Addressing Writing Anxiety in a Second Language Course

2021 Reflections, , ,

by María González-Ferrer

Next semester will be my first time teaching a writing-intensive course on Latin-American cinema. In this class, students will not only focus on reflecting in writing about the films and readings that we will see in class, but they will also have to do so in a second language. As a non-English native speaker myself, I have been reflecting on my own journey of writing in a second language. I can certainly remember the stress and uncertainty that writing caused me as an undergrad, and, in fact, the fear of making mistakes still haunts me as a PhD student. Therefore, I can foresee possible issues of writing anxiety in Spanish that can arise among my students.

Photo by Hello I’m Nik on Unsplash

In the second language acquisition field, we are familiar with the term ‘language anxiety.’ It was first mentioned by Stephen Krashen in his Affective filter theory of language learning in 1982, and it explains how both the student´s attitude and mood affect their second languages learning process. Besides the anxiety, it can also affect their motivation and self-esteem. If the student experiences higher levels of anxiety, it can start a mental block and impede the way they communicate with others and as well their learning process. Students can not only experience anxiety from oral production but also in its written form in a foreign language.

During these years working as a Spanish instructor, I always wonder how I can help my students face challenges in writing in Spanish. Given that lower-level language courses often lack writing activities, my students are often not as prepared for the quantity of written expression that an insensitive writing course requires.

So, how can we help our students to overcome the anxiety to write in a foreign language?

Here are a few tips that I will implement:

  • Practice, practice, and practice. Remind students that writing is a work in progress. Since all performing arts need practice, that includes writing also. Remind them that during the course they will have time to ‘rehearse’ in order to achieve quality papers.
  • Making mistakes is ok. They have to learn to make mistakes in order to progress. It often helps to share your own mistakes with your students, especially if the outcome of your mistake in a foreign language was funny.
  • Let students choose their own topics.  Let them connect with topics that they like so they can feel more motivated.
  • Don´t forget to provide positive feedback to encourage your students. As teachers, we tend to focus on highlighting the mistakes our students made and we forget to share the good points as well.  
  • Integrate peer review. Letting students offer suggestions on other peer´s work not only reduces their own fear of negative comments, but it also helps them improve.

María González-Ferrer is a PhD student in Hispanic Linguistics. Her main areas of interest are Second Language Acquisition and Applied Linguistics. She will serve as a WIP TA for SPAN 4082 Spanish American Film in Spring 2022.