A study of anxiety experienced by EFL students in speaking performance

Abstract

Many EFL students show anxiety when speaking English in Indonesia. Therefore, the researchers were interested to conduct this study to find out the level of English-speaking anxiety experienced by those students. In this quantitative study, data were collected from 29 students through a questionnaire that was adopted from the Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (FLCAS) consisted of 10 items developed by Horwitz, et al. (1986). The data from the questionnaire were analyzed by using the FLCAS questionnaire scale. The results were described in percentages and are further elaborated in narration. The data revealed that 11 out of 29 students (38%) experienced low-level anxiety, 17 out of 29 students (59%) had anxiety at a moderate level, and one out of 29 students (3,4%) got high-level anxiety. It means that most students experienced a moderate level of speaking anxiety. In this case, those findings can be the inputs for every English teacher, especially for the English teachers in which this study was conducted, to be aware of the level of their students’ English-speaking anxiety. It is hoped that the findings of this research can give information and add knowledge to English teachers about EFL students’ level of anxiety so that they could find an appropriate strategy to reduce their students’ speaking anxiety.

The role of English as a foreign language learners’ grit and foreign language anxiety in their willingness to communicate: Theoretical perspectives

“…According to Elwood et al (2012) , “trait anxiety is an individual’s tendency to appraise situations as threatening, avoid anxiety-provoking situations, and demonstrate high baseline physiological arousal” (p. 23). Erdiana et al (2020) indicated that trait anxiety, as a stable one, made people feel nervous in a wide range of situations. Situation-specific anxiety is a type of anxiety that is stimulated by a particular situation, for example, public speaking or participation in class ( Ellis, 1994 ).…”

Analysis of Self-Assessment Effect on EFL Students’ Speaking Performance

“…However, studies indicate that EFL students, especially the ones in Indonesia, are still struggling in speaking performance. A study by Erdiana et al, (2020) shows that it is common to see students have difficulties and anxiety in recalling the words and respond to their teacher and other students when being asked to speak in English. Another study by Riadil (2020) demonstrates that students often make errors relating to grammar and vocabulary use, resulting in low English speaking performance.…”

Communication students’ anxiety in speaking skill practice

“…Based on related literature, the students need a community to develop their speaking skills. Erdiana et al (2020) study has shown 65.52% of students will have low speaking anxiety if the teacher corrects students' mistakes. If the teacher gave the students appreciation, the student would have low language anxiety (Anggraeni et al, 2020).…”

“…YouTube can make students relaxed because the students can learn short learning via YouTube. Short-term projects or short learning in speaking could reduce speaking anxiety (Erdiana et al, 2020).…”

“…Then, Erdiana et al (2020) used a quantitative approach in their study to know the level of speaking anxiety. They used Horwitz's (1986) FLCAS questionnaires which involved twenty-nine students of Junior High School.…”