Arts therapy has been the subject of several studies aimed to promote people’s wellbeing and overcome psychological problems. However, only few studies have focused on its effects on the mainstream school education especially on second language acquisition. In this thesis arts therapy methods were implemented into a high school Chinese language classroom to reduce students’ foreign language classroom anxiety and promote students’ holistic development. Six high school students aged 16 to 17 specifically participated in a 3-month arts therapy program, including drama, movement, music and fine art methods. Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale survey was administered twice to measure students’ anxiety level changes, one before the arts therapy program and another after the program. The Survey on Positive Effects of Arts Therapy Methods was conducted after the arts therapy program, which illustrated the effect of arts therapy methods on facilitating Chinese acquisition and holistic development. Next, open-ended interviews were held with the students after the intervention in which the subjects expressed their feelings of arts therapy effects. This study followed the principles of action research. According to the results, in spite of individual differences, arts therapy appeared to reduce foreign language classroom anxiety, promoting Chinese acquisition as well as students’ holistic development. The results also indicated the possibility of integrating arts therapy methods into the mainstream language teaching.
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