Sweating out the fear: reducing foreign language speaking anxiety through Physical Activity co-led by high school EFL and pe educators
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.20546528Keywords:
Language anxiety, secondary education, co-teaching , physical education, cooperative learning, affective scaffoldingAbstract
This mixed-methods study investigated the impact of an innovative interdisciplinary co-teaching program combining English as a Foreign Language (EFL) and Physical Education (PE) instructions to mitigate Foreign Language Speaking Anxiety (FLSA) among secondary school students. Grounded in Krashen’s Affective Filter Hypothesis and somatic learning theories, the intervention shifted oral production from traditional sedentary classrooms to collaborative, motion-based settings. A sample of 124 high school students participated in an eight-week program where communicative linguistic tasks were embedded within team-building physical activities. Quantitative data gathered via the Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (FLCAS) pre- and post-tests revealed a statistically significant reduction in communicative apprehension and fear of negative evaluation (d = 0.89). Concurrently, structured observational rubrics indicated substantial improvements in spontaneous verbal fluency and peer-to-peer communicative confidence. Qualitative insights from semi-structured interviews indicated that physical exertion serves as a psycholinguistic catalyst, decreasing performance anxiety by redirecting focus from social judgment to goal-oriented motor tasks. The study concludes that collaborative teaching architectures between language and sports educators enhance emotional regulation and break down communicative barriers, providing a scalable framework for holistic curriculum design in secondary education.
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