Reflective practice and foreign language classroom anxiety: video-stimulated recall at work

Abstract

Reflective practices have been shown to improve the effectiveness of learning and teaching processes. In this study, video-stimulated recall technique was employed as a method of motivating language learners to reflect on their oral production tasks. In this experimental study, the Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (FLCAS) was administered to control and treatment groups before and after an eight-week module during which video-stimulated recall interviews were conducted with students in the treatment group. Statistical analyses revealed that pre- and post-test FLCAS scores differed within the treatment group but not within the control group. The results also suggested that stimulated recall is an effective reflective tool which assists students in noticing and reflecting upon the symptoms and causes of anxiety in the classroom.

Keywords:

• Video stimulated recall
• reflective practice
• foreign language classroom anxiety
• reflection
• English as a foreign language learning

Notes

1. Jiang (2012) conducted a study about EFL teachers’ reflective practices by using stimulated recall technique and figured out that teachers who used reflective practice in their classrooms tended to have students with less anxiety. However, this assertion was only based on classroom observation of the researcher.