كلية اللغات والترجمة
A groundbreaking experimental study by Abdullah Alamer (King Faisal University, Saudi Arabia), Fakieh Alrabai (King Khalid University, Saudi Arabia), and Richard Sparks (Mount Saint Joseph University, USA) has been published in Language Teaching Research, a prestigious peer-reviewed journal listed in the Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI).
Title of the Article:
The study directly challenges the traditional view that foreign language anxiety causes lower achievement. Instead, it provides strong empirical evidence—through a quasi-experimental design and latent growth curve modeling—that improving students' second language (L2) vocabulary achievement leads to a significant decrease in their language anxiety over time.
Conducted with 143 Saudi university students, the research demonstrated that a vocabulary-focused intervention significantly improved L2 vocabulary scores and, in turn, reduced anxiety—without any direct anxiety-reduction strategies.
This publication marks a methodological and theoretical shift in applied linguistics and second language acquisition, calling for educators and policymakers to prioritize skill-based instruction to indirectly address emotional barriers in language learning.
About the Journal:
Language Teaching Research (SAGE Publishing) is a high-impact international journal indexed in SSCI, featuring cutting-edge research in second language learning and teaching. It is widely recognized for its rigorous peer-review standards and its contribution to the advancement of language education worldwide.
