Gender Differences in Speaking Anxiety

Abstract

Speaking anxiety becomes a substantial matter in foreign language learning. Many studies have been discussed foreign language anxiety. Nevertheless, slight research has been undertaken on senior high school level. This research investigated Foreign Language Speaking Anxiety (FLSA) associated with male and female difference in senior high school level. This study aims to investigate whether male and female have the significant difference on students’ speaking anxiety level or not. Differential research method was used. From 77 grade IX students of SMA Terpadu Darussalam Tasikmalaya, 43 students were participated in this study. Probability sampling was used as the technique for selecting sample. A close-ended questionnaire adopted from Horwitz et.al (1986) was administrated to the participants to examine their Foreign Language Speaking Anxiety. The questionnaire has been passed validity test to determine whether it has positive consequences when they are used in practice. The result indicated that there is no statistically difference between male and female students. Although there was no statistically difference, the finding represents that females demonstrated a higher anxiety than males. Regarding to the result, it might be a light to help teacher choosing a great treatment for students’ anxiety during English language learning.

Unraveling the Veil of Speaking Anxiety: A Comprehensive Study of Indonesian EFL Learners at the Undergraduate Level

“…This finding was consistent with a study by Fauziyah et al (2021) which found that male and female students did not significantly differ in their levels of speaking anxiety. Furthermore, Mahmoodzadeh (2012) also supported the idea that male and female students' speaking anxiety levels did not significantly differ from one another, and this finding might be explained by the unequal distribution of the data that they provided for the study.…”

“…These disparate results suggest that a variety of reasons may cause anxiousness in speaking, however the majority of students reported that the classroom environment was a factor that made them anxious when learning a language. Numerous research revealed that students who were female spoke with greater anxiety than those who were male (Fauziyah A et al, 2021;Karatas et al, 2016;Mohtasham & Farnia, 2017;Öztürk & Gürbüz, 2013). Surprisingly, table 4 above demonstrated that when speaking, male students showed Nikita Putri Mahardika, Agus Widyantoro / Unravelling the Veil of Speaking Anxiety: A Comprehensive Study of Indonesian EFL Learners at the Undergraduate Level anxiety more compared to female students.…”

Students' English Speaking Anxiety: Levels and Causes

“…Then, male students are considered to have more confidence in speaking English than female students. Fauziyah et al, (2022) reported that female students frequently encountered higher levels of anxiousness than male students while speaking English in the classroom. The table below illustrates the data elaborated previously.…”

“…Participants indicated additional reasons for worry, such as the requirement to provide oral presentations, negative attitudes from teachers, and the fear of mispronouncing words. The most recent research was carried out by Fauziyah et al (2022) on "Gender Differences in Speaking Anxiety." The results indicated that there is no statistically significant difference between male and female students.…”