English extracurriculars and anxiety levels: a quantitative examination among first-year university students

Abstract

In a supportive and immersive environment, engaging in English extracurricular activities is crucial for university students as it enhances their language skills, cultivates valuable communication and teamwork abilities, and significantly alleviates their anxiety levels. This quantitative study aimed to examine the causality between the independent variable (intervention in English extracurricular activities—EECAs) and the dependent variable (learners’ anxiety levels) using the Foreign Language Anxiety Scale developed by Horwitz et al. Data were collected from a sample of 306 first-year students at a university in Vietnam through self-report surveys administered both before and after participating in EECAs. The analysis of the collected data employed descriptive statistics and paired sample t-tests, revealing a causal relationship between participation in these activities and language learners’ anxiety levels. The results revealed that active involvement in extracurricular activities may reduce learners’ anxiety levels. These findings emphasize the significance of considering the potential impact of extracurricular activities on learners’ anxiety levels and call for further research and interventions to address and alleviate anxiety in language learners involved in such activities.

Keywords:

• Extracurricular activities (ECAs)
• english extracurricular activities (EECAs)
• foreign language anxiety (FLA)
• anxiety levels
• impact

Reviewing editor:

• Juan de Dios Martínez Agudo, Didactics of Languages and Literatures, Faculty of Education, University of Extremadura, Spain

SUBJECTS:

• Bilingualism/ESL
• Educational Psychology
• Higher Education

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank the editor and anonymous reviewers for their useful feedback, and suggestions which helped us considerably improve this article. We acknowledge with thanks the valuable contributions of the participants of our study.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Hien Nguyen T. Dieu

Hien Nguyen T. Dieu is a full-time lecturer at the FPT University in Vietnam. Her research interests focus on higher education and technology, TESOL, education psychology, and extracurricular activities.

Ngoc Nguyen T. Nhu

Ngoc Nguyen T. Nhu works as an English lecturer at FPT University, Vietnam. Her current research interests have been focused on higher education, technology-enhanced learning, e-learning, and language education.

Quyen Kieu Minh

Quyen Kieu Minh is a full-time lecturer at the FPT University in Vietnam. His research interests focus on higher education, TESOL, education psychology, and extracurricular activities.