Who worries more Chinese or Russian university students? Measuring the correlations between socio-biographical variables and anxiety related to learning a foreign language

The present study investigates the correlations between socio-biographical variables (such as age, gender, years of studying English language, and educational environment) and foreign language anxiety learning. The study also compares the manifestation of foreign language anxiety among Chinese and Russian university students. A mixed-method of both quantitative and qualitative design was employed to analyze gathered data from n = 240. The data were collected through a self-reported questionnaire—Foreign Language Anxiety Scale, adopted from Horwitz et al. (Modern Lang J 70:125–132, 1986), it was further supplemented with ethnographic observation. The findings indicate a negative relationship between foreign language anxiety and socio-biographical variables of university students. The findings reveal that Chinese students were more worried related to learning a foreign language in comparison to Russian university students. Whereas, Chinese and Russian male students experience more anxiety about foreign language learning in comparison to female Chinese and Russian students. The findings have implications in English as a foreign language, applied linguistics, teaching and learning environments, and anxiety studies. © The Author(s) 2025.