English-Speaking Anxiety among Bachelor of Arts in English Language Students

Abstract

The ability to communicate in English is expected with language learners. However, for many learners there is a genuine fear of speaking in the L2, a phenomenon known as English- speaking Anxiety which can hinder students’ performance. The study examined the forms of English-speaking anxiety of ABEL students, and its effects on their class participation. Furthermore, the study examined the relationship between their level of English-speaking anxiety and their academic performance. This study is mixed-method and is descriptive in nature which involved ABEL students whose L2 is English. An Online Focus Group Discussion, and Online Survey Questionnaire were used to gather data. The FGD was used to gather students’ forms of English-speaking anxiety, and its effect on their class participation. The Online Survey Questionnaire was used to gather students’ level of English-speaking anxiety. The results showed that students’ forms of English-speaking anxiety were Communication Apprehension, Fear of Negative Evaluation, Fear of Oral Assessment, and Fear of Grammatical Errors and Mispronunciation. Furthermore, students’ English-speaking anxiety have caused Motivation, Confidence, Hesitance and Anxiousness in class participation. Nonetheless, there is no significant relationship between the participants’ level of English-speaking anxiety and their academic performance.