An Investigation of Anxiety among EFL Pre-service Teachers and their Beliefs about Language Learning

The purpose of this study was to investigate the foreign language anxiety levels and beliefs about language learning of pre-service teachers at Eastern Mediterranean University in English language teaching department of North Cyprus. The sample population of the present study was 31 students from the third year and fourth year English Language Teaching department of EMU. The instrument used in the present study were (1) semi-structured interviews, (2) Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (FLCAS), (3) Beliefs about Language Learning Inventory (BALLI), and (4) a background questionnaire. The present study has various similarities and differences as observed between the North Cyprus pre-service teachers responses to the BALLI and those of other studies: Horwitz (1988) American foreign language students, Yang (1992) Taiwanese EFL students, Truitt (1995) Korean EFL students, Kern (1995) American students of Japanese, Oh (1996) American students of French, and Kunt (1997) Turkish-speaking students of English. The North Cyprus subjects in this study reported higher levels of foreign language anxiety when compared with the subjects in previous studies. This study adds to the body of knowledge on the understanding of EFL pre-service teachers‟beliefs about language learning, and the level of anxiety and troubles they experience in foreign language classrooms. Keywords: English as a foreign language, language learner beliefs, pre-service teachers.