Are You Anxious? It’s All About Tolerance of Ambiguity - The Influence of Different Tolerance of Ambiguity on Second Language Learners

Abstract

In second language learning, listening and comprehension are essential processes in knowledge extraction and information processing. Cultural differences will encounter many ambiguous situations, which will make the learners feel nervous and uneasy. At this time, the level of tolerance of ambiguity will affect the results of language understanding. Therefore, studying the tolerance of ambiguity in listening comprehension improves second language comprehension and a better understanding of culture under different social backgrounds. Our research focuses on tolerance of ambiguity on second language users’ speech understanding and foreign language anxiety when using English in different situations. In this study, we interviewed 6 students with bilingual training experience, and used the tolerance of ambiguity scale to test 60 students with bilingual training experience, and came to the following conclusion: different tolerance of ambiguity in different scenarios affect the second Language learners have different influences; second language users with a high tolerance for ambiguity have better speech comprehension performance and less foreign language anxiety than second language users with a low tolerance for ambiguity; contrast situation and tolerance for ambiguity, Scenarios such as comparing the classroom environment, in the daily environment of high tolerance for ambiguity and a low tolerance for ambiguity second language users have better speech comprehension performance, and produce less foreign language anxiety. This research aims to find ways to improve the tolerance of ambiguity in different situations to improve the language comprehension performance of second language learners and reduce their foreign language anxiety.