The Relationship between Foreign Language Anxiety and English Achievement of Y ld z Technical University School of Foreign Languages Preparatory Students

The goal of this study was to determine the relation between foreign language anxiety and students’ English achievement. The sample of the study consisted of 150 A, B and C level students attending Y ld z Technical University, School of Foreign Languages, Basic English Department Prep Classes. The level of students’ foreign language anxiety was measured by ‘Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale’ developed by Horwitz, Horwitz and Cope (1986). Students’ achievement level was determined by the average of their 1st and 2nd midterm grades. Pearson Correlation, t-test and ANOVA were used to test research problems. According to the findings of the study, it was found that while students’ initial foreign language anxiety didn’t vary according to their English level, their latter foreign language anxiety differed significantly for B and C level students. It was also found that neither students’ initial foreign language anxiety, nor their latter foreign language anxiety differed according to their gender. Study showed that for all levels of students, there was a significant negative relationship between students’ foreign language anxiety and their English achievement at the significance level of 0.45. Finally, it was found that B and C level students’ foreign language anxiety differs in successful and unsuccessful students. Unsuccessful students’ foreign language anxiety was higher than successful students.