CHAPTER II

THEORITICAL FRAMEWORK

A. The Theoretical Framework

1. Speaking

a. Speaking Anxiety

Speaking is one of important aspects that should be mastered

by the students in learning language. It is required to express what

the speakers purpose to say as effectively as possible in order to

convey the message for the listeners but if someone intends to say

something, they should be aware to construct the meaning in order

to get an understanding from the listener and to avoid

misunderstanding between the speaker and listener. In short

speaking is the ability to perform linguistic knowledge in actual

communication in oral form.

There are several definitions of speaking. According to

Matthew (1994, p. 45) says speaking is any process in which

people share information, ideas and feeling. It involves all of body

language mannerism and styles anything that adds meaning to a

message. In other words, the result, the listener can receive and

understand what the speaker means. In line with Harmer (2001, p.

37) states speaking happens when two people are engaged in

talking to each other. In addition, Cameron (2001, p. 40) states that

speaking is the active use of language to express meanings so that

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other people can make sense of them. A speaker needs to find the

most appropriate words and the correct grammar to convey

meaning accurately and precisely, and needs to organise the

discourse so that the listener will understand. Here, they are

conducting speaking for more proper reasons, such as information

sharing, asking or giving something, and other communication

purpose.

Luoma (2004, p. 2) define speaking as interactive process of

constructing meaning that involves producing, receiving and

process information. Its form and meaning are dependent on the

context in which it occurs, including the participants themselves,

the physical environment, and the purposes for speaking. It is often

spontaneous, open-ended, and evolving.

In summary, speaking is a productive language skill in which

the activity includes two or more people having interaction in order

to deliver or get message through the use of verbal and non-verbal

languages. Furthermore, a speaker needs to use the most

appropriate words and the correct grammar to convey meaning

accurately and precisely, and needs to organise the discourse so

that the listeners will understand.

In speaking anxiety, speaking may affect the learners

negatively which make them nervous to speak in the target

language. According to Basic (2011, p. 4) states, speaking anxiety

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creates a low self-confidence which makes students remain quiet in

all situations, even if they have capacity to express themselves and

knowledge that is worth hearing. It means students with speaking

anxiety experience failure he or she will rather remain quiet than

take the risk of failing again. It is frequently suggested that children

who have not been encourage to speak from an early stages also

contributes to limited opportunities to practice oral skills.

In addition, Basic (2011, p. 10) notes these students usually

give up very early and continue to be quite throughout their years

in school. Students who have speaking anxiety are often very calm

and passive. They believe that only correct English must be spoken

and comparing their skills with native speakers of the target

language. They fear that their pronunciation is not good enough.

The lack of opportunity to participate in classroom activities also

contributes to less learning even if they are no less intelligent than

other students in class. This situation also contributes to the quiet

students being seen as less intelligent since they rarely demonstrate

their knowledge.

Horwitz et.al (1986, p. 125) states that speaking anxiety refers

to the subjective feeling of tension, apprehension, and worry

adjoined with autonomic nervous system. Students who are overly

concerned about their speaking may become so anxious when they

make errors.
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Furthermore, Horwitz, et.al (1986, p. 127) studied three types

of speaking anxiety which are communication apprehension (the

fear of communicating with other people), fear of negative

evaluation (worry about how others view the speaker), and test

anxiety (fear of exams, quizzes, and other assignments used to

evaluate students’ performance).

Communication apprehension is a type of shyness which

characterize by fear of or anxiety that occurs when somebody

communicates with others. Then, fear of negative evaluation is

avoidance of evaluative situation and expectation that others will

evaluate them negatively. In test anxiety, students are covering by

fear of failure in a test while do speaking performance.

So, based on the experts’ explanation above, the writer

concludes that speaking anxiety is difficulty to speak in the group

or in pairs. In speaking anxiety, students remain quiet in all

situations even if they have the capacity to express themselves and

knowledge that is worth hearing. It involves the communication

apprehension, fear of negative evaluation, and test anxiety. The

writer takes all of indicators of this research.

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b. Assessment of Speaking Anxiety

The purpose of assessing students’ speaking anxiety is to help

language teachers understand the nature of foreign language

anxiety especially in speaking and find out the way to decrease

students’ speaking anxiety. In order to assess speaking, learners

often evaluate their success in language learning as well as the

effectiveness of their English course on the basis of how much they

feel they have improved in their spoken language proficiency.

In speaking anxiety, students will get some difficulties while

speaking. Horwitz et.al (1986, p.127) states that students suffering

from foreign language speaking anxiety report feelings of

apprehension, worry, and uncomfortable about speaking in class.

They believe that only correct English must be spoken and

comparing their skills with native speakers of the target language.

They fear that their pronunciation is not good enough.

Yaikhong & Usaha (2012, p. 24) states that the communication

anxiety was caused by inadequate chance for students to contribute

in classroom communication, lack of confidence when

communicating English in the classroom, and also by affective

factors like interpersonal evaluation, classroom activities and

methods, as well as self-esteem.

In addition, Gregersen (2005, p. 391) argues that learners who

feel anxious in their foreign language learning may find their study
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less enjoyable. In the other words, students who feel anxiety will

lose their self-confidence. They will have particular perception that

assumes something as a big problem or difficult matter. The

condition can lead them into certain level of frustration which can

affect their speaking.

Furthermore, Horwitz et.al (1986, p. 127) states there are three

main factors which provoke speaking anxiety. Here are the

explanations about three of them:

1. Communication Apprehension

Horwitz, et.al (1986, p. 127) explain communication

apprehension as a type of shyness characterize by fear of or

anxiety that occurs when somebody communicates with others.

The condition appeared in speaking activities when students

were asked to speak in front of their friends. They were shy and

cannot do their best. This reaction obviously plays a large role in

foreign language classroom. It is refers to an individual’s level

of fear or anxiety that associate with anticipate communication

with other persons.

In addition, Chan & Wu (2004, p. 292) states in

communication apprehension, people usually afraid of oral

communication that is about speaking and listening. They will

get difficulty to understand what people are saying and to make

someone understands what they purpose to say. In line with,

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Daly (1991) states that apprehensive students are unwilling to

talk in front of the others and they tend to wait until the end of

the teacher to ask question, not raising their hand, and hoping

that somebody else asks the question. Finally, this situation

makes students lack to response or participation while speaking

in classroom. It also drags students had lack of enthusiasm in

foreign language class.

The individual with communication apprehension prefers

to keep silent, quiet in any direct interaction with others and

intimidated by super ordinates. Communication apprehension

can be specific to only a few settings or can be exist in most

everyday communication situations, or may even be part of a

general anxiety trait that arises in many features of an

individual’s life. General anxiety traits such as quietness,

shyness, and reticence frequently precipitate. The degree of

shyness, or range of situations that it affects, varies greatly from

individual to individual, and from situation to situation.

Based on the definition above, the writer summed up

there are several activities which reflect students’

communication apprehension:

a. Students have shyness confine aspiration to require speak

b. Students had lack of response or participation

c. Students lack of enthusiasm

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2. Fear of Negative Evaluation

Fear of negative evaluation is avoidance of evaluative

situation and expectation that others will evaluate them

negatively. Learners can be sensitive to evaluation of their peers.

Chan & Wu (2004, p. 292) explains fear of negative evaluation

as apprehension about others evaluation, distress over their

negative evaluations, and expectations that others would

evaluate oneself regularly. This situation make students are

panic to communicate with their friends or teachers and tend to

avoid initiating conversations.

Moreover, Young D. (1990, p. 104) argues that in his

survey, many students reported that they would be more willing

to speak if they were not too afraid of making mistake and being

evaluated negatively in front of their teacher and their peer. In

addition Young (1991) states that students are more concerned

about how (i.e. when, what, where, or how often) their mistakes

are corrected rather than whether error correction should be

administered in class.

It means that if the students are not sure of what they are

saying, they will start panic about negative evaluation from

others and also feel anxious because they do not want to look

stupid in front of others. Based on the definition above, the

writer summed up that activity which reflect students’ fear of

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negative evaluation is students panic when speak with their

friends and teacher.

3. Test Anxiety

According to Brown (1994, p. 103) states that test

anxiety refers to a type of performance anxiety which covering

by fear of failure in a test. It generally occurs when students

have poor performance in the previous tests. They develop a

negative stereo type about tests and have irrational perceptions

in evaluate situations. In addition, Chan & Wu (2004, pp. 293-

294) states these students might have an unpleasant test

experience from either language class or other subjects, and they

transplanted the unhappy image to the present English class

unconsciously.

According to Horwitz et. al (1986, p.128), test anxious

students have false beliefs in language learning. These students

habitually put impractical demands on themselves and feel that

anything less than perfect test performance is a failure.

In addition, Mayer (2008, p. 77) states that every student

understands that taking a test means she will be graded, judged,

and compared to her classmates, and that performing will get

negative consequence from their teacher and parents. He also

mentions that children with test anxiety can experience any

number of physical, mental, and emotional symptoms. Those

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symptoms will lose students’ concentration on test material, and

then they are getting difficult to finish their best because

accidentally they forget the material of the test that has been

remembered before.

From the feeling of wanting to do well, comes the feeling

of anxiety in doing the test. Consequently, the presence of

anxiety is very much felt in testing situations. Based on the

definition above, the writer summed up that activity which

reflect students’ test anxiety refers to students appear nervous to

speak.

From the explanation above, it can be summed up that three

components of foreign language anxiety give big impact for students’

learning process. As a result, student who have speaking anxiety face

difficulties when they are required to speak even after learning English

for a long time.

In this research, the writer will use these three main factors

which provoke speaking anxiety to be indicators. These main factors

will be 3 (three) indicators. Each factor as follow:

1. Communication Apprehension

2. Fear of Negative evaluation

3. Test Anxiety
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2. Male and Female

a. The Nature of Male and Female

According to www.Webster.com (1828) states that male is

characteristic of male, men, or the male sex, and has a deep voice.

On the other hand, female is characteristic of female, women, or

the female sex. Exhibiting femaleness, composed for female

voices, and has a female name. In reference to

www.Dictionary.com (1998) states male is a person who’s bearing

chromosome X and Y in the cell nuclei and normally has scrotum,

testicles and developing hair on the face at adolescence. While

female is a person bearing two X chromosome, having uterus and

ovaries and developing at puberty a relatively rounded body and

enlarged breasts, and retaining a beardless face.

In addition, www.Wikipedia.com (2001) states that male is

physically stronger, less resilient, have greater spatial, numerical

and mechanical abilities and tend to see the word in terms of

objects, ideas, and theories. Female on the other hand mature

physically and psychologically at an earlier stage, have higher and

more precocious verbal skills and see the world in personal,

aesthetic, and moral terms.

In short, male is person who have characteristic of male

such as a deep voice, and developing hair on their face while

puberty. Furthermore, female is a person who have characteristic of

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female such as female voices, name, and does not have hair on their

face while puberty.

b. Comparison Between Male and Female Students’ Speaking

Anxiety

In terms of cognitive factors, learners are different in second

or foreign language learning such as language attitude and learning

style. They are also different in affective factors, such as

motivation and anxiety. Gender is among the factors that influence

language learning process. In teaching speaking through male and

female, teachers cannot do the same attention to both of them. Both

males and females are equipped with some tendencies that would

help them to acquire some aspects of language much faster.

In line with Glynn et.al (2007) states that female students

are more likely to attend class on time, sit in front of the class, take

notes, study the text book, and study in an organized way. All

behaviours associated with a relatively high motivation to learn. In

addition, female have natural feature for speaking more than make.

These characteristics might channelize female to learn language

better and more motivated to a target language than male.

In the same pursuit, Ayu Rita & Nadhia Dalila (2008) in

their study on anxiety and speaking English as a second language

among male and female business studies students in University

Industri, Selangor. The results showed that female students

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experienced more anxiety than male students while speaking in

class. Female students were not most anxious than male students

when expected to speak English language which is foreign

language to them.

Pappamihel (2001) also doing research about gender and

the result of the research was gender give influence on anxiety

level of Mexican male and female. Mexican female more feel

anxious than Mexican male. They always silent never try to speak

and Mexican male more aggressive when they are in the speaking

class.

Based on Gurian & Stevens (2011, pp. 25-33) states that

there are number categories of male and female difference to which

can affect their speaking anxiety level. There are many differences

that could be presented, but the writer selected those who seem

most essential in learning. The aspect of differences between male

and female brain can clearly be seen as follows:

a. Developmental and Structural Differences

This is the maturity difference at the tail end of

childhood. Female, for instance, can acquire their complex

verbal skills as much as a year earlier than male. In general,

female brains develop more quickly than male brains. Brain

development in infants is often most pronounced in the right

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hemisphere and gradually moves to the left. In females, the

movement to the left starts earlier than in males.

Female tend to absorb more sensory data than male. On

average, they hear better, smell better, and take in more

information through fingertips and skin. Females tend to be

better than males at controlling impulsive behaviour. In other

words, female are by nature less likely to take moral risks than

male. Male are more likely to physically show natural

aggression.

Female’ verbal abilities tend to develop earlier so they

rely more heavily on verbal communication; male often rely

heavily on nonverbal communication and are less able to

verbalize feelings and responses as quickly as female. Males

tend to have more development in certain areas of the right

hemisphere, which provides them with better spatial abilities

such as measuring, mechanical design, and geography and map

reading.

b. Hormonal Differences

Females are dominated by esterogen and progesterone,

males by testosterone. These hormones are contrasting in their

effects. Progesterone is a female growth hormone and also a

bonding hormone. Testosterone is the male growth hormone,

and also the sex-drive and aggression hormone. Whereas a girl

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may be likely to bond first and ask questions later, a boy might

be aggressive first and as question later.

There is a great variety among male and female in their

own hormonal levels. Some male are high-testosterone: very

aggressive, socially ambitious, striving for dominance, heavy

in muscle mass, or a combination of these conditions. Some

male are low-testosterone, more sensitive, softer in appearance

and manner. Female hormones levels vary, of course, with the

time of the month and other circumstances (such as hearing a

child cry, seeing another person suffer, becoming pregnant, or

even competing). When both males and females compete, their

testosterone levels go up (females included), but males

obviously have a much higher testosterone baseline; this makes

males on average more aggressively competitive than females.

c. Functional Differences

How the brain uses its cell and blood activity differs

considerably in males and females. Male tend to use the right

hemisphere more; female tend to use the left. Male tend to

process emotive information from the limbic system to the

brain stem (where fight-or-flight) responses are stored); female

tend to process more of it in the upper brain, where complex

thought occurs. However, the female brain, never truly at rest,

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may have a learning advantage by being more consistently

engaged, even when bored.

The differences between male and female students go

beyond just hearing and seeing. Females react acutely and

quickly to pain, although their overall resistance to long-term

discomfort is stronger than in males. Generally, females are

sensitive to bitter flavours and prefer high concentrations of

sweet things. Males are attracted to salty flavours. The female

nose and palate are more sensitive than male. Whereas female

fare better at sensory data and varied memory, male fare better

at spatial skills in general.

It can be summed up both male and female students have the

same potential which provokes speaking anxiety. While female students

have a good verbal ability, sometimes they get difficulties to deliver

their ideas. On the other hand, while male students have the chance to

speak, they can appear nervous because the other factors such as from

their teacher. Both male and female has the same potential of speaking

anxiety. It can come from their-self or the other factors such as teacher

style while speaking activities.

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B. The Relevant Research

There are some relevant researches that have been done by many

researchers about speaking anxiety. Mulyani (2011) entitled “The

Correlation between Students’ Anxiety Level and Their Speaking Ability

at The Second Year of Senior High School 1 Enok Indragiri Hilir

Regency”. She found that the students’ anxiety level of the second year

students at SMAN 1 Enok was 62.84% which is categorized into

moderate level. On the other hand, their speaking ability was 68.17%

which is categorized into moderate. She conclude that the higher

students’ anxiety level, the lower students’ ability of speaking English

and the lower students’ anxiety, the higher students’ ability of speaking

English.

Wahyudi (2015) entitled “Speaking Anxiety: Factors Contributing to

the Anxiety in Speaking Class of the First Year Students of English

Department Faculty of Letters Jember University”. His research was used

Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety (FLCA) to seek what factors that

contributing the anxiety and why anxiety happens. The result of the study

shows that self-perception or self-esteem, presentation in the classroom,

fear of making mistakes, social environment, gender, culture differences,

formal classroom environment are determined as the source of

participants speaking anxiety.

The previous studies about students’ anxiety, speaking ability, and

sources of speaking anxiety have convinced the writer that anxiety can
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exist when we learn foreign language and it can give negative impact

toward learning process, especially in speaking. Based on previous

research, gender become one factor that contributes speaking anxiety. In

this research, the writer tried to investigate the comparison between male

and female students toward speaking anxiety level. Hence, this research

is significant to find out the speaking anxiety level of male students, to

find out the speaking anxiety of female students, and to find out the

comparison of speaking anxiety level between male and female students.

C. The Operational Concept

Operational concept is the concept that used to clarify the theories

used in this research in order to avoid misunderstanding in this research.

This research deals with correlation between two variables. They are:

variable X is the male and female students. Variable Y is the speaking

anxiety level of students.

1. Variable X

The indicators of male and female students based on Gurian et.al

(2011) such as:

1. Both male and female students are able to improve their

speaking ability.

2. Both male and female students have the same potential of

speaking anxiety.
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3. Both male and female students have the same potential in

learning English.

2. Variable Y

Variable Y is the dependent variable, the indicators of speaking

anxiety based on Horwitz et.al (1986) can be seen in the

following indicators:

Table II. 1
The Indicators of Variable Y
NO The indicators of variable Y are
1 a. Students have shyness
confine aspiration to
require speak
Communication b. Students had lack of
Apprehension response or participation
c. Students had lack of
enthusiasm

2 a. Students panic when speak

Fear of Negative
with their friends and
Evaluation
teacher
3 a. Students appear nervous to
Test Anxiety
speak
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D. The Assumption and Hypothesis

1. The Assumption

In this research, the writer assumes that there is significant

difference between male and female speaking anxiety on their

speaking ability.

2. The Hypothesis

a. Null Hypothesis (Ho)

There is no significant difference between male and female

speaking anxiety level on eleventh grade at Al-Ittihad Senior

High School.

b. Alternative Hypothesis (Ha)

There is significant difference between male and female

speaking anxiety level on eleventh grade at Al-Ittihad Senior

High School.