The use of emotion regulation strategies in bilingual education as a predictor of foreign language anxiety

Abstract

Learning a foreign language can be a stressful experience that can provoke anxiety and impede the acquisition of the language in question. In this regard, although there is a lack of studies conducted in foreign language classrooms that have specifically demonstrated relationships between cognitive emotional regulation strategies and anxiety, the apparent correlation between cognitive emotional regulation strategies and anxiety in diverse contexts underscores the necessity for further research to clarify this association and ascertain their applicability to foreign language anxiety. Moreover, it is essential to investigate how the type of education (i.e., bilingual and non-bilingual) affects this relationship. To address these research gaps, multivariate regression models were constructed for several dependent variables with the same independent variables. The results revealed statistically significant associations between foreign language anxiety and the use of maladaptive and adaptive cognitive regulation strategies. The sole variable not found to be related to cognitive emotional regulation strategies was uncertainty. Additionally, a statistically significant relationship was observed between the type of education and levels of foreign language anxiety. Specifically, students in non-bilingual education settings exhibit heightened levels of communicative apprehension, negative attitudes, and anxiety, but not higher levels of uncertainty. This underscores the necessity of training students on adaptive strategies to enhance their ability to cope with potential foreign language anxiety in both bilingual and non-bilingual education classrooms. In this regard, educators and practitioners can benefit from a more supportive and emotionally resilient foreign language-learning environment.