Speaking another language is both wonderful and stressful. The joy of opening new channels of communication and sharing ideas with different people is undeniable, but so is the stress of errors and fatigue grazing the language learning journey. Sometimes speakers experience anxiety as well, further complicating performance. One of the most commonly studied second language (L2) affects is language anxiety, which describes negativity and fear related to using a non-native language (MacIntyre & Gregersen, 2012). Sometimes referred to as foreign language or L2 anxiety, this phenomenon is also found in L2 classrooms where teachers observe emotional blocks to language learning (Papi & Khajavy, 2023). Anecdotally, I can appreciate its relevance since speaking another language, especially as supposedly well-informed adults, forces a naivety and an unfamiliarity we’ve fought so long to forget.
Don’t sweat it… or do?
These dings of stress emerge in our sweat too, allowing researchers to examine our galvanic skin response as a proxy for physiological anxiety (Markiewicz et al., 2022). Using these skin responses, researchers have found that high response (or arousal) during an L2 conversation was related to L2 speakers’ negative perceptions of their own fluency and their partner’s engagement in the conversation (Lindberg et al., 2022).
The infamous stress hormone
Stress can also be measured through cortisol, a steroid hormone often used in research studies as a biomarker for psychological stress (Inder et al., 2012). Cortisol may be noninvasively assessed through saliva samples, making it an accessible method for research. Using this method, another group of researchers found that L2 speakers showed significantly larger increases in salivary cortisol compared to those speaking their first language (L1), despite not showing any differences in their heart rate nor their self-reported measures of stress or anxiety (Fischer et al., 2019).
Stressing the point
Stress may reduce our overall speech fluency in even our primary language (Buchanan et al., 2014) and L2 students’ anxiety may reduce their willingness to participate in class (Nyamekye et al., 2025). This may be due to stress depleting or redistributing cognitive resources (Shields et al., 2016), which may then stifle L2 performance. Yet, other research suggests that the depletion of cognitive resources may support language learning in adults (Smalle et al., 2021). This paradoxical finding may hint at the specific impacts of physiological, emotional stress separate from shifts in cognitive shares.
Perhaps, like with almost anything we do, it is the balance we find between stress and performance that serves us best, teetering away from edges and excess.
References
Buchanan, T. W., Laures-Gore, J. S., & Duff, M. C. (2014). Acute stress reduces speech fluency. Biological psychology, 97, 60–66. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsycho.2014.02.005
Fischer, S., Spoerri, C. M., Gmuer, A., Wingeier, M., Nater, U. M., Gaab, J., … Ditzen, B. (2019). Psychobiological impact of speaking a second language in healthy young men. Stress, 22(3), 403–407. https://doi.org/10.1080/10253890.2019.1575805
Inder, W. J., Dimeski, G., & Russell, A. (2012). Measurement of salivary cortisol in 2012 – laboratory techniques and clinical indications. Clinical endocrinology, 77(5), 645–651. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2265.2012.04508.x
Lindberg, R., McDonough, K., & Trofimovich, P. (2023). Second language anxiety in conversation and its relationship with speakers’ perceptions of the interaction and their social networks. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 45(5), 1413–1426. doi:10.1017/S0272263122000523
MacIntyre, P., Gregersen, T. (2012). Affect: The Role of Language Anxiety and Other Emotions in Language Learning. In: Mercer, S., Ryan, S., Williams, M. (eds) Psychology for Language Learning. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137032829_8
Markiewicz, R., Markiewicz-Gospodarek, A., & Dobrowolska, B. (2022). Galvanic Skin Response Features in Psychiatry and Mental Disorders: A Narrative Review. International journal of environmental research and public health, 19(20), 13428. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph192013428
Nyamekye, E., Mutawakil, AR. & Slippe, D.P. The predictive impact of linguistic anxiety and ‘fear of lecturers’ on students’ willingness to communicate in class. Discov Psychol 5, 88 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1007/s44202-025-00348-1
Papi M, Khajavy H. Second language anxiety: Construct, effects, and sources. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics. 2023;43:127-139. doi:10.1017/S0267190523000028
Shields, G. S., Sazma, M. A., & Yonelinas, A. P. (2016). The effects of acute stress on core executive functions: A meta-analysis and comparison with cortisol. Neuroscience and biobehavioral reviews, 68, 651–668. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2016.06.038
Smalle, E. H. M., Muylle, M., Duyck, W., & Szmalec, A. (2021). Less is more: Depleting cognitive resources enhances language learning abilities in adults. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 150(12), 2423–2434. https://doi.org/10.1037/xge0001058
For more info on the stress/arousal curve:
https://dictionary.apa.org/yerkes-dodson-law
