Examining the English-Medium Instruction Teaching Anxiety of Preservice Secondary Education Teachers in Taiwan: English Teaching and Learning

This study examines the anxiety of preservice teachers in Taiwan, where English-medium instruction (EMI) is being incorporated in public schools. Previous studies suggested that foreign language anxiety negatively affects teachers, causing avoidance behaviors. However, these studies examined foreign language teachers exclusively, whereas research on EMI teaching anxiety remains absent. This paper reports on a quantitative study implemented in Taiwan on the anxiety of 199 preservice content subject teachers in a secondary teacher preparation program. Participants completed an online questionnaire measuring (1) EMI teaching anxiety (planning and execution), (2) L1 teaching anxiety (planning and execution), (3) English speaking anxiety, and (4) English listening anxiety. Data were analyzed through descriptive statistics, correlations, and two hierarchical regression analyses predicting EMI planning and execution anxiety. The findings show that the majority of preservice teachers have EMI teaching anxiety, though this was not the case for L1 teaching anxiety, English listening anxiety, and English speaking anxiety. English speaking anxiety was a strong predictor of both EMI planning and execution anxiety. Additional variation in EMI execution anxiety was explained by L1 execution anxiety. It is recommended that teacher educators implement strategies to address preservice teachers’ anxiety toward EMI teaching. © 2022, The Author(s) under exclusive licence to National Taiwan Normal University.