scholarly journals Discovering Factors of Foreign Language Speaking Anxiety and Coping Strategies

2016 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 111
Author(s):  
Vahid Rafieyan

<p>Feeling of anxiety is commonly expressed by foreign language learners in learning to speak a foreign language. This feeling is considered to have a negative impact on communication in the target language. This study has attempted to investigate the most influential factors in creating this type of anxiety as well as the most commonly used strategies to cope with it. In this respect, a qualitative research methodology, based on interviews and reflective journals, was used to investigate the issue. A total of 10 female freshman undergraduate students of English education in Universiti Teknologi Malaysia participated in the study. The findings suggested that assessing language learners’ speaking performance was the most anxiety provoking factor and creating a fun environment was the most commonly used strategy to cope with anxiety. The pedagogical implications of these findings suggested the significant role of teachers in creating and/or reducing foreign language speaking anxiety in language learners.</p>

Humaniora ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 192
Author(s):  
Agnes Herawati

This paper tries to show the evidences that indicate how teaching Sociolinguistics can result in a number of valuable outcomes, including helping students understand and appreciate other cultures different from theirs. Sociolinguistics provides useful examples of language usage in different genres, including how culture influences people in using a language. The opportunities of learning other cultures through language will take the students to the higher level of appreciation of the culture of the target language. To determine how this outcome can be achieved in the language classrooms, this paper provides a review of closely connected literature about how to bridge the gap between cultures in particular. However, to increase its completeness and relevance, this paper also provides some research results that reveal how teaching Sociolinguistics has taken its new applicability and importance, and furthermore adds the effects on how students become more proficient and enthusiastic about their learning. 


2015 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 163
Author(s):  
Sihindun Arumi

Writing as one of language skill is often considered very difficult. It is due to the fact that writing needs to produce and organize ideas using appropriate vocabulary, language use, paragraph organization, and mechanism. It also needs to turn the ideas into a readable text and for foreign language learners, they should also transfer ideas from their native language into target language (foreign language). It raises any problems for them to create a good text. Moreover, the situation in the class does not always supportthem in which the techniques of the teacher in teaching writing is boring and monotonous, do not give enough attention to help students explore their writing skills. So that they attend the writing class only for procedural formality.Thus, it is considered important to elaborate various techniques to build nice classroom atmosphere as well as to improve students’ writing skills.  


Author(s):  
Eduardo Dias da Silva ◽  
Romar Souza-Dias ◽  
Juscelino Francisco do Nascimento

This paper aims to highlight the importance of errors and mistakes as an essential part in the process of teaching and learning foreign languages (FL). We understand that, while trying to produce meanings in the foreign language, learners, through some errors and mistakes, can develop the mental structures necessary for the consolidation of the target language. In this way, mistakes can e a strong tool indicator for teachers to assess and also to understand how far learners are in relation to the intended knowledge, according to objectives outlined in learning programs. The theoretical approach that orients our way of thinking is based on the point of view of some theorists, such as: Brito (2014); Corder (1967; 1985), Cavalari (2008); Richards and Rodgers (2004); Silva (2014); Simões (2007), among others. The results have demonstrated that the teacher, as a mediator of knowledge, must have a balanced attitude towards the students’ learning needs in order to help the learners to reach their best in the learning process. So, with this study, we expect that, in Teacher Education, mistakes could not be seen as something negative, but positive and necessary for the development of the student’s communicative competence.


Author(s):  
Aarnes Gudmestad ◽  
Amanda Edmonds

AbstractThis study seeks to advance understanding of second-language (L2) acquisition of future-time reference in French, by comparing the developmental trajectories of learners living in and away from the target-language setting. Study-abroad learners in France (n= 45), foreign-language learners living in the US (n= 37), and native speakers of Hexagonal French (n= 30) participated in this study. They completed a written-contextualized task, a language-proficiency test and a background questionnaire. For each written-contextualized-task item, participants selected from among three responses that differed with respect to the form (inflectional future, periphrastic future, present). Items were designed to test for the influence of three factors on the form selected: presence/absence of a lexical temporal indicator, temporal distance, and (un)certainty. Additionally, two extra-linguistic factors were examined: learning context and proficiency level. The analyses of frequency and the multinomial logistic regressions suggest that, despite developmental similarities between learning contexts, acquisitional paths of study-abroad and foreign-language learners were not identical.


2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 45-65 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jean-Marc Dewaele ◽  
Livia Dewaele

Previous research has considered fluctuations in students’ foreign language enjoyment (FLE) and foreign language classroom anxiety (FLCA) over months or years (Dewaele & MacIntyre, 2014, 2016). However, there has been no investigation of the effect of the teacher on these emotions at a single point in time. In this study, we investigate the question whether FL learners experience similar levels of FLE and FLCA in the same language if they have two different teachers. Participants were 40 London-based secondary school students studying modern languages with one Main Teacher and one Second Teacher. Statistical analysis revealed that while FLCA was constant with both teachers, FLE was significantly higher with the Main Teacher. Predictors of FLE such as attitudes towards the teacher, the teacher’s frequency of use of the target language in class and unpredictability were also significantly more positive for the Main Teacher. Item-level analysis revealed that the teacher creating a positive emotional atmosphere in class contributed to the higher FLE score. Items that reflected more stable personal and group characteristics varied less between the two teachers. The findings suggest that FLE is more teacher-dependent than FLCA, which is more stable across teachers.


2017 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Desi Surlitasari Dewi ◽  
Aulia Putri

Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui keefektifan metode jigsaw dalam pembelajaran speaking, serta pengaruh dari salah satu aspek psikologis siswa yaitu kecemasan berbicara terhadap kemampuan speaking. Penelitian ini merupakan penelitian kuasi eksperimen yang bertujuan untuk mengetahui apakah ada pengaruh dari metode pembelajaran jigsaw dan faktor kecemasan berbicara terhadap kemampuan speaking siswa. Penelitian ini menggunakan populasi seluruh mahasiswa Prodi Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris, Universitas Riau Kepulauan, Kepulauan Riau dan pemilihan sampel dilakukan dengan tehnik random sampling. Data dikumpulkan dengan menggunakan tes dan kuesioner. Data yang dihasilkan merupakan data pengaruh metode jigsaw terhadap kemampuan speaking, serta pengaruh dari faktor psikologis kecemasan terhadap prestasi speaking. Metode jigsaw ini diharapkan dapat menjadi model bagi pengembangan silabus dan satuan acara pembelajaran Speaking. Sedangkan faktor psikologis kecemasan berbicara diharapkan akan dapat diatasi dengan menggunakan metode pembelajaran jigsaw.Kata kunci: Metode Jigsaw, Kecemasan Berbicara, Kemampuan Speaking the goal when we teach speaking to foreign language learners. However, the goal was rarely achieved in speaking class. In this study, one of technique in Cooperative Learning, jigsaw technique, was proposed. It was predicted that jigsaw technique of teaching speaking and student’s speaking anxiety had effect toward student’s speaking competence. Jigsaw is a technique that can be used in speaking class as it assigns the students to work in team, where they tend to feel secured and comfortable to learn speaking. While speaking anxiety could be a language barrier distracting the students to succeed in speaking class. It is an internal factor from the student’s mind which prevents them from delivering communicative competence. Thus, the objectives of the study were to find out the effectiveness of jigsaw technique in teaching speaking as well as the influence of speaking anxiety, one of psychological factors in learning foreign language, towards the student’s speaking competence. The population of the research was the first semester students of English Department Universitas Riau Kepulauan. The research method was a quasi experiment and the data were taken by using a speaking test and questionnaires. Students’ speaking competences were assessed based on six categories namely fluency, task, comprehension, grammar, pronunciation, and vocabulary. While Saito’s speaking anxiety questionnaire was used to reveal student’s speaking anxiety. Then, the data were analyzed by using Anova. Keywords: Jigsaw Technique, Speaking Anxiety, Speaking Competence


2018 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 170
Author(s):  
Hendrikus Male

Anxiety has been a matter of substantial concern in foreign language (FL) learning setting for educators since it is a major obstacle learners need to overcome (Ellis, 2008; Wu, 2010).This study was aimed at finding out students’ language anxiety in learning the four language skills at a university level in English as a FL context. The participants were 71 students of the English education Department of Universitas Kristen Indonesia. Data was collected by administering a set of questionnaire. To support the data, interview was conducted to some of the respondents. Findings showed that the majority of the students were more anxious on writing skill, followed by reading, speaking and listening in their language learning process. It is highly recommended that the teachers or faculties be more creative in making the language skills classes atmosphere more fun and relaxing so that the students could achieve higher learning results. Keywords: anxiety, non-native learners, language learning process


Author(s):  
Habiburrahim Habiburrahim ◽  
Risdaneva Risdaneva ◽  
Ghina Putri ◽  
Syarifah Dahliana ◽  
Safrul Muluk

In this study, we analyzed the effects of speaking anxiety of Acehnese students in English learning classroom by looking at the causes of students’ speaking anxiety and their strategies in coping with it. The researchers used purposive sampling to select the participants of this research. Ten respondents from sophomore students of Department of the English Education at Teacher Training Faculty of Ar-Raniry State Islamic University in Aceh, Indonesia were selected by identifying their answers of Foreign Language Speaking Anxiety questionnaires developed by Horwitz et al. (1986). To have in-depth information on the subject matter, a semi-structured interview was employed. The results of this research showed that speaking anxiety caused some negative effects to Acehnese students’ speaking ability, which could be observed through the difficulties in constructing sentences and expressing the idea when they spoke in the target language. Low self-confidence, lack of competency, and being afraid of making mistakes were some of the factors considered as the major causes of speaking anxiety that could debilitate students’ classroom participation.


2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 125-132
Author(s):  
Norizul Azida Darus ◽  
Norhajawati Abdul Halim

Any language can be acquired at any time, but to acquire the language, one needs to learn the language. Learning a second or foreign language is not a favourite among second or foreign language learners. This is because learning a language is a very intense time-consuming activity. Learning is often unsuccessful because learners receive impoverished or insufficient input and lack of motivation. To this, second language or foreign language teachers play the most significant role to help and motivate the students to acquire the said language. The preferred method is to be immersed into the actual ecosystem of the target language and become part of the language ecosystem. The other way is to dunk the learners into the artificial ecosystem of the language classroom. In dunking, the learners are immersed temporarily and repeatedly into the simulated ecosystem language. As can be seen now, technology remains the only viable option to get enough interactive contact with the target language. Using interesting software is one of the methods in making learning more interesting. Furthermore, the students are able to practice the language not only during class time, but on their own free time outside of class hours, that is during students’ independent time of learning. The findings revealed that most students found using the applications has improved their language learning. The role of teachers on the other hand is to provide instructions and assist whenever necessary and needed by the students.


2018 ◽  
Vol 14 (5) ◽  
pp. 184
Author(s):  
Ercilia Loera Anchondo

The present research aimed to find out the students’ awareness towards the concept of communicative competence and to discover if exposure serves as a tool in the development of the latter. Applying a mixed-method research design, quantitative and qualitative data were gathered with three different instruments: a face-to-face questionnaire, a semi-structured interview, and a structured observation. The subjects consisted of forty-six English as a Foreign Language learners in the intermediate and advanced levels in the Tourism major at the Universidad Autónoma de Ciudad Juárez. Eleven questions were designed to find out the students’ awareness on communicative competence and its components. The interview was based on the elements of communicative competence and the activities related to exposure to the target language. The observation considered details in regards to the students’ performance in the linguistic and pragmatic components of communicative competence. Results indicated that participants are aware of the concept under study and its components. Their answers to the interview and their performance in the observation proposed that exposure to the target language have been used towards the development of certain elements in their communicative competence. Recommendations derived from the present study include making students comprehend what the acquisition of a communicative competence encompasses, which is to manage the target language through the use of the four skills. Secondly, it is of great importance to promote in students the habit of practicing the target language outside the classroom. Finally, it is necessary to pay attention to phonological features such as word stress, pitch, and intonation to improve pronunciation.


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