15 Scale Quality in L2 Anxiety Research: Issues and Challenges

Chapters in this book

1. Frontmatter i
2. Dedication v
3. Contents vii
4. Acknowledgments xi
5. Prelude: A Cautionary Tale about Causal Explanations xiii
6. Introduction and Overview 1
7. Part 1: Theoretical Insights into Language Anxiety: Is Language Anxiety Related to Students’ Levels of L1 Achievement, L2 Aptitude and L2 Achievement?
8. Introduction – Part 1 27
9. 1 Foreign Language Learning Differences: Affective or Native Language Aptitude Differences? 31
10. 2 A Strong Inference Approach to Causal Factors in Foreign Language Learning: A Response to MacIntyre 43
11. 3 Differences in Language Performance among High-, Averageand Low-Anxious College Foreign Language Learners 54
12. 4 Anxiety about Foreign Language Learning among High School Women 68
13. 5 Language Anxiety and Proficiency in a Foreign Language 81
14. Part 2: Do L2 Anxiety Scales Measure Anxiety or Language Ability?: Evidence from a Ten-Year Longitudinal Study
15. Introduction – Part 2 95
16. 6 Is the Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (FLCAS) Measuring Anxiety or Language Skills? 98
17. 7 Relationship of L1 Skills and L2 Aptitude to L2 Anxiety on the Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale 112
18. Part 3: L2 Reading Anxiety and Language Achievement: Déjà Vu All Over Again?
19. Introduction – Part 3 133
20. 8 Déjà Vu All Over Again: A Response to Saito, Horwitz and Garza 136
21. 9 High School Spanish Students and Foreign Language Reading Anxiety: Déjà Vu All Over Again All Over Again 142
22. 10 L2 Anxiety and the Foreign Language Reading Anxiety Scale (FLRAS): Listening to the Evidence 164
23. Part 4: Is L2 Anxiety a Causal Variable for L2 Learning? Evidence from Studies Using Structural Equation Modeling and Latent Growth Curve Modeling
24. Introduction – Part 4 185
25. 11 Long-Term Impacts of L1 Language Skills on L2 Anxiety: The Mediating Role of Language Aptitude and L2 Achievement 188
26. 12 How Does First Language Achievement Impact Second Language Reading Anxiety? Exploration of Mediator Variables 208
27. 13 It’s Not Anxiety That Predicts L2 Writing Growth, It’s L1 Writing Achievement: The Latent Growth Curve Model Approach 230
28. Part 5: Other Issues, Other Voices on Language Anxiety
29. Introduction – Part 5 249
30. 14 General Problems with Anxiety Explanations: The Case of Test Anxiety 251
31. 15 Scale Quality in L2 Anxiety Research: Issues and Challenges 255
32. 16 The Mirage of Cause-and-Effect in Cross-Sectional Data: The Case of Language Anxiety Research 260
33. Conclusions and Implications 269
34. Appendices 293
35. References 303
36. Index 323