Language Anxiety Among Turkish Graduate Students in Social Sciences in the U.S.

“Language anxiety” is a condition that has been studied by researchers for decades, yet the existing research on this topic has examined language anxiety in foreign/second language classroom settings. This research study was designed to contribute to the current body of knowledge by investigating language anxiety among 127 Turkish graduate students in the social sciences in the United States. The study utilized a modified version of Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale and seven in-depth interviews; results indicated that the relation between language anxiety and the following variables: self-perceived English proficiency, year in the program, age, and medium of instruction in college was statistically significant. The relation between language anxiety and gender did not indicate a statistically significant relation. The experiences of the participants with language anxiety were explained under three main categories: instructor and pedagogical, language skills, and classroom environment, and several coping strategies were identified for dealing with the issues of language anxiety.