L2 anxiety is negatively correlated with L2 achievement, with a mean correlation of r = −.36 across 216 effect sizes¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · quant-synthesis r2 · q4 · i2 medium
Currency · newest study 2019 · checked against its sources 2026-10-15 (automated, 1 of 1 entry) · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q4 i2 Across 216 effect sizes from 105 independent samples, L2 anxiety correlates negatively with language achievement at a mean of r = −.36. → Yasser Teimouri 2019

Evidence¶

Yasser Teimouri 2019¶

Yasser Teimouri, Julia Goetze, and Luke Plonsky. (2019). SECOND LANGUAGE ANXIETY AND ACHIEVEMENT: A META-ANALYSIS. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, Volume 41, Issue 2. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0272263118000311

q4 · i2 · quant-synthesis · r2

Meta-analysis of 97 reports contributing 105 independent samples (N = 19,933) from 23 countries; the aggregate of 216 correlations yielded "a mean of r = −.36 for the relationship between L2 anxiety and language achievement."

"In the aggregate, the 216 effect sizes (i.e., correlations) reported in the primary studies yielded a mean of r = −.36 for the relationship between L2 anxiety and language achievement."

Studies bearing on this claim¶

Do learners who are more anxious about a foreign language achieve less in it, and for which kinds of anxiety, outcome and learner? This table gathers the studies behind this claim and the 7 narrower claims that bear on it: 4 distinct studies (2 associational, 1 quant-synthesis, 1 qualitative), q1–q4, 2 of 4 with an effect size coded. One row per study, codes as each entry records them; no effect is averaged and no verdict is drawn. Built by scripts/synthesize_claim.py from eval/synthesis/; a row that looks wrong is fixed on the claim it comes from.

Discussion¶

Learner Variables¶

• Affect Regulation — predictor: learners who differ on it differ in outcomes
• Academic Anxiety — predictor: learners who differ on it differ in outcomes

Related Claims¶

• The anxiety–achievement correlation varies across educational levels, target languages, and anxiety types — related
• The anxiety–achievement correlation varies across types of language achievement measures — related
• Math anxiety has a small-to-moderate negative correlation with math achievement (r = −.28) in a meta-analysis of correlations from 223 studies — a broader claim this one bears on
• Interest correlates moderately with academic achievement (mean correlation r = .31, meta-analytic) — related
• Writing apprehension and anxiety show strong negative correlations with writing self-efficacy in postsecondary students — related
• A unique form of anxiety experienced in response to learning or using an L2 was identified in the mid-1980s — related
• Sociocultural factors, learner motivation, self-efficacy and perceptions of the classroom environment influence FLCA learning outcomes and oral performance — a narrower finding that bears on this claim
• Incidental vocabulary learning anxiety positively predicts L2 incidental vocabulary acquisition through reading — related
• The possibility that anxiety interferes with language learning has long interested scholars, teachers, and learners — a broader claim this one bears on