Mapping Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety among Undergraduate ESL Learners in India: A Descriptive Survey

Background—Foreign language classroom anxiety (FLCA) is an important affective dimension of second-language learning, but its intensity and distribution may vary across learners and instructional contexts. Methods—This study employed a quantitative descriptive cross-sectional survey of 60 undergraduate English as a Second Language (ESL) learners. A 20-item, five-point Likert-scale questionnaire examined speaking, communication apprehension, test anxiety, classroom participation, and confidence-related experiences. Items 16, 19, and 20 were reverse-scored according to the questionnaire's stated scoring procedure. Results—Total scores ranged from 34 to 87 (M = 61.12, SD = 13.17). Based on the specified cut-offs, 10 learners (16.7%) were classified as having low anxiety, 37 (61.7%) as having moderate anxiety, and 13 (21.7%) as having high anxiety. Thus, 83.3% fell within the moderate-to-high range. The five researcher-defined thematic domain means ranged from 2.96 to 3.08, indicating relatively similar levels of reported anxiety across the classroom experiences represented. The 20-item response set produced Cronbach's alpha = .898 under the stated scoring procedure. Conclusion—The findings suggest that anxiety in this sample was relatively diffuse rather than concentrated in a single classroom activity. Pedagogical implications include supportive interaction, low-stakes opportunities for language use, predictable formative feedback, and anxiety-sensitive assessment. The scoring inconsistency identified during data auditing limits interpretation of the aggregate score and means that the questionnaire should not be regarded as a validated scale on the basis of this study alone.