THE IMPACT OF CONTRACTING ON ACTIVE PARTICIPATION AND ALLEVIATING FOREIGN LANGUAGE ANXIETY: A PRELIMINARY STUDY
THE IMPACT OF CONTRACTING ON ACTIVE PARTICIPATION AND ALLEVIATING FOREIGN LANGUAGE ANXIETY: A PRELIMINARY STUDY

Summary/Abstract: Our study focused on Foreign Language Anxiety (FLA) within formal university education. We questioned whether the anxiety experienced during learning a foreign language could be mitigated through the contracting method. Additionally, we examined the relationship between FLA and self-efficacy. Before the onset of our experiment, all participants completed FLA and self-efficacy scales (pre-test). Initially, not all participants had heightened FLA. Subsequently, the experimental group signed a contract with the teacher, committing themselves to active participation. After three weeks, both groups completed FLA and self-efficacy scales again. Findings revealed that both groups experienced a significant reduction in FLA over time. However, we did not observe any notable differences attributable to the contracting intervention. Likewise, we did not observe significant changes in self-efficacy from either the contracting conditions or the passage of time. Notably, there was a negative correlation between FLA and self-efficacy at both measurement time points. These results also question the effectiveness of contracting methods.

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