Teaching anxiety among novice Chinese language teachers: manifestations, causes, and interventions-a mixed-methods...

This mixed-methods study investigates the manifestations, underlying causes, and potential interventions for teaching anxiety among novice Chinese language teachers. Drawing on data from 1,248 questionnaires and 260 open-ended responses collected in Guangdong Province, China, from 2024 to 2025, the research examines the dimensions, triggers, and dynamic progression of such anxiety. Key findings reveal that (1) while overall state anxiety was manageable, intense situational outbursts frequently occurred during public demonstrations, leadership observations, and when managing students with special needs; (2) among the five identified anxiety dimensions, evaluation and assessment anxiety (89.9%) and teaching content anxiety (82.0%) were most prevalent; (3) the relationship between teaching experience and anxiety was nonlinear, characterized by a sharp increase peaking at four months (STAI-State = 5.1), followed by a decline and a secondary rise after 18 months associated with professional development pressures; and (4) teachers in rural schools, those serving as homeroom advisors, and those with high weekly teaching loads faced significantly elevated anxiety risk. An intervention experiment testing a support model based on contextual buffering, instructional load reduction, technological integration, and institutional safeguards demonstrated significant efficacy, reducing the average anxiety score among participating teachers from 5.1 to 2.4 and decreasing turnover intention by 28%. This study provides robust, evidence-based support for developing targeted, data-driven support systems for novice language teachers.