Date

3-10-2026

Department

School of Education

Degree

Doctor of Philosophy in Higher Education Administration (PhD)

Chair

Alex Boggs

Keywords

Nigeria, foreign language, second language, anxiety

Disciplines

Education | Educational Leadership

Abstract

The problem is that university students studying French in Nigerian schools as a foreign language experience anxiety because of communication apprehension, test anxiety, and fear of negative evaluation. The purpose of this qualitative transcendental phenomenological study is to explore how university students studying French as a foreign language describe experiences of anxiety and lassitude with French language learning at University Alpha in Nigeria. The central research question guiding this study is: How do university students studying French in Nigeria describe their experiences of anxiety and lassitude in a foreign language learning classroom? The theory guiding this study is Krashen’s theory of language acquisition. A phenomenological research design was applied in this study. The researcher utilized this method to explore and understand the perceptions and lived experiences of the participants concerning student anxiety and lassitude in a foreign language learning classroom. A transcendental approach was used. The setting for the study was University Alpha (pseudonym) in Nigeria. The participant sample will include 10-15 university students taking French classes. Data collection was done through interviews, focus group discussions, and a reflective journal. Following thematic analysis steps, it was revealed that anxiety hindered learning, comprehensible input from peers assisted with learning, natural order favored the acquisition of basic phrases first, and interaction caused anxiety unless it occurred in a safe, nonjudgmental space.

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