HIGH SCHOOL DEPARTMENT

King’s College of Isulan

Effects of Language Anxiety on the Academic Performance of Junior High School Students

Introduction

There is an immerse need for every student nowadays to know well about languages

especially English, our International language for it is a part of becoming a diverse individual

and acquiring it means that a person can already have a successful communication anywhere and

any situations(Al-Saraj, 2013). According to Horwitz, Horwitz and Cope (1986), some students

in other countries who are learning different languages along with school tasks such as test-

taking and academic subjects involving mathematics and science experience mental block

although in other matters they are strongly motivated to learn but in this area, something is

preventing them to achieve or to perform good and that is the effect of anxiety. Anxiety is an

emotion that complicates everything within our mind. It is a part of us that worries and fears a

lot. It controls how we think and can change our feelings. Learners that are uneasy with using

other languages also experience anxiety, thinking that learning a second language would be hard

and it threatens the learners which results to a high level of anxiety. Therefore, their class

performance is poor (Zaman, 2017).

This claim is supported by Aida(1994), discussing that anxiety is an effective filter of

preventing learners to attain high proficiency level not only in English language but also in

learning other Asian and Western languages. In the case of Filipino students here in the

Philippines, they experience oral communication anxiety or what can be considered as the output

of their knowledge in English language. It is not the same with other western countries since

English is their first language and Filipinos use it as second language (Del Villar, 2010).Chinese

male high school students has high level of anxiety than females and found out that anxiety has a

big role on the language learning of high school students (Ohata, 2005).
 HIGH SCHOOL DEPARTMENT
King’s College of Isulan
Kalawag 1 Ext.,Isulan,Sultan Kudarat

According to Horwitz et al. (1986), an example of it that we experience is when a person

is taking a test involving grammar and answer what that person thought as the right answer since

he studied about the topic but in the last part, he realize that although he know the right answer,

he was unable to write it because of the nervousness due to anxiety. Students tend to think that it

is only part of the subjects which they needed to pass in high school years but the reality tells

that it will be a necessary tool for every individual and being unable to cope up with the language

will certainly affect not only the consciousness or thoughts of a person but also its academic

performance since it is used now in different areas and subjects.

After various studies using different anxiety measures, they eventually found out that

there are different types of relationship between language anxiety and academic achievement

which will be the gap that the researcher wants to resolve and concluded that the type and level

of anxiety should be identified accordingly through FLCAS or Foreign Language Classroom

Anxiety Scale (Scovel, 1978).

According to Pappamihiel (2002), there are three stages of language acquisition and they

are: input, processing and output. There are different factors that affect the language anxiety such

as year of stay in a country, levels of academic achievement, listening, speaking, reading and

writing skills.

In order to address the issues about Language anxiety and Academic achievement, the

present study will focus on the several factors in language anxiety that may importantly

contribute to the success of the learner in acquiring English as a second language.

Statement of the Problem

This study will determine the relationship of Language Anxiety and student’s academic

performance.

Specifically, it aims to answer the following questions:

1. Is there any relationship between the students’ level of language proficiency and

anxiety?

2. What are the possible sources of language anxiety?

3. Is there any relationship between students’ academic achievement and language

anxiety?

4. Does language anxiety differ in terms of gender?

5. Are there possible ways or remedy to lessen language anxiety to students?

Scope and Delimitation

This study focused mainly on determining the relationship of language anxiety and

junior high school students’ academic performance at school and is limited to the selected Junior

High School Kings’ College Of Isulan students and was conducted in school year 2019-2020.
 HIGH SCHOOL DEPARTMENT
King’s College of Isulan
Kalawag 1 Ext.,Isulan,Sultan Kudarat

Significance of the study

A study on the relationship of language anxiety and academic performance of students is

significant to the following:

Student. This study will help the students to be informed on what to improve early in their

learning of English even if it is a second language in their case. This will make the students

realize how much is the contribution of the English subject in their academic performance or

even in communicating now and in the future. Language Anxiety can be avoided through this

research giving prior information.

Teacher. The findings of this study is important to the teachers especially ESL (English as a

Second Language) teachers to initially give idea or inject in the minds of the students that

learning English as a second language is not hard especially if students are willing to learn even

in their early age and motivate the students in little ways or by giving awareness about the

aftermath of being unable to cope up with the language.

Administration. The administrators will benefit from this study because this will provide them

information about the possible sources of the language anxiety and its effect of the academic

performances of students. This will help them to adjust easily the different teaching styles or

strategies for the students who have the same problem on this year or the years to come.

Researchers. Lastly, this study could be a helpful source to other future studies concerning

language anxiety and its relationship with the academic performance of students.
 HIGH SCHOOL DEPARTMENT
King’s College of Isulan
Kalawag 1 Ext.,Isulan,Sultan Kudarat

Definition of Terms

The following terms are defined as used in the study for better understanding of the

research:

Anxiety is a subjective feeling of tension, apprehension, nervousness, and worry

associated with an arousal of the autonomic nervous system.

Language anxiety is a type of anxiety specifically associated with learning the second

language and may arise from many kinds of sources.

Language acquisition is the act of acquiring, gaining or learning language.

FLCAS (Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale) is a research tool to determine the

Students’ foreign language anxiety level and in order for us to know the degree and kind of

anxiety we need anxiety scale as measurement instrument.

Language proficiency advancement in knowledge or skill in using the system of words

people use to express thoughts and a way to understand each other.

References:

Al-Saraj, T.(2013). Foreign language anxiety in female Arabs learning English: case

studies. Innovation in Language learning and Teaching8(3),257-

278.doi:10.1080/17501229.2013.837911

Horwitz,E.K., Horwitz, M.B.& Cope, J.(2012).Foreign language classroom anxiety. The

Modern Language Journal.70(2),125-132.doi:10.111/j.1540-4781.1986.tb05256

Aida, Y.(1994).Examination of Horwitz, Horwitz and Cope’s construct of foreign

language anxiety: the case of students of Japanese. The Modern Language

Journal.78(2),155-168.doi:10.111/j.1540-4781.1994.tb02026

Horwitz, E.(2001). Language anxiety and achievement. Annual Review of Applied

Linguistics.21,112-116.doi:10.1017/S0267190501000071

Websites:

www.jstororg/stable/40171530?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents

http://dspace.bracu.ac.bd/xmlui/handle/10361/9044

https://www.philippine-esl-journal.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/V7-A5.pdf

https://www.jstor.org/stable/40171530

https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1065859