The aim of the study was twofold. First it was to investigate sources and symptoms of foreign language listening anxiety (FLLA) among a very specific group of foreign language learners: proficient students of English (C1, C2) who were on the verge of completing their MA studies in the English department, with teaching English as their specialisation. The second goal was to create an instrument which would allow for a detailed analysis to be carried out of the factors giving rise to FLLA and identification of its symptoms. To achieve this aim, the author of this article proposed a new taxonomy of factors responsible for FLLA which served as a basis for constructing a questionnaire to investigate seven categories of FLLA sources and three categories of its symptoms. The research showed that the possibility of getting a poor mark, fast speech, mind drifting away while listening, and being evaluated were identified by participants as being the most common anxiety-provoking factors, although they were experienced less intensely than by less proficient students. As far as the effects of FLLA are concerned, the most common somatic symptoms were found to be a pounding heart and the mind going blank.

The article aims to discuss foreign language writing anxiety and present the results of the study which was to investigate whether writing apprehension can be observed among advanced adult learners of English. Analysing anxiety from a three dimensional perspective proposed by Lang (1971) the study revealed that advanced adult students most intensely experience cognitive anxiety whose most prevailing symptoms are panic, worry and elements of test anxiety. Somatic anxiety has also been observed in this group of participants with heart pounding, freezing up, mind going blank and jumbled thoughts as the most common symptoms. Finally, the research revealed that avoidance behaviour appears infrequently among advanced writers. The research results have been used as the basis for formulating pedagogical implications on how to reduce students’ writing apprehension.

The article reports the results of a study investigating the influence of gender on foreign language speaking anxiety (FLSA) of a group of second year university students. The research revealed no gender differences in the level of anxiety measured with the foreign language speaking anxiety scale (FLSAS) developed for the purpose of this study. Moreover, no statistically significant interaction was observed between gender and a) perceived difficulty of speaking skills, b) self-assessment of one’s speaking skills, c) self-efficacy level, d) general speaking anxiety, and the level of speaking-in-class anxiety. Some gender differences in the apprehension level were observed in the case of speaking activities and patterns of interaction: females were found to be more anxious while speaking in front of the class, in small groups and during presentations and role-plays. However, in the majority of investigated speaking tasks gender differences did not reach the level of significance.