Aulia Nisa K (2017). Students’ Speaking Anxiety in English Foreign Language.

Journal of Education and Learning. Vol. 11 (1) pp. 83-90. DOI:

10.11591/edulearn.v11i1.4301

Students’ Speaking Anxiety in English Foreign Language

Aulia Nisa Khusnia*
The University of Muhammadiyah Purwokerto, Indonesia

Abstract
Anxious students are often concerned about the impressions that others form of them. When such students are
confronted in a classroom with a learning situation that makes them uncomfortable, they may choose to
withdraw from the activity. Some learners believe they cannot perform in English and consequently form
negative expectations, which in turn lead to decreased effort and the avoidance of opportunities to enhance their
communication skills. The goal of this study was to identify those factors, as perceived by students, that may
contribute to anxiety, and those factors that may reduce anxiety in an attempt to understand more fully the role
that anxiety may play in learning a foreign language.

Keywords: Student, Speaking Anxiety, English Foreign Language

*
Aulia Nisa Khusnia: Students’ Perspectives on Speaking Anxiety in The English Foreign Language
Classroom, The University of Muhammadiyah Purwokerto, Indonesia, department of English
Education, faculty of Teacher Training and Education, Dukuhwaluh street PO BOX 202, Purwokerto,
Central Java, Indonesia
E-mail: [Link]@[Link]

Received October 30, 2015; Revised January 17, 201; Accepted March 20, 2017
 Introduction
Many of us have been in situations as language learners when we are asked a question and our
minds mysteriously go blank. Or perhaps our heads follow a teacher around the class as we nervously
await our turn to speak, barely listening to other students' output, our eyes trained on the teacher to see
which "unfortunate victim" will be chosen to speak next. At other times we shun communicative
opportunities altogether. While some students avoid talking because they are unprepared, uninterested,
or unwilling to express themselves, most anxiety stems from feelings of alienation in class, from a lack
of confidence, or because the students fear communication itself (Daly, 1991). Reflecting on my own,
anxiety-ridden experiences of learning foreign language, I pondered that if my English conversation
classes somehow induce anxiety and lead to a miserable experience, then I need to consider how to
encourage my own students in their English study.
Task-based language teaching often utilizes incongruity and unpredictable learning activities to
encourage communication (Ellis, 2003). Arguably, tasks that are not focused in a sequence of activities
that ends with controlled practice may unwittingly encourage anxiety. As Aida (1994) notes, many
language teachers are concerned about the possibility that anxiety may function as an affective filter
preventing learners from achieving a high level of proficiency in the language. Learners need to have
attitudes and use strategies that encourage lowered anxiety, higher motivation, and confidence in their
ability to convey what they want to say. One of the challenges for teachers is to provide the kind of
classroom atmosphere that promotes low-anxiety.
Nespor (1987) writes that beliefs are "composed of episodically stored material derived from
personal experience" (p. 320) which derives legitimacy from past episodes. These critical episodes then
"color or frame the comprehension of events later in time" (ibid.). Thus, learners' experiences determine
the value of similar, but new, tasks. In the classroom, students perform a "cognitive appraisal" (Dayhoff,
2000, p.15) which helps affect judgments. Students who experience anxiety in the classroom often base
their fear on an inaccurate assessment of its causes. They imagine danger where it does not necessarily
exist and do not have an effective plan of action to cope with their anxiety. Over time and in different
learning situations people develop expectations concerning the likely outcomes of various behaviors
within and across situations, but when they engage in communicative behaviors that seem to work, they
develop positive expectations for those behaviors, and these can become a regular part of learners'
communicative repertoire.
However, if experiences are negative, language anxiety begins to develop and if these
negatively perceived experiences continue, foreign language anxiety may become a regular occurrence
and the learner begins to routinely expect to be nervous and perform poorly. Anxiety can be associated
with a variety of physiological and emotional states, embodied in feelings of tension even in situations
where the immediate cause of such tension is not readily apparent.
Anxiety is related to self-focused, negative and anxious cognition during interaction. Highly
anxious students often have relatively negative self-concepts, underestimating the quality of their
speaking ability when compared with others. While some may argue that a dose of anxiety is necessary
to create a language learning "charge", for many students nervousness distracts from attending to and
remembering new language, and will thus affect the practice required for language to be assimilated.
An unwillingness to make an effort can be seen as debilitating in communicative language
classrooms, where making an attempt to use new language forms is a central tenet of second language
acquisition. This unwillingness may spark what Dayhof (2000) calls the "anxiety feedback loop" (p.27),
in which anxiety is triggered by concern over being scrutinized and evaluated by others in a
performance situation. This can lead to an excessive fear of being humiliated or judged negatively in
learning situations. Yet, I contend that students can make their learning more profitable and less painful
by reflecting on their learning experiences and receiving necessary guidance.

Methods
The primary goal of this research was to identify those factors, as perceived by students, that
may contribute to anxiety, and those factors that may reduce anxiety in an attempt to understand more
fully the role that anxiety may play in learning a foreign language.
This study utilized the qualitative research tradition, the phenomenological interview
(LeCompte & Preissle, 1993; Rubin & Rubin, 1995), with the inclusion of a quantitative component.
Attention was focused on the participants' beliefs, experiences, and feelings in order to generate an
enlightening narration of the participants' perspectives of foreign language anxiety. The qualitative
approach allows the researcher to capture the students' own voices and to examine their words and
beliefs in an attempt to understand the phenomenon and to answer these basic research questions:

84 Students’ Speaking Anxiety in English Foreign Language

 1. Do students believe that anxiety hinders language acquisition?
2. Which factors do students believe contribute to anxiety?
3. Which factors do students believe may help to reduce anxiety?
4. How is anxiety manifested in the students?
5. Do students believe any one of the three languages being investigated to be more anxiety
provoking than another?
A general interview guide was followed, using this set of questions that were developed to
elicit answers without limiting or inhibiting the respondents.
1. Please describe your feelings about your foreign language class.
2. Please tell me what you like best about your foreign language class.
3. Please tell me what disturbs you the most in your foreign language class.
4. Are there other things that disturb you about your foreign language class that you can tell me,
and how do you react to them?
5. Do you believe that you are good in your language study (that is, are you confident of your
ability)?
6. How do you think people in your classroom will react if you make mistakes?
7. When you find yourself in a stressful situation, do you primarily worry, or do you actively seek
a solution?
8. Have your instructors played a role in your feelings, either good or bad, about your foreign
language classes?
9. Do you have any ideas of ways to make the foreign language class less stressful?
10. How do you feel now after addressing this issue?
The answers provided rich detail used in answering the basic research questions. Interview
questions 5, 6, and 7 were specifically formulated to elicit information regarding student beliefs
concerning ability and contexts. That is, are students "ruminating about causes and feelings" (Ford,
1992, p. 113) or do they take action to "solve a problem or reduce feelings of distress" (p. 113)?
Question 10 was included in an attempt to understand if the students may have learned more about
foreign language anxiety or might have benefited otherwise from their participation in the study.
The taped interviews were transcribed verbatim by the researcher. The transcriptions of the
interviews were analyzed according to basic categories developed from the interview questions: factors
believed to cause anxiety, factors believed to reduce anxiety, manifestations of anxiety, student
awareness of anxiety, and most anxiety provoking language. Under each separate category, portions of
dialogue were detailed according to individual participant response. In this way the source of the
quotation was readily identifiable. The factors were then extrapolated from the dialogue portions and
listed. Where appropriate, subcategories were also developed. Concomitantly, the transcriptions were
analyzed to seek out commonalties and patterns emerging from other interview questions. The
qualitative narrative was generated from these data.
The participants were eager to talk. Each had a story to tell that often became a diatribe against
a particular teacher or methodology. It was somewhat of a surprise to this researcher to hear how vivid
and explicit the memories of painful or exasperating situations were, even though Price (1991) had
reported similar findings. Some of these negative experiences originated in high school classes, and for
many this emotional baggage seemed to intrude into their current study.

Findings
The interviews revealed extremely negative experiences with the language class. When asked
to describe their feelings several students provided examples of how anxiety can lead to frustration and
even anger. These interviews presented the students with an opportunity not only to express their
problems and concerns, but allowed them to vent much of their frustration. With the exception of the
most highly anxious student who said that nothing helped her, most of the students reported positive
benefits from their participation in this research. Several appeared relieved to learn that they were not
alone in their anxieties.
For example, one student revealed, “at first, I thought my God, am I the only one who's getting
nervous, the only one whose heart is beating, like pounding really hard? But now, I know I'm not the
only one.” Foss and Reitzel (1988) also found that anxiety was reduced for many students merely by
knowing that they were not alone in their fears or beliefs.

Aulia Nisa K. (2017). Journal of Education and Learning. Vol. 11 (1) pp. 83-90. 85
 Discussion
The Research Question
Do Students Believe That Anxiety Hinders Language Acquisition?
Some students were unaware of foreign language anxiety, others were unsure, but still
conscious of a generalized feeling of uneasiness. Other students appeared to use the terms frustration,
nervous, and anxious interchangeably. One student seemed to equate getting angry with being anxious.
He mentioned that he got so frustrated that he wanted to break the desk.

Which Factors do Students Believe Contribute to Anxiety?

The participants cited numerous and various sources for their anxiety, such as speaking
activities, inability to comprehend, negative classroom experiences, fear of negative evaluation, native
speakers, methodology, pedagogical practices, and the teachers themselves. The sources of anxiety
often were intertwined, causing difficulty in teasing out a discrete factor or source. The following
discusses the most frequently cited anxiety-generating factors.
Non-Comprehension. The inability to comprehend what was being said in the classroom
provoked considerable anxiety. Many complained that the teacher spoke much too fast, or refused to use
any English at all which resulted in an inability to keep up during class, and consequently carried over
into the homework assignments. Young (1992) also noted that listening might generate anxiety if it
were "incomprehensible" (p. 68). The inability to comprehend the taped exercises or the instructional
videos was also cited as anxiety- provoking by several students. One student reported nervousness even
before the taped dictation just looking at the machine.
Speaking activities. Many of the anxiety-provoking factors reported by the participants
appeared to be generated by various speaking activities normally encountered in a language class. The
fear of communicating orally and public speaking anxiety have long been accepted psychological
phenomena. Daly (1991) noted that the fear of giving a speech in public exceeded even such phobias as
fear of snakes, elevators, and heights. Whereas those with public speaking concerns have only to
perform, language learners have a dual task. They must not only learn the new language but perform in
it as well (Foss & Reitzel, 1988). One student of Spanish complained, ”I don't want to be the focus of
attention so that my errors are put on display.” Horwitz, Horwitz and Cope (1986) reported that students
are very self-conscious when they are required to engage in speaking activities that expose their
inadequacies, and these feelings often lead to "fear, or even panic" (p. 128). As expected, the
participants were sensitive to both peer and teacher evaluation of their speaking. Additionally, a few
seemed to project negative thoughts on to the teacher. One highly anxious student reported feelings of
frustration that the teacher thought she didn't know anything when she really did.
Students also report feeling overwhelmed and anxious when speaking, perhaps due to an
immature vocabulary or limited grammatical knowledge. One frequently cited anxiety-provoking factor
in the interviews was simply being called on in class, whether prepared or not.
Pedagogical and instructional practices. Test anxiety was mentioned during the interviews,
particularly in connection with oral testing or listening exercises. One student admitted at being near
tears during the final exam when he had to give an oral presentation, and was upset, shaking and
sweating.
Several students were concerned that the language class moved so quickly that they did not
have sufficient time to digest the rules and vocabulary. A few commented that the amount of material to
be covered in one semester was excessive, remarking "all of the more advanced grammar came in one
semester and it wasn't enough time to absorb it." Several other students made comments regarding the
"speed" of the course and complained that teachers "just keep on going" and do not layer and reinforce
the grammar items. An extremely anxiety-provoking technique, and one used by most foreign language
teachers, is calling on students one after another in seating order. The most explicit description of this
technique was given by a student who said, “I think that builds tension, builds anxiety, just sitting there
knowing that in a few minutes you're about to be called, and it's almost execution style.” Other students
voiced similar concerns regarding this practice and used words like "stupid," "idiot," and "torture" in
their descriptions.
The pedagogical practice and teacher idiosyncrasies were quite often inextricably bound. The
most disturbing aspect of the class, according to many students, was directly related to the teachers
themselves; that “the teacher was trying to make you feel stupid,” and this indicated a lack of respect on
the part of the teacher. An astonishing numbert of negative comments were made regarding the
teachers, such as "very intimidating," "apathetic," "condescending," "a nasty person," "very stern and
mean almost and so she scared me," and even "obnoxious." One caution: This is a small sample (15) of
students who perceived themselves to be anxious in foreign language class for any number of reasons,

86 Students’ Speaking Anxiety in English Foreign Language

and were offered an opportunity to have their voices heard. There was no intention to indict teachers,
merely to report the factors cited by this particular sample as anxiety-provoking. Some students reported
instances where the teacher had either humiliated them or made them feel very uncomfortable. A
student of German expressed her feeling about the importance of the teacher stating, "the instructor will
either make or break the course, that's how I look at it."
Error correction. Another pedagogical practice cited as anxiety-provoking by the participants
concerned error correction. One student reported being disturbed when teachers "begin to reprimand"
students for making errors. Students reported becoming frustrated when the teacher would correct the
error before they had time to completely formulate a response. Comments made by several students
pertained to teachers interrupting to correct speaking errors. These interruptions would frequently cause
students to lose their focus.
Native Speakers. Another anxiety-provoking factor cited by many participants concerned
native speakers in the classroom. This appeared to be a problem mainly in Spanish classes, but was also
mentioned by one student of French. Some students believed that the teachers somehow taught to the
higher level, or deferred to the native speakers in some way. The students seemed to have a perception
of being compared negatively to the native speakers.

Which Factors do Students Believe May help to Reduce Anxiety?

Clearly, for these students, foreign language classes generated considerable anxiety. Therefore,
it was anticipated that the students themselves would offer concrete suggestions for alleviating this
anxiety, which they did. The proposals ranged from simple suggestions to complex curriculum and
textbook changes.
A sense of community. One common thread running through the responses was that of
communality or connectedness. It was suggested that students be encouraged to get together outside the
classroom and know each other personally. When students felt alone with no friends, they were "more
self-conscious." A lunch group was suggested as one way for students to interact, and several
participants mentioned working in groups or having study partners. Properly structured, group work and
study groups appear to reduce anxiety for some.
Pedagogical practices and classroom environment. The desire for a feeling of community
was also reflected in suggestions regarding seating in the class. Suggestions were made that the students
should sit in a semicircle or oval because "in a circle you're kind of like one in a crowd." The
participants named having a relaxed classroom environment as paramount in reducing anxiety. It
appears that a relaxed environment or atmosphere is likely related to how the teacher conducted the
class.. The participants were quite clear in noting the connection between anxiety and teacher behavior.
Several students mentioned that having a more "personal relationship" with the teacher was helpful. The
teacher's attitude toward the language itself also appeared to play a role in reducing anxiety. For
example, one student reported that "personality is what makes the class."
Similarly, the students reported that they were less anxious with teachers who "made the class
fun," "made it fun to like learning," or "makes the class more animated," and with "teachers who make
it interesting by using interesting situations.”
The majority of students mentioned that "not being put on the spot" in class would help them to
be less anxious. When asked to explain, one student said, "Um, I guess not just abruptly calling on
someone." Another responded, that being "put on the spot" would "let everyone stare, which makes
everything worse." As several students pointed out, gentle error correction or modeling the correct
response "helps to relieve anxiety."
Some classroom activities named as anxiety-reducing were skits, plays, and games. However,
it should be noted that some students are uncomfortable in these kinds of activities. Several students
mentioned that they might feel more comfortable if the instructional material were more relevant to
their life or goals. One student suggested that the teacher do a short presentation on anxiety the first day
of class to let people know that it is a common problem. The results of this study also suggest that a
target-language-only approach may be distressing for lower level students without some English
reference points. Nearly all the participants offered three other suggestions: 1) speak slowly, 2) use
English to clarify key points and for homework assignments, 3) to make sure that everyone understands
by a continuous layering and reinforcing of the material. Other than use of videos, error correction,
excessive homework assignments, and immersion techniques, only two participants articulated clear
references to instructional materials and methodology.
Role of teacher. These interviews suggest that the role of the teacher is paramount in
alleviating anxiety, more vital perhaps than a particular methodology. Teachers who provide a
supportive and understanding environment, who employ nonthreatening teaching methods, and who use

Aulia Nisa K. (2017). Journal of Education and Learning. Vol. 11 (1) pp. 83-90. 87
appealing and relevant topics seem to enhance the foreign language experience. These findings were
congruent with those of Price (1991) who reports that her research clearly showed that "instructors had
played a significant role in the amount of anxiety each student had experienced in particular classes" (p.
106) as well as that of Young (1990) who noted that anxiety decreased when instructors "create a warm
social environment" (p. 550). The interviews also indicate that an atmosphere of cordiality,
communality, and friendship among the students themselves appears to ease learner anxiety. Samimy
and Rardin (1994) also reported that group solidarity seems to lighten emotional barriers like anxiety
and may intensify language learning.

How is Anxiety Manifested in the Students?

Physical. Some of the physical symptoms include "headaches"; "clammy hands, cold fingers";
"shaking, sweating"; "pounding heart"; “tears”; "foot tapping, desk drumming"; "I clamp up, I get very
tense and I start balling my fists"; "my stomach gets in knots"; "I get all red"; and "I get really tired."
One student would hunch over her desk in a kind of protective shell. Another student reported similar
behavior: "I kind of turtle up and hide from the teacher." Hiding from the teacher in one way or another
was a common manifestation of anxiety.
Internal and functional. Students mentioned that they projected their nervousness days in
advance of the class, thus affecting classroom performance. A student of French reported that in class,
"I just completely blank out and everything is like a jumble in my head." Other participants reported
more subtle or internalized manifestations. A student of French described her reaction as internal as
though "the time bomb was ticking in here," and that she was "petrified in that class, just totally
petrified." Some students said they reacted by losing patience or becoming angry. One thought he
projected his anger over a former French teacher on to his present German teacher. The almost
compulsive need to look ahead in the book was not uncommon among these participants. One student
said that she became aware of other students' anxiety when "people start flipping through the book, they
don't know."
Avoidance. Avoidance was another fairly common manifestation of anxiety; "oftentimes
people will begin to not show up to class." Other students practiced a more subtle form of avoidance.
One student of French said that he wrote in his book, drew pictures in it, or organized his date planner
during class. One student reported a rather extreme form of classroom avoidance, "I've seen people just
go right to sleep."

Do Students Believe Any One of the Three Languages being investigated to be More Anxiety
Provoking than Another?
The majority of participants had experience with more than one language and appeared to
equate difficulty with anxiety. The perception that a language is difficult seems to suggest that it is also
anxiety-provoking. Often when the participants attempted to cite an anxiety-provoking language, they
equivocated, gave ambiguous answers, or offered elaborate reasons for their choice.

Conclusions
The findings of this study appear to corroborate other studies in suggesting that anxiety can
negatively affect the language learning experience in numerous ways and that reducing anxiety seems to
increase language acquisition, retention, and learner motivation. Therefore, it is suggested that
awareness of foreign language anxiety be heightened and taken seriously by teachers and students alike.
This may be accomplished by means of workshops or presentations elaborating foreign language
anxiety and exploring the positive motivational aspects of anxiety reduction. It may also be helpful for
teachers to become familiar with the FLCAS instrument (Horwitz, Horwitz & Cope, 1986) to better
understand the many ways in which students experience anxiety. Recommendations suggested by this
study are that teachers strive to:
1. create a low stress, friendly and supportive learning environment;
2. foster a proactive role on the part of the students themselves to create an atmosphere of group
solidarity and support;
3. be sensitive to students' fears and insecurities and help them to confront those fears;
4. use gentle or non-threatening methods of error correction and offer words of encouragement;
5. make judicious use of purposeful group work or collaborative activities;
6. use relevant and interesting topics for class discussions and exercises;
7. consider decreasing the amount of new material to be covered in one semester;
8. consider ways to layer and reinforce the material in an attempt to aid acquisition and retention;

88 Students’ Speaking Anxiety in English Foreign Language

 9. give written directions for homework assignments;
10. speak more slowly or consider using English to clarify key points or give specific directions;
11. attend to the learning styles or preferences of the students; and
12. hear and appreciate the voices of students for valuable insights, ideas and suggestions.
One further research topic might be to attempt to determine if anxiety levels decrease as exposure
to the language increases. Two measures of exposure may be investigated; the amount of time the
language has been studied or by time spent in the target country, such as visits or semesters abroad.

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