One of paradoxes in adult foreign language learning is that older learners must communicate in the very language, in this case English, they struggle to acquire. The discomfort that arises from needing to use deficient or non-existent skills in a new language is more acutely felt in adults than children. Adults approach learning new languages with an assumed level of control over themselves and their environment and can easily become frustrated when they're unable to maintain their usual levels of confidence and competence, which can lead to foreign language anxiety. FLA is a specific kind of anxiety defined as an unpleasant emotional condition characterized by feelings of tension and apprehension. As English is now firmly positioned as the lingua franca in the European Union and is the most commonly spoken foreign language throughout the E.U., working adults are often required to learn English for job security or advancement. EFL teachers can use the strategies in this project to mitigate the tension and psychological stress caused by FLA and increase the levels of motivation, commitment and enjoyment their adult students experience when learning English.
","abstract_html":"<p>One of paradoxes in adult foreign language learning is that older learners must communicate in the very language, in this case English, they struggle to acquire. The discomfort that arises from needing to use deficient or non-existent skills in a new language is more acutely felt in adults than children. Adults approach learning new languages with an assumed level of control over themselves and their environment and can easily become frustrated when they're unable to maintain their usual levels of confidence and competence, which can lead to foreign language anxiety. FLA is a specific kind of anxiety defined as an unpleasant emotional condition characterized by feelings of tension and apprehension. As English is now firmly positioned as the <em>lingua franca</em> in the European Union and is the most commonly spoken foreign language throughout the E.U., working adults are often required to learn English for job security or advancement. EFL teachers can use the strategies in this project to mitigate the tension and psychological stress caused by FLA and increase the levels of motivation, commitment and enjoyment their adult students experience when learning English.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Hershner, Kathleen"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Arts in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL)","degree_level":"Project/Capstone - Global access","degree_discipline":"International and Multicultural Education (IME)","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Dr. Onllwyn C. Dixon"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2015,"date_issued":"2015-05-21T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2015-05-21T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T05:43:52Z","subjects":["Anxiety","Foreign Language","TESOL","EFL","FLA","Adult ESL","Bilingual, Multilingual, and Multicultural Education","Educational Psychology","Language and Literacy Education","Teacher Education and Professional Development"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://repository.usfca.edu/capstone/483","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Dr. Onllwyn C. Dixon"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Hershner, Kathleen"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2017-03-20T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["International and Multicultural Education (IME)"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Project/Capstone - Global access"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Arts in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Anxiety","Foreign Language","TESOL","EFL","FLA","Adult ESL","Bilingual, Multilingual, and Multicultural Education","Educational Psychology","Language and Literacy Education","Teacher Education and Professional Development"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://repository.usfca.edu/capstone/483"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["One of paradoxes in adult foreign language learning is that older learners must communicate in the very language, in this case English, they struggle to acquire. The discomfort that arises from needing to use deficient or non-existent skills in a new language is more acutely felt in adults than children. Adults approach learning new languages with an assumed level of control over themselves and their environment and can easily become frustrated when they're unable to maintain their usual levels of confidence and competence, which can lead to foreign language anxiety. FLA is a specific kind of anxiety defined as an unpleasant emotional condition characterized by feelings of tension and apprehension. As English is now firmly positioned as the lingua franca in the European Union and is the most commonly spoken foreign language throughout the E.U., working adults are often required to learn English for job security or advancement. EFL teachers can use the strategies in this project to mitigate the tension and psychological stress caused by FLA and increase the levels of motivation, commitment and enjoyment their adult students experience when learning English.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Strategies to Reduce Foreign Language Anxiety in Adult EFL Students of the European Union"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Dr. Onllwyn C. Dixon"],"dc:creator":["Hershner, Kathleen"],"dc:date.available":["2017-03-20T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["One of paradoxes in adult foreign language learning is that older learners must communicate in the very language, in this case English, they struggle to acquire. The discomfort that arises from needing to use deficient or non-existent skills in a new language is more acutely felt in adults than children. Adults approach learning new languages with an assumed level of control over themselves and their environment and can easily become frustrated when they're unable to maintain their usual levels of confidence and competence, which can lead to foreign language anxiety. FLA is a specific kind of anxiety defined as an unpleasant emotional condition characterized by feelings of tension and apprehension. As English is now firmly positioned as the lingua franca in the European Union and is the most commonly spoken foreign language throughout the E.U., working adults are often required to learn English for job security or advancement. EFL teachers can use the strategies in this project to mitigate the tension and psychological stress caused by FLA and increase the levels of motivation, commitment and enjoyment their adult students experience when learning English.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://repository.usfca.edu/capstone/483"],"dc:subject":["Anxiety","Foreign Language","TESOL","EFL","FLA","Adult ESL","Bilingual, Multilingual, and Multicultural Education","Educational Psychology","Language and Literacy Education","Teacher Education and Professional Development"],"dc:title":["Strategies to Reduce Foreign Language Anxiety in Adult EFL Students of the European Union"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["International and Multicultural Education (IME)"],"thesis:degree_level":["Project/Capstone - Global access"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Arts in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T05:43:52Z"}