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The current study investigates how foreign language enjoyment (FLE), foreign language classroom anxiety (FLCA) and attitude/motivation (AM) of 360 learners of English, German, French and Spanish in a Kuwaiti university was shaped over the course of one semester by three teacher behaviours: frequency of using the foreign language (FL) in class, predictability and frequency of joking. Linear mixed modelling revealed a positive relationship between the three teacher behaviours and FLE as well as AM, but no significant relationship emerged with FLCA. Multiple comparison analyses showed that levels of FLE dropped significantly among students whose teacher joked very infrequently and infrequently. It thus seems that the absence of teacher jokes had a delayed cumulative effect on FLE. No interaction effects were found with time for FLCA and for AM. We conclude that teacher behaviours affect both AM and FLE, and that frequency of joking actually shapes FLE over time.

This article investigates the three-way interface between foreign language anxiety (FLA), cognition and performance in Spanish L2 oral tasks, and examines qualitatively the construct of task anxiety (TA) in relation to its three interconnected facets: affective, cognitive and behavioral. 51 low-proficiency university learners of L2 Spanish performed two narrative tasks manipulated in their cognitive demands. Results revealed TA negatively affected certain functions of learners’ L2 cognition, especially at the attentional level and in word retrieval, highlighting the important role of L2 self-esteem in oral production tasks. This study advocates for a pedagogical approach that implements both curricular and individual aspects from a task-based language teaching perspective. It further emphasizes the importance of raising awareness of the interrelated emotional, cognitive and performance dimensions of the L2 learner, and how these may manifest in TA during oral task performance.

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Este artículo examina la interfaz entre la ansiedad en la lengua extranjera, la cognición y el desempeño en las tareas orales en español como L2, y examina de forma cualitativa el constructo de la ansiedad de tarea en relación con sus tres facetas interconectadas: la afectiva, la cognitiva y la conductual. 51 aprendices universitarios con un nivel inicial de competencia en español realizaron dos tareas narrativas orales manipuladas en sus demandas cognitivas. Los resultados del estudio indicaron que la ansiedad de tarea afectaba de forma negativa a varios procesos cognitivos del aprendiz, especialmente en el área de la atención y el acceso léxico, destacando el importante papel de la autoconfianza en las tareas de producción oral. Esta investigación propone un enfoque pedagógico que implemente tanto aspectos curriculares como aquellos ligados a factores individuales del aprendizaje, centrándose en comprender la interrelación entre las dimensiones afectivas, cognitivas y de desempeño de la tarea en el aprendiz de español.