Exploring Heritage Language Anxiety: A Study of Chinese Heritage Language Learners

The rapidly increasing population of heritage students within the recent expansion of Chinese language education leads us to explore anxiety levels specific to Chinese heritage language (CHL) learners. This study examines the anxiety profiles of 87 CHL learners, enrolled in separated heritage-track courses at two U. S. universities, from a larger sample of 192 Chinese language students. The results indicate that of the four language skill-based activities, writing provokes the most anxiety in CHL learners, and students' avoidance behavior was found to be strongest in the three subcomponents of writing anxiety. At the same time, correlations with the other three skill-based anxieties were the weakest, revealing the complex construct of CHL writing anxiety. Factor analysis and regression procedures indicate that a large portion of CHL writing anxiety is explained not only by factors of the second language writing process but also by factors associated with the learners' heritage identity. Finally, suggestions for a Heritage Language Anxiety Scale and pedagogical implications for CHL writing instruction are provided.