A PSYCHOLINGUISTIC ANALYSIS OF FOREIGN LANGUAGE ANXIETY IN L2 ORAL PRODUCTION
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.61421/IJSSMER.2025.3601Keywords:
Psycholinguistics, Foreign Language Anxiety, Language Production, Second Language Acquisition, Speaking InstructionAbstract
Foreign language anxiety (FLA) is a common affective factor that can significantly impair learners’ oral performance in second language (L2) classrooms. This study, grounded in Levelt’s speech production model, Baddeley’s working memory theory, and Attentional Control Theory, investigates how anxiety disrupts the cognitive and psycholinguistic processes involved in idea generation, lexical formulation, and articulation. Drawing on authentic classroom observations, the findings show that FLA causes cascading disruptions across speech processing stages, ultimately hindering fluency, coherence, and clarity. To mitigate these effects, the study proposes psycholinguistically informed pedagogical strategies, including pre-task planning, formulaic language scaffolding, and attention-regulation techniques, aimed at reducing cognitive overload and improving oral output. This research deepens understanding of the mechanisms underlying L2 speech anxiety and offers practical implications for anxiety-reducing instruction in communicative language classrooms.
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