A relação entre crenças e a ansiedade de língua estrangeira : um estudo de caso

Abstract

This dissertation aims at investigating the system of beliefs about language learning of two adult foreign language learners who perceive themselves as having difficulties in learning the foreign language, relating such beliefs to the foreign language anxiety construct. It discusses the way these beliefs contribute to the development of symptoms associated with language anxiety as communication apprehension and avoidance behavior. Due to the fact that anxiety is considered one of the affective factors that most negatively influences foreign language learning, this study aims at inserting the topic in the Brazilian research agenda on Applied Linguistics, since the topic has been widely discussed abroad for the past two decades. The theoretical background of this study is based on inquiries involving the effects of anxiety on foreign language learning (HORWITZ, 1985), and it also focuses on the concept and trajectory of studies on learners beliefs (BARCELLOS,2000). Data were collected during six months, through a case study with two students considered anxious and one non anxious participant, for comparison purposes, following the qualitative paradigm in the light of an ethnographic inquiry. Results have shown that there is evident relationship between certain beliefs and the development of foreign language anxiety. Moreover, it shows the dynamic nature of these beliefs, perceived through the participants discourse.