Online language learning: a relief or a curse? Examining learner anxiety and preferences for instructional modes

The Covid-19 pandemic has precipitated a global shift to a 'new normal' of online and hybrid learning, significantly affecting language education. This study investigates the impact of emergency remote teaching on language learners' anxiety, examining their preferences for teaching modes and the reasons behind them. Diverging from prior research conducted in well-established digital environments, this inquiry delves into the improvised and stressful context of emergency remote teaching during a pandemic, shedding light on the unexplored facets of the online learning experience. This study, through a quantitative lens, assesses the experiences of 376 English as a foreign language (EFL) students in China, 65 Chinese as a foreign language (CFL) students in Vietnam, and 44 Chinese as a second language (CSL) students enrolled at universities in mainland China. These groups navigated foreign language learning in their home countries amid pandemic constraints, offering a varied landscape of language learning experiences. Our results indicate that different factors trigger anxiety across different groups, despite a general preference for face-to-face learning, which contrasts with the notion that online learning may offer a more relaxed environment. The findings address critical issues that surfaced during the pandemic and explore implications for language education practices in the post-pandemic context.