Revisiting Horwitz, Horwitz, and Cope’s (1986) Conceptualization of Foreign Language Anxiety: Contemporary Perspectives

Abstract

While numerous studies have investigated the emotion of foreign language anxiety through the use of the Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (Horwitz et al. 1986), these same studies have rarely engaged with the specific circumstances of the learner population that informed its development. This article revisits Horwitz, Horwitz, and Cope’s (1986) conceptualization of FLA and evaluates its applicability in contemporary English as a Foreign Language classrooms situated in English-rich environments. Drawing on the Swedish upper-secondary English classroom as an illustrative case, this article highlights key contextual misalignments between Horwitz et al.’s learner population and instructional context and the classroom context and characteristics of Swedish upper-secondary English learners. It concludes by calling for renewed theoretical engagement concerning FLA at the construct level.