immediatesa del professor, i una correlació negativa moderada entre FLCA i la percepció de la immediatesa del professor. Aquests resultats suggereixen que millorar la immediatesa del professor pot augmentar el gaudi dels estudiants i reduir l'ansietat en l'aprenentatge de LE.