A Qualitative Study on Speaking Anxiety among Pre-Service Teachers

Abstract

Despite being competent in the English language, pre-service teachers struggle a lot when it comes to public speaking. Their ability to deliver and speak competently is hindered by speaking anxiety. The purpose of this study is to determine the causes of speaking anxiety among pre-service teachers and identify how pre-service teachers cope up with speaking anxiety. This study was administered to 7 pre-service teachers using a convenience sampling technique from a reputable public state university in Southern Philippines. The findings showed that speaking anxiety among pre-service teachers is caused by the fear of committing mistakes, having high expectations from the audience, nervousness, and lack of preparation. Additionally, the techniques used by pre-service teachers to cope up with speaking anxiety include preparing an outline, practicing before the actual speech, and boosting one’s self-confidence. Research revealed that speaking anxiety can be eased by employing techniques such as exposure to speaking engagements, preparation, and believing in oneself.

Exploration of Public-Speaking Anxiety among Novice Instructors at a Ghanaian University

“…Adequate preparation was one of the measures that nine participants employed in minimising public-speaking anxiety. This finding is consistent with prior studies among students in different cultures (e.g., Raja, 2017;Blöte, 2021;Kenoh III, 2021). The difference between these two cohorts, with respect to their state of speech anxiety, in my estimation, has to do with the degree of preparation each cohort may engage in.…”

“…I can't exactly recall what the question was, but as I started speaking, it was like everybody in the class was looking at me, and since my mind went on them, I forgot everything that I was supposed to say. (Instructor E, 12 November 2021) This finding is consistent with the study of pre-service teachers in the Philippines by Kenoh III (2021), which revealed that when audiences have high expectations or are critical of their speakers, this can cause them to experience higher levels of public-speaking anxiety. However, responses from my study participants showed that audience intimidation may be either imagined or real.…”

“…As has been confirmed by prior research (e.g., Dansieh et al, 2021;Kenoh III, 2021), participants also identified constant practice as one of the measures for overcoming public-speaking anxiety. Analysis of interview transcripts and direct observations showed that the majority of study participants engaged in frequent practice before speaking to student audiences.…”

Factors of Public Speaking Anxiety among Postgraduate Students of Malaysian Public Universities in Online Presentations

“…Throughout the last decades, a great deal of attention has been paid to the study of language anxiety [35]. Studies were conducted on pre-service teachers [22], non-English majors [52], undergraduates and postgraduates [16], international postgraduate students [46] by researchers to explore those who were experiencing language anxiety in speaking a foreign language. Besides, there were also scholars who conducted their studies in teachers' perspectives [12], [35].…”

English speaking anxiety among English-major tertiary students in Ghana

“…Speaking is one of the four macro language competencies [1], [2]. The other three are listening, reading, and writing [2].…”