The Cross-modality Anxiety Profiles of Korean EFL Learners

The present study was conducted to investigate Korean EFL learners' cross-modality anxiety profiles and the impact of proficiency on the profiles, i.e., how their speaking anxiety and writing anxiety were related and how proficiency affected the relationship between their speaking anxiety and writing anxiety. A total of 95 participants, assigned to high, intermediate, and low proficiency groups, completed a questionnaire composed mainly of an adjusted Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (FLCAS) and the Second Language Writing Anxiety Inventory (SLWAI), and 30 of them took part in a semi-structured interview. Results showed that Korean EFL learners' writing anxiety was significantly stronger than their speaking anxiety, which was attributed to an extensive difference in interest and pedagogical practice between writing and speaking. Regarding the influence of proficiency, it was revealed that proficiency significantly affected the difference between Korean EFL learners' speaking and writing anxiety. What was noteworthy was that the intermediate level EFL learners showed the highest mean difference between speaking and writing anxiety due to their largest difference in readiness between writing and speaking. In terms of pedagogical implications, the study suggests that the EFL cross-modality anxiety should be addressed more adequately taking into account proficiency levels of learners.