News

Going Live...

This website is created to connect and share information on language anxiety. Yet, LAI also aims to help educators and learners understand their own emotional reactions in the foreign language context better - the first step towards mapping suitable strategies to become more confident when using, and in particular, speaking the respective foreign language.

Hence, we are currently working on developing an app that allows us and each individual to measure foreign language speaking anxiety in detailed manner: Which effects (e.g. sweaty hands or voice creaking) does the one experience prior to, in or after the respective situation? Depending on the respective results we suggest specific, easily adaptable strategies. Stay tuned and write to us, if you are interested on getting regular updates!

Symposium: An Anxiety Afternoon

The symposium An Anxiety Afternoon on December 12th, 2025, marked an inspiring launch of the  Language Anxiety Initiative, bringing together around 220 participants on-site, online, and via livestream in teacher‑training seminars. Keynote contributions by Prof. Heiner Böttger, Dr. Natalia Tilton, Prof. Karla Jensen, and Harald Henriksson illuminated language anxiety from empirical, pedagogical, and mindfulness-based perspectives. A particular highlight was the keynote by Prof. Joseph E. LeDoux (NYU), whose insights into the cognitive nature of anxiety challenged conventional neuroscientific models and opened new avenues for didactic innovation. Throughout the afternoon, speakers demonstrated how language anxiety intertwines with learning environments, identity, and institutional structures – and how it can be diagnosed, understood, and mindfully alleviated. The event not only shared cutting-edge research but also provided tangible impulses for more confident, compassionate communication in educational settings.

Fighting the Fear Factor: Keynote

Research on Foreign Language Anxiety has long focused on non-European countries. The presentation by Prof. Dr. Dr. Heiner Böttger at the yearly GMF conference highlights that German-speaking adults are, nevertheless, by no means immune to this emotional response. If you are interested in the central points of his presentation, please find the slides attached HERE.​

There is a New Scale in Town

Although the Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (FLCAS; Horwitz et al., 1986) has been widely used in empirical research, a critical re-examination of its original purpose appeared necessary. This reassessment motivated the development of a new instrument specifically tailored to English Language Speaking Anxiety (ELSA). The scale  developed by Heiner Böttger is currently available in German, the English version is days ahead. The German version is published HERE (see the appendix of Böttger's dissertation).