Iwan Kurniarahman, Yazid Basthomi, Mirjam Anugerahwati, Nurul Aini
Using a case study design, this study aims to determine whether the Butterfly Hug (BH) can reduce students' Foreign Language Anxiety (FLA) and identify the factors that trigger FLA during English-as-a-Foreign-Language (EFL) classroom instruction. Six Indonesian EFL students who experienced high and very high levels of FLA during foreign language learning in the EFL classrooms and used BH as their anxiety reduction technique were involved in a semi-structured interview. The interview revealed that, by implementing BH, they were able to understand and accept the situation that triggers their FLA during learning in the EFL classroom, thereby reducing the level of FLA they experienced. Also, the students perceived peer comparison, fear of making mistakes, direct corrections in front of the class, lack of preparation, and forgetting materials as factors triggering their FLA. It can be concluded that in foreign language learning, the BH is believed to be powerful in reducing students' FLA, and thus, this technique has significant pedagogical implications for facilitating the foreign language learning process. © 2026 The Authors. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
Universitas Negeri Malang and Universitas Islam Syekh Wasil Kediri, Indonesia; Universitas Negeri Malang, Indonesia; Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin, Malaysia; Universitas Islam Syekh Wasil Kediri, Indonesia
