open access

https://doi.org/10.14943/J.HighEdu.33.1

https://hdl.handle.net/2115/99281

Learners’ Anxiety in Online Interactions with Non-native Speakers : Who Do Not Share Their Native Language: Considerations Based on Analysis of Interviews with Chinese Learners of Japanese

日本語

2026-04

Institute for the Advancement of Higher Education, Hokkaido University

Journal of higher education and lifelong learning

33

1-11

11

This document aims to provide a comprehensive explanation of the anxiety experienced by learners when interacting online with non-native speakers who do not share a native language. To this end, data collected through online interactions with different interlocutors and interviews were qualitatively analyzed. The phenomenon of "output anxiety" in contact situations is common, irrespective of the interlocutor. Conversely, "input anxiety" appears to depend on the interlocutor. Interactions with native speakers intensified in response to the speed of speech and complexity of the vocabulary used. Interactions with non-native speakers intensify due to language use that deviated from learners’ own norms. The data also show that in interactions among non-native speakers, the shared experience of learning a language can alleviate anxiety and foster relaxed communication. The most relaxed interactions occur between non-native speakers who share the same native language. However, these interactions may lack the necessary tension, which is often considered conducive to effective learning. When planning and implementing online communication activities, it is important to strike the right balance between alleviating anxiety and ensuring that a certain degree of tension is maintained by creating an environment suited to the learner’s level.

紀要論文

Version of Record

1341-9374

AN10527626