Investigating English Department Students’ Foreign Language Speaking Anxiety: A Case Study in Universitas Airlangga, Indonesia

Abstract

Anxiety during a speaking performance is a common phenomenon experienced by any EFL learners, including students majoring in English. Focusing on the issue, this study investigates the correlation between students’ foreign language speaking anxiety and speaking achievement. Moreover, this study also observes the levels and the sources of the speaking anxiety among the English Department’s fifth-semester students of Universitas Airlangga. This study used the Foreign Language Speaking Anxiety Scale (FLSAS) by Öztürk and Gurbuz (2014). The FLSAS questionnaire was distributed to 114 students in order to explore the correlation between speaking anxiety and speaking achievement, the speaking anxiety levels, and the speaking anxiety sources. The data collected through questionnaire were analyzed with SPSS 25.0. Pearson Product Moment Correlation isused to determine the correlation, while descriptive statistic alanalys is isused to investigate the levels and the sources for speaking anxiety. Horwitz, Horwitzand Cope’s(1986) theory and Horwitz and Young (1991) about the source and the levels of foreign language speaking anxiety are also used in this study. This study found that there is a significant negative correlation between speaking anxiety levels and speaking achievement. This means the higher the speaking anxiety they experience, the lower the achievement score they get. Most of the students have moderate levels of speaking anxiety, which is mainly due to the fear of negative evaluation.This study indicates that although the EFL learners are often exposed to English, they still experience speaking anxiety. These findings suggest that the lecturers should be more aware of students’ anxiety and use strategies that might encourage the students to speak more confidently.

Exploring the Level and Primary Causes of Public Speaking Anxiety Among English Department Students

“…Melouah (2013) identified the sources and levels of 54 Algerian EFL university students' oral performance anxiety, and the study indicated that students experience a moderate level of speaking anxiety due to low language proficiency. Horwitz and Young (1991), as it is cited in Rachmawati (2020), affirmed that students who experienced moderate anxiety levels are caused by less confidence in a certain condition. Therefore, to explore the major causes of the public speaking anxiety of the third-semester students of the English Department at Universitas Tidar, the researchers will explain the data obtained from the PSCAS questionnaire.…”

The Use of Ai (Artificial Intelligence) in English Learning Among University Student: Case Study in English Department, Universitas Airlangga

“…Fear in the use of foreign languages, especially speaking to students can cause student achievement scores in learning to decrease. The higher the level of anxiety, the achievement of student scores in foreign language learning will decrease [24].…”

EFL Learners’ Views on the Use of Code-Switching in Reducing Speaking Anxiety

“…[Excerpt 6,Participant 5] The student experiences, as seen in the excerpts from the interview, highlight how CS gives students a feeling of a linguistic safety net that allows them to speak more freely without worrying about making mistakes or receiving negative judgment. Several studies have found that fear of negative evaluation is a factor that contributes to students' anxiety (Alnahidh & Altalhab, 2020;Rachmawati & Jurianto, 2020). It is a common challenge to language development, as students may be hesitant to speak or express themselves for fear of making mistakes or being judged by teachers or peers.…”