Communication anxiety and self-confidence among learners of English as a foreign language: The role of learning cooperatively

Abstract

The present study investigated the impact of learning a foreign language cooperatively on boosting self-confidence and alleviating communication anxiety among learners of English as a foreign language (EFL). One hundred and thirty-five intermediate EFL male and female language learners, homogenized via a language proficiency test, were randomly assigned into two groups of 65 (the experimental group) and 70 (the control group). Participants were then administered two questionnaires to measure levels of oral communication apprehension and self-confidence before the study. On the final session of each class, the questionnaires were re-administered as post-tests and the participants were interviewed. The findings obtained from the statistical analyses as well as the qualitative analysis of the interviews demonstrated that incorporating the principles of learning cooperatively in EFL speaking classes can significantly affect the level of self-confidence and lower the communication apprehension levels. Findings are discussed and implications for EFL classrooms are elaborated upon. Keywords: Anxiety; communication; English; foreign language; learning cooperatively; self-confidence.