Fluctuations in self-perceived foreign language anxiety during visits to Second Life: a case study

The present paper presents the results of a study which examined fluctuations in the levels of foreign language anxiety (FLA) in the virtual world Second Life (SL) and factors accounting for such changes as reported by a female student of English philology. The student participated in 14 sessions over the period of one semester. Using data gathered by means of a set of collection instruments, the study found that the participant's FLA was subject to some changes both during her visits to SL and from one session to the next. These ups and downs in FLA levels were affected by a host of negative (e.g. conversations with strangers, the lack of sufficient language, negative experience) and positive (e.g. conversations with familiar interlocutors, interesting topics, language progress) factors.