Physics Language Anxiety among Students in Introductory Physics Course

Rex Taibu; Franca Ferrari-Bridgers

doi:10.29333/ejmste/111993

Full Text (PDF)

Rex Taibu ¹ ^* , Franca Ferrari-Bridgers ¹

More Detail

¹ Queensborough Community College of The City University of New York, USA^* Corresponding Author

Abstract

In this research an instrument was developed to measure students’ anxiety about the jargon of physics. Levels of anxiety were then compared with student content performance and general classroom anxiety. Anxiety levels were also compared based on students’ language of origin (native vs. nonnative English speaking students). Statistical analyses indicated that the created instrument was reliable and that a larger percentage of students admitted that the vocabulary of physics creates anxiety in their physics learning and that fear of communication apprehension was prevalent than fear of peer evaluation. There was a negative but small correlation between anxiety about physics vocabulary and student course performance. The correlation between anxiety about physics vocabulary and general classroom anxiety was moderate. There was no significant difference in levels of anxiety between native and nonnative English-speaking students. A comparison between results of this research and previous studies (theories) sheds more light into the implications for conducting studies relating to academic anxiety.

Keywords

introductory physics
scientific language
vocabulary anxiety

License

This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Article Type: Research Article

EURASIA J Math Sci Tech Ed, 2020, Volume 16, Issue 4, Article No: em1835

https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmste/111993

Publication date: 25 Jan 2020

Article Views: 2268

Article Downloads: 2512

Open Access References How to cite this article

References

Afolayan, J. A., Donald, B., Onasoga, O., Babafemi, A., & Agama Juan, A. (2013). Relationship between anxiety and academic performance of nursing students. Advances in Applied Science Research, 4(4), 25-33.
Al-Saraj, T. M. (2014). Revisiting the foreign language classroom anxiety scale (FLCAS): The anxiety of female English language learners in Saudi Arabia. L2 Journal, 6(1), 50-76. https://doi.org/10.5070/L26121650.
Brantmeier, C. (2005). Anxiety about L2 reading or L2 reading tasks? A study with advanced language learners. Reading, 5(2), 67-85.
Bursal, M. (2008). Changes in Turkish pre-service elementary teachers’ personal teaching efficacy beliefs and science anxieties during a science method course. Journal of Turkish Science Education, 5(1), 99–112.
Cebreros, A. M. O. (2003). Measuring language anxiety perceived by Spanish university students of English. Bells: Barcelona English Language and Literature Studies. Retrieved from http://www.publicacions.ub.edu/revistes/bells12/pdf/art11.pdf.
Chiarelott, L., & Czerniak, C. (1987). Science anxiety: Implications for science curriculum and teaching. The Clearing House, 60(5), 202-205. https://doi.org/10.1080/00098655.1987.9959323.
Czerniak, C., & Chiarelott, L. (1985). Science anxiety among elementary school students: Equity issues. Journal of Educational Equity and Leadership, 5(4), 291-308.
Diaz, R. J., Glass, C. R., Arnkoff, D. B., & Tanofsky-Kraff, M. (2001). Cognition, anxiety, and prediction of performance in 1st year law. Journal of Educational Psychology, 93(2), 420-429. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-0663.93.2.420.
Ellis, R. (2008). The study of second language acquisition (2nd ed.). Oxford: OUP.
Eysenck, M. W. (1979). Anxiety, learning and memory: A reconceptualization. Journal of Research in Personality, 13(4), 363-385. https://doi.org/10.1016/0092-6566(79)90001-1.
Gardner, R. C. (1985). Social psychology and second language learning: The role of attitudes and motivation. Arnold. Baltimore, USA.
Hake, R. R. (1998). Interactive-engagement versus traditional methods: A six-thousand-student survey of mechanics test data for introductory physics courses . American Journal of Physics, 66(64), 64-74. https://doi.org/10.1119/1.18809.
Horikawa, M., & Yagi, A. (2012). The relationships among trait anxiety, state anxiety and the goal performance of penalty shoot-out by university soccer players. PloS One, 7(4), e35727. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0035727.
Horwitz, E. K., Horwitz, M. B., & Cope, J. (1986). Foreign language classroom anxiety. The Modern Language Journal, 70(2), 125-132. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-4781.1986.tb05256.x.
Khan, A., & Al-Mahrooqi, R. (2015). Foreign language communication anxiety (FLCA) among tertiary level Omani EFL learners. The Asian EFL Journal Quarterly March 2015, 17(57).
King, F. G., Heinrich, D. L., Stephenson, R. S., & Spielberger, C. D. (1976). An investigation of the causal influence of trait and state anxiety on academic achievement. Journal of Educational Psychology, 68(3), 330–334. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-0663.68.3.330.
MacIntyre, P. D. (1999). Language anxiety: A review of the research for language teachers. In Young, D. J. (Ed.), Affect in foreign language and second language learning: a practical guide to creating a low-anxiety classroom atmosphere (pp. 24-45). New York: McGraw Hill.
MacIntyre, P. D., & Gardner, R. C. (1991). Methods and results in the study of anxiety and language learning: A review of the literature Language Learning, 41(1), 85-117. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-1770.1991.tb00677.x.
MacIntyre, P. D., & Gardner, R. C. (1994). The subtle effects of language anxiety on cognitive processing in the second language. Language Learning, 44(2), 283-305. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-1770.1994.tb01103.x.
Mallow, J. V. 1978. (1978). A science anxiety program. American Journal of Physics, 46, 862. https://doi.org/10.1119/1.11409.
Marcos-Llinás, M., & Juan-Garau, M. (2009). Effects of language anxiety on three proficiency-level courses of Spanish as a Foreign Language. Foreign Language Annals, 42(1), 94-111. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1944-9720.2009.01010.x.
Onwuegbuzie, A. J., Bailey, P., & Daley, C. E. (1999). Factors associated with foreign language anxiety. Applied Psycholinguistics, 20(2), 217-239. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0142716499002039.
Pajares, F., Britner, S. L., & Valiante, G. (2000). Relation between achievement goals and self-beliefs of middle school students in writing and science. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 25(4), 406-422. https://doi.org/10.1006/ceps.1999.1027.
Phillips, E. M. (1992). The effects of language anxiety on students’ oral test performance and attitudes. The Modern Language Journal, 76(1), 14-26. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-4781.1992.tb02573.x.
Randler, C. (2009). Association between emotional variables and school achievement. International Journal of Instruction, 2(2), 3-10.
Richmond, V. P., Wrench, J. S., & Gorham, J. (2001). Communication, affect, and learning in the classroom. Acton, MA: Tapestry Press.
Rosenthal, J. W. (1996). Teaching science to language minority students: Theory and practice (Vol. 3). Bristol, PA: Multilingual matters Ltd.
Sağır, Ş. U. (2012). The primary school students’ attitude and anxiety towards science. Journal of Baltic Science Education, 11(2), 127-140.
Sahin, M. (2014). The relationship between pre-service teachers’ physics anxiety and demographic variables. Journal of Baltic Science Education, 13(2), 201-215.
Saito, Y., Garza, T. J., & Horwitz, E. K. (1999). Foreign language reading anxiety. The Modern Language Journal, 83(2), 202-218. https://doi.org/10.1111/0026-7902.00016.
Sparks, R., & Ganschow, L. (2007). Is the Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (FLCAS) measuring anxiety or language skills? Foreign Language Annals, 40, 260-287. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1944-9720.2007.tb03201.x.
Spielberger, C. (1980). Preliminary professional manual for test anxiety ınventory. Palo Alto, CA: Consulting Psychologist Press.
Spielberger, C. D. (1983). Manual or the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. Palo Alto, CA: Consulting Psychologists Press. https://doi.org/10.1037/t06496-000.
Spielberger, C. D. (1996). Anxiety and behavior. New York: Academic Press.
Suinn, R. M., & Edwards, R. (1982). The measurement of mathematics anxiety: The mathematics anxiety rating scale for adolescents—MARS‐A. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 38(3), 576-580. https://doi.org/10.1002/1097-4679(198207)38:3<576::AID-JCLP2270380317>3.0.CO;2-V.
Tabachnick, B. G., & Fidel, L. S. (2001). Using multivarite statistics. Needham Heights, MA: Allyn 8.
Taibu, R. (2015). A Study of Conceptual and Language Issues Surrounding Weight, Weightlessness, and Free Fall: Textbook Analysis, Instructional Design, and Assessment.
Taibu, R., Schuster, D., & Rudge, D. (2017). Teaching weight to explicitly address language ambiguities and conceptual difficulties. Physical Review Physics Education Research, 13(1), 010130. https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevPhysEducRes.13.010130.
Williams, H. T. (1999). Semantics in teaching introductory physics. American Journal of Physics, 67(8), 670-680. https://doi.org/10.1119/1.19351.
Wolman, B. B. (1973). Dictionary of behavioral science. New York: (Van Nostrand Reinhold Company.
Yaman, H. (2010). Writing anxiety of Turkish students: scale development and the working procedures in terms of various variables. International Online Journal of Educational Sciences, 2(1), 267-289.

How to cite this article

APA

Taibu, R., & Ferrari-Bridgers, F. (2020). Physics Language Anxiety among Students in Introductory Physics Course. Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, 16(4), em1835. https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmste/111993

Vancouver

Taibu R, Ferrari-Bridgers F. Physics Language Anxiety among Students in Introductory Physics Course. EURASIA J Math Sci Tech Ed. 2020;16(4):em1835. https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmste/111993

AMA

Taibu R, Ferrari-Bridgers F. Physics Language Anxiety among Students in Introductory Physics Course. EURASIA J Math Sci Tech Ed. 2020;16(4), em1835. https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmste/111993

Chicago

Taibu, Rex, and Franca Ferrari-Bridgers. "Physics Language Anxiety among Students in Introductory Physics Course". Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education 2020 16 no. 4 (2020): em1835. https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmste/111993

Harvard

Taibu, R., and Ferrari-Bridgers, F. (2020). Physics Language Anxiety among Students in Introductory Physics Course. Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, 16(4), em1835. https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmste/111993

MLA

Taibu, Rex et al. "Physics Language Anxiety among Students in Introductory Physics Course". Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, vol. 16, no. 4, 2020, em1835. https://doi.org/10.29333/ejmste/111993