A Dynamic Intervention for Removing Learning Anxiety: A Field Experiment on Removing Psychological Barriers to Speaking

Introduction: Research findings in last decades have shown that anxiety and its debilitative consequences exert damaging effects on learning. Enjoying a profound theoretical foundation in Vygotskian theories of cognitive development and psychological therapy, dynamic assessment and interventions propose a framework for promoting student’s learning through mediation and support in the zone of proximal development of the mind. The present study was an attempt to use this framework to remove anxiety and psychological barriers to mastering speaking in English classes. Methods: To this aim, the Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (FLCAS) was adopted and administered to 250 first grade high school students in Qom. The researcher selected 10 students with highest anxiety scores, serving as the experimental group (n=10). The research used a quasiexperimental design, in which the experimental group’s anxiety scores in pre-test (before dynamic intervention), post-test (2 weeks after dynamic intervention) and follow up experiment (after two months) was calculated. Also, the group was given a speaking exam in pre-test and post-test conditions to trace learning after dynamic interventions. Data were analyzed through repeated measures ANOVA and paired t-test respectively. Results: The findings of the present study showed that the intervention significantly relieved anxiety symptoms (F (1.093, 9.840) = 267.534, P 0.000) and promoted learning speaking (t (9) =-8.508, p =0.000). Furthermore, descriptions of treatment showed the way the intervention treated anxiety symptoms and resulted in internalization of learning. Conclusion: In sum, the current study identified major anxiety symptoms and introduced a fast, nonobtrusive, and time and money saving method for treating anxiety. Findings of this innovatory intervention have implications for psychologists, counselors, teachers, and health and education decision makers.