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Foreign Language Anxiety, Sexuality, and Gender: Lived Experiences of Four LGBTQ+ Students Portland State University PDXScholar Dissertations and Theses Dissertations and Theses Winter 3-6-2018 Foreign Language Anxiety, Sexuality, and Gender: Lived Experiences of Four LGBTQ+ Students James Donald Mitchell Portland State University Follow this and additional works at: https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/open_access_etds Part of the Applied Linguistics Commons, First and Second Language Acquisition Commons, and the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Studies Commons Let us know how access to this document benefits ou.y Recommended Citation Mitchell, James Donald, "Foreign Language Anxiety, Sexuality, and Gender: Lived Experiences of Four LGBTQ+ Students" (2018). Dissertations and Theses. Paper 4336. https://doi.org/10.15760/etd.6229 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations and Theses by an authorized administrator of PDXScholar. Please contact us if we can make this document more accessible: [email protected]. Foreign Language Anxiety, Sexuality and Gender: Lived Experiences of Four LGBTQ+ Students by James Donald Mitchell A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages Thesis Committee: Nike Arnold, Chair Kimberley Brown Steven Thorne Portland State University 2018 © 2017 James Donald Mitchell i Abstract The relationship between foreign language anxiety and gender identity has been largely a quantitative endeavor that has shown contradictory results. Furthermore, sexual identity has not been researched in foreign language anxiety literature. A qualitative account of LGBTQ+ language learners with different gender identities has been absent from the literature. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between foreign language anxiety and sexual and gender identity. To gain insight into this relationship, this qualitative study investigated the lived experiences of four LGBTQ+ foreign language university students who represented three gender identities. Data were collected through multiple, in-depth interviews, observations, the Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (FLCAS, Horwitz et al., 1986), and a questionnaire. The four participants were further situated through the results of the FLCAS, which was distributed to the research site and garnered 141 responses. Presentation of the data includes portraits of two of the participants and a cross-case analysis of the four participants. The portraits provided rich, thick descriptions of the educational and historical backgrounds of the two learners as well as themes related to their individual anxiety levels. The cross-case analysis found that foreign language anxiety across participants related to invalidated identity, privileged identities, context, and trait anxiety. These themes largely caused participants to experience communication apprehension, possible cognitive interference, avoidance behavior, and a lack of willingness to communicate. ii This study offers pedagogical implications and suggestions for further research. The data show that language teachers need to be aware of the pervasive nature of foreign language anxiety and how the identities of LGBTQ+ students can play into foreign language anxiety. Furthermore, teachers need to affirm the identities of their students. iii Dedication For Cindy, Alice, and Rodney. Eyes… iv Acknowledgements This thesis is a culmination of time, effort, and most of all, love and support from others. I would like to take this section to thank the many people who have had their hand in the work I have done, which has amounted to my proudest academic accomplishment. I would first like to thank the four main participants of this study: Chelsea, Adam, Kara, and Mark. Of course, this thesis would not be a success without their valuable insight and input. Thank all of you for taking the time to meet with me, your patience in answering what I imagine seemed like endless e-mails, and most of all, sharing your life, heart, and experiences with me. I truly hope I captured your educational and cultural history in a positive and inspirational light. I am forever changed because of the four of you. I would like to give endless gratitude to my thesis committee, especially my thesis advisor, Dr. Nike Arnold, who took the time during my undergrad to bounce ideas back and forth which sparked the idea for this thesis. Your belief in my ideas and my potential means the world to me. I would also like to thank Dr. Kim Brown, who has been my mentor since my junior year of undergrad. Without her, I never would have imagined that academia was a possible career path for me. I might not have even applied to be a graduate student! Thank you for allowing, even encouraging, me to be nothing less than myself in academia. I would finally like to express my sincere thanks to Dr. Steve Thorne, who jumped at the opportunity to serve on my committee. Steve, I have left every conversation we ever had smiling, encouraged, wiser, and even giggly! Your brilliance is something I strive for. Thank you for all of your wisdom and kind words. v I would also like to express my gratitude to the Department of Applied Linguistics and the University Studies Department, who provided me with funding and tuition remission throughout my MA. An extra thank you to Dr. Tucker Childs, Dr. Kathy Harris, Dr. Tanya Sydorenko, Dr. Susan Conrad, Dr. Dana Lundell, and Carol Gabrielli, all of whom saw potential in me- sometimes when I could not see it for myself! Thank you. I also want to thank the professors in Applied Linguistics who have voiced their interest in my work, especially Drs. Alissa Hartig, Jenny Mittelstaedt, and Keith Walters. A very warm thank you to the University of Trier in Germany, where I took a year off from coursework to gain experience in teaching. Thank you to Dr. Ann Marie Fallon and Dr. Gerhard Herm, who hired me to be an English language instructor for the university. An extra special thank you to Clare Maas and Dr. Jenny Skipp, who became wonderful colleagues and dear friends of mine. I promise I will write with you one day! See? You have it in writing. I would like to give a big thank you to the cohorts that I have been a part of in the MA TESOL program, namely the many friends who have commiserated with me, positively challenged me, and took the time to talk with me about my research ideas. Thank you especially to Tara Anderson, Meagan Armstrong, Susan Caisse, Megan Craig, Rosie David, Jade Fletcher, Jessica Gates, Jamalieh Haley, Ian Hancock, Chelsea Hansen, Ryan Harper, Vanessa Howe, Vince Laspina, Ally Lemcke-Kibby, Tim Krause, Emily Minnette, Phillipa Otto, Leah Polhemus, Josh Sander, Chris Schwanz, Paige Shell- Spurling, Drew Sowers, Kiyomi Stevens, Andrew Utz, and Katherine Winter. My deep appreciation for those outside of my graduate program who have helped me with methodology, scheduled writing sessions with me, commiserated with me, or vi even allowed me to talk about my research in ways that would help others outside of my field (even outside of academia) understand it: Michael Cordova, Rachel Crist, Shannon Crossley, Ailene Farkac, Sara Galadari, Dr. Melissa Gholson, Nicole McGee, Andrew Pereira, and Jay Scudder. A big thank you to Dr. Vitaliy Shyyan for taking the time to proofread this thesis and being so wonderful in catching big picture problems and tiny little mistakes. Finally, thank you to Dr. Ángel Casanova-Torres, the friend who helped lead me to the end of this journey. I want to express my sincere gratitude to Roslyn Farrington, who passed away shortly after I began graduate school. Her classes were where I was first introduced to feminist theory and women’s studies. Without her, the idea for this thesis would have never come to mind. Rest in power, Roslyn. And finally, I would not have the successes I have now if it were not for Dr. Laurene Christensen. Laurene, this thesis would not have achieved its depth if it were not for your endless wisdom, encouragement, and thoughtful critiques. You have done so much for me. From the bottom of my heart, thank you. vii Table of Contents Abstract ......................................................................................................................... i Dedication ...................................................................................................................... iii Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................ iv List of Tables ................................................................................................................. x List of Figures ................................................................................................................ xi Chapter 1: Introduction .................................................................................................. 1 Foreign Language Anxiety and Identity: An Introduction .............................. 1 Purpose of the Thesis ..................................................................................... 5 Organization of the Thesis............................................................................... 5 Chapter 2: Literature Review ......................................................................................... 7 Foreign Language Anxiety .............................................................................. 7 Foreign Language Anxiety and Gender .........................................................
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