MINISTRY OF HIGHER EDUCATION AND SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH

UNIVERSITY OF ALGIERS 2 - ABOU EL KACEM SAADALLAH

Faculty of Foreign Languages Department of English Master Dissertation

Specialism: Didactics of Foreign Languages

The Impact of Anxiety on the EFL Learners' Speaking

Performance
A Critical Review of Three Empirical Studies

Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Degree of

Master in Didactics of Foreign Languages

Submitted by: Supervised by:

Asma Soudaoui Mrs. Djazia LAMARA
Marwa Bendila

Board of Examiners:

LOUNAOUCI Chair University of Algiers 2

Mrs. Djazia LAMARA Supervisor University of Algiers2
SAICHI Examiner UniversityofAlgiers2

Academic year: 2022/2023

 Declaration

We, Bendila Marwa and Soudaoui Asma declare hereby that the work provided in
this dissertation is the result of our investigation. We declare that all the information
that is not original to this work is cited in the bibliography section, and all the data
that are original in this work have not been submitted elsewhere for any degree or
qualification.

Date:

Signed:

I
 Dedication

To me, for believing in me and never

giving up even when things got hard
To my beloved parents for their moral
emotional, spiritual, and financial support
To my siblings Amine, Nadia, Selma, and Abdou
To my lovely nephews Mohamed, Aymen
and niece Manar for being there for me
To my best friends Khaoula and Marwa without
whom I wouldn’t have survived a day in university
To our teacher who helped us finish this research
with her guidance and patience
To every soul who supported me through my education
I dedicate this work
Asma Soudaoui
To my beloved parents, your love and affection
have been my guiding light through the darkest of
nights. Your encouragement and prayers have given
me the strength to face the challenges of life with
courage and zest.

To my sweet little sister, you are my best friend

and I will always cherish our bond that never ends.

To my grandmother, you are my second mother;

I will never forget your love and wisdom.

To all my family, uncles Yacine, Madjid,

my aunt Soumia, and my cousin Imane
I am so grateful for your love and support.

To my lovely best friends, you are my chosen family,

and I am so lucky to have you in my life.

And to all my hard-working and respected teachers,

thank you for sharing your knowledge
and helping me to grow and learn.

This humble work is a sign of my love

To all of you who have made me who I am today.
Marwa Bendila

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 Acknowledgments

Above all else, wholehearted praises to ALLAH the Almighty who lightened our
path with His grace to accomplish this research fruitfully.
All of our heartfelt appreciation and genuine recognition go to our supervisor, Mrs.
Lamara for her invaluable supervision, precious pieces of advice, instructions,
support and tolerance.
We are also indebted to the jury members for agreeing to assess our work as their
valuable feedback will certainly enable us to improve this research.
We owe this work to our parents and families who have encouraged us and helped
us emotionally to complete this work throughout these challenging times.

III
 Abstract

Recently, the mastery of the communicative skills has become the most important
aspect in EFL contexts, compared with other language skills. However, the
difficulty of attaining an accepted oral communication delivery level was noticed in
a big number of foreign language learners. This communicative hindrance was
found due to various factors as anxiety, which is at the forefront of the learners’
language practice problems. The current study aims to compare and contrast three
articles that delve into the intricate relationship between anxiety and the EFL
learners speaking performance. This work seeks to explore the causes of this
anxiety and its impact on the EFL learner oral communication abilities. The
participants in the articles are university EFL learners, from different geographical
contexts. Both qualitative and quantitative methods are employed as research
methodologies. According to the findings, a significant number of English learners
experienced anxiety, particularly in the speaking phase. Additionally, various
sources of speaking anxiety, such as conversing with native speakers, fear of
negative evaluation, and limited vocabulary, affect their ability to communicate
effectively, subsequently impeding their learning process. Therefore, this study
offers educators and learners practical interventions, including practice, rehearsals,
games, feedback provision, and pair work, to know more about the speaking anxiety
and surmount the speaking skills obstacles hindering the students' language usage
development.

Keywords: speaking skill, speaking obstacles, anxiety, communicative hindrance,

Foreign Language usage.

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 List of acronyms and abbreviations

EFL: English as a foreign Language

FL: Foreign Language
L2: Second Language
FLL: Foreign Language Learning
FLA: Foreign Language Acquisition
SLA: Second Language Acquisition
FLCAS: Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale
FLSAS: Foreign Language Speaking Anxiety Scale
SLSAS: Second Language Speaking Anxiety Scale
ICT: Information and Computer Technology
LMD: License/ Master / Doctorate

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 Table of Contents
Declaration..................................................................................................................... I
Dedication..................................................................................................................... II
Acknowledgments....................................................................................................... III
Abstract.........................................................................................................................IV
List of Acronyms and abbreviations........................................................................... V
Table of Contents........................................................................................................ VI
General Introduction.....................................................................................................1
Part One: Theoretical Background
Introduction....................................................................................................................3
1. Speaking......................................................................................................................3
1.1. Definition of Speaking........................................................................................3
1.2. Foreign Language Acquisition definition...........................................................4
1.3. Language Acquisition Components....................................................................5
1.4. Foreign Language Difficulties............................................................................6
2. Anxiety........................................................................................................................6
2.1. Definition of Anxiety..........................................................................................6
2.2. Causes of Anxiety...............................................................................................7
2.3. Types of Anxiety.................................................................................................8
3.Speaking Anxiety.......................................................................................................9
3.1. The relationship between Anxiety and Speaking................................................9
3.2. Causes of Speaking Anxiety...............................................................................9
3.3. Effects of Speaking Anxiety on the Learners’ Performance.............................10
3.4. Classroom Speaking Anxiety Detection Scales................................................10
4.Strategies for Coping with Speaking Anxiety.......................................................11
4.1. Students Strategies............................................................................................12
4.2. Teachers Strategies............................................................................................12
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................13

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Part Two: Review of Empirical Studies
Introduction..................................................................................................................15
1. Overvieww of the Articles.......................................................................................15
1.1.Woodrow, L. (2006) .........................................................................................15
1.2. Melouah, A. (2013)….......................................................................................16
1.3. Tran, T. T. L. (2022).........................................................................................17
2. The Three Articles’ Major Findings Analysis…………………………….……..17
3. Discussion of Findings.............................................................................................19
Conclusion.....................................................................................................................22
General Conclusion......................................................................................................23
References………………………………………………………………………….....25
Arabic Abstract ……………………………………………………………..…….…30

VII
 General introduction

In recent years, the study of second language acquisition (SLA) has garnered
significant attention within the realm of education. The development of effective
speaking skills in English Foreign Language (EFL) classroom setting has become a
focal point for educators and researchers alike. One intriguing factor that emerged as a
potential influence on the acquisition of speaking skills is anxiety. The latter is a
multifaceted psychological phenomenon that exerts a profound impact on language
learners' ability to communicate effectively.

Since the main aim to learn a second or a foreign language is to communicate with
it, students are required to learn how to speak that target language. Most of EFL
learners have a great amount of fear from speaking English because they think that
they must sound as natives. Teachers should inform them that making errors is part of
the learning process and mistakes are opportunities to learn to correct themselves.
Bassett (1985) said in that sense that “mistakes are opportunities for growth nothing
more”. Nevertheless, many students tend to avoid participation in oral classes and feel
the need to hide in order not to be addressed to talk. MacIntyre (1995) stated that
"Anxiety can disrupt the cognitive processes that support a fluent communication,
leading to an increased self-monitoring and reduced cognitive capacity for formulating
messages". It appeared that troubles expressing the necessary ideas and thoughts result
in troubles in personal, academic, professional, and civic lives. Therefore, the present
paper investigates the intricate relationship between anxiety and speaking and its
effects on the EFL learners' oral capacities.

The aim of this study is to shed light on how anxiety can impede or enhance the
development of EFL learners speaking skills. It tries to investigate the potential triggers
and how anxiety can be defined to raise students and teachers' awareness. The study
also elucidates a number of strategies used by students to cope with their anxiety, and
some techniques that teachers can implement to help students have a better learning
experience.

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 Understanding the dynamics of anxiety within the context of EFL speaking
performance holds practical implications for educators, and language learners alike.
The study tries to contribute to the enhancement of language teaching methodologies
and ultimately facilitate EFL students more effective language learning experiences, by
helping teachers understand anxiety from the learners’ perspective. The insights gained
from this study can inform the strategies development to decrease the anxiety-related
barriers and enhance some language acquisition outcomes.

The present work is a secondary research that consists of a general introduction, two
sections development and a general conclusion. First the general introduction contains
the background of the study, the statement of the research problem, the purpose, the
significance of the research, and the structure of the dissertation. The first part deals
with the theoretical background which focuses mainly on the speaking anxiety, foreign
language acquisition components and difficulties, the relationship between anxiety and
speaking, the causes and effects of a speaking anxiety, and the main strategies for
coping with it, according to different researchers’ studies. The second part represents
the empirical studies, and a systematic foundation to critically assess and analyse the
three selected articles in terms of research problems and questions, research design, in
addition to research results and findings.

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 PART ONE
Theoretical Background
Introduction
The present dissertation is concerned with revealing the impact of anxiety on the
speaking performance. Many EFL learners may struggle with this internal problem and
especially with the speaking anxiety, which might affect their oral performance.
Therefore, some researchers tackled this subject and tried to find the causes of the
existence of this barrier amongst learners, the effects anxiety has on their performance
and the most common strategies to deal with it in foreign language classes. The current
section presents a general insight on speaking anxiety and the effect it has on learners.
It comprises four parts. The first one provides some definitions about speaking and
foreign language acquisition. It deals also with the difficulties that learners face to
acquire a FL, and what are the origins of their speaking anxiety. The second part is
devoted to the definition of anxiety, its types and some of its eventual causes. For the
third part, it is devoted to the relationship speaking-anxiety and uncovers the effects
that impacts students’ overall speaking performance. Finally, the fourth part concludes
with an exploration of strategies aimed at mitigating the adverse effects of speaking
anxiety.

1.SPEAKING
1.1. Definition of Speaking

The concept of speaking is multidimensional, according to different scholars who

offer different views on what it means. Bygate (1987) defines speaking as the ability to
choose language appropriately, organize spoken information effectively, produce
native-sounding sounds, and convey understandable meanings to listeners. Littlewoods
(1981) emphasizes the importance of spoken language as a crucial part of the language
learning process and as the practical part of language acquisition. Cora and Knight
(2000) see language as the process of communicating verbally to convey messages in a
variety of situations and in appropriate contexts. They emphasize the importance of
integrating various aspects of speech such as tone, stress, intonation, speed of speech,

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gestures, facial expressions, etc., to deliver an intended message. For Hedge (2000)
other parts include the idea of speaking which reflects a competence, and argues that
speaking is a skill formation. This is to mean that speech in either the first or the
second language carries much weight, as it reflects individual thoughts and ideas.

Byram (1997) provides a brief definition of discourse competence, which “requires

not only the ability to produce grammatically correct words, but also the ability to
choose them and pronounce them appropriately, to respond to others.” They also need
to understand how the language is used in its social context or in its spoken community
so that they can use it appropriately.

1.2. Foreign Language Acquisition Definition (FLA)

The process of second language acquisition is defined differently according to

scholars views, however, it is generally agreed that it is a complex process that leads to
the development of several language skills. According to Stephen Krashan (1985), FLA
is the process by which non-native speakers acquire a second language in an
environment where that language is used. He argues that the most important factor in
FLA is to have a comprehensible input, which allows students to develop their
knowledge of the language through exposure. Krashan believes that learning and
acquisition are two separate processes, and learning paves the way to fluency. Based on
Kashan’s work, Michael Long (1996) defines FLA as “a process by which students
develop the ability to communicate using a second language”. She emphasizes the
importance of communication in FLA, arguing that students need practical
opportunities to use language in meaningful situations.

Communication enables students to develop their explicit knowledge of the

language, which is a conscious knowledge of the language acquired through exposure.
Long (1996) also believes that students should know the grammar and vocabulary of
the target language (TL), but have also to know that this knowledge should be acquired
through practice and not by simple explicit instructions.

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 Nigel Ellis (2008) views FLA as a cognitive process, and argues that learners need to
develop a mental representation of the target language grammar, vocabulary, and
phonology. He also believes that students should have a variety of inputs and need to
be actively involved in the learning process, which will allow students to develop a
deeper understanding of the language using it more effectively in a variety of contexts.

Christine Brown (2014) emphasizes the importance of fluency and accuracy in FLA,
arguing that students must possess these two skills to be considered good speakers. She
also believes that students should be aware of the cultural norms of the target language,
which will help them communicate effectively in the target language.

In general, scholars agree that exposure and practice are essential for a learner to
gain a clearer understanding of the language learned so as to use it correctly and reach
a certain proficiency.

1.3. Language Acquisition Components

Krashen (1982, pp.10-11) proposed the following four components for a second
language acquisition (SLA). He started by mentioning the “vocabulary learning”,
which is the process of learning a huge number of words, being at the basis of any
foreign language acquisition (FLA). He then emphasised on the “grammar structure
mastery”, that is the ability to use the rules of grammar correctly to reach a certain
accuracy. The latter reflects a language commend needed as a basic component in
foreign language acquisition. Krashen adds also other components that are obliged for
language mastery: “using tone, accent and rhythm is the way that a language is spoken,
including the pitch, stress, and rhythm of the syllables”. He reaches then, a basic
component for any language acquisition that is “the Pragmatic knowledge” that is the
competence of how to use language in different social contexts. It is considered as a
very sensitive domain since any FLL needs to acquire all the cultural values and
meanings that the foreign language society gives to words and expressions and be
aware of their correct use when speaking.

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 1.4. Foreign Language Difficulties

According to Stephen Krashen (1981), foreign language learning difficulties, are due
to the influence of students’ emotions and attitudes, which constitute a barrier to their
language acquisition. The main problems appear as follows.

-Anxiety and emotional factors: Language learners may feel anxious or fearful when
using the target language. These feelings can interfere with language acquisition
preventing learners from participating in language learning activities.
-Lack of motivation: Unmotivated learners may struggle to engage in the target
language. Low motivation hinders the language learning progress and reduces
student efforts and engagement in the curriculum.
-Self-concept and self-esteem: Language learners may feel self-conscious about their
language skills and worry about making mistakes or being judged by others. These
feelings can reduce students’ confidence and hinder their language development.
-Negative learning experiences: Past negative experiences such as harsh discipline or
failure can affect students’ language development. Negative experiences may lead to
avoidant behaviours and reduce willingness to take risks in language use.
-Cultural and social factors: Students from different cultures may face challenges due
to differences in cultural norms and social expectations. These cultural barriers can
cause difficulties in understanding and using the target language in different social
contexts.

As a matter of fact, anxiety is considered as the main barrier for FL acquisition and
learning.

2.ANXIETY
2.1.Definition of Anxiety
Most EFL learners experience the feeling of anxiety in their learning journey in a
way or another, because it is a common and natural human emotion that can be

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triggered by a minor stress or uncertainty. Anxiety is defined as a feeling of being
extremely concerned about something negative that will happen and increases to the
extent the learner is thinking about. (Oxford Advanced American Dictionary).
According to Horwitz (2001) anxiety refers to the feelings of unease, apprehension, or
nervousness experienced by learners in classroom language learning process.
Young (1991) defined also language anxiety as a complex emotional state arising
from the fear of negative evaluation by others, particularly in situations where the
individual is required to use a foreign language. It can manifest as fear of making
mistakes, nervousness during speaking performance, or discomfort in language-related
situations.
According to Mayer (2008) anxiety is a mind-body reaction that occurs
instantaneously, and is often gathered with physical sensations as an increased heart
rate, a shallow breathing, sweating, shakiness and headaches. It can appear also in
behavioural reactions by social situations avoidance, motionless, a difficulty of
speaking or pacing and also crying. Anxiety appears also on learners in several
psychological states of mind namely by showing nervousness or uneasiness, a loss of
concentration, fear, panic, frightening thoughts, or a poor memory.
2.2. Causes of Anxiety
Language anxiety is attributed to different causes. According to Bailey (1983),
competitiveness, tests, and students’ perceived relationship with their teachers can
cause classroom anxiety. As cited in Ghonsooly & Amiri, (2015, p. 856). Price (1991)
also stated that anxiety is often caused by some levels of difficulty felt in some foreign
language classes, when students’ have low personal perceptions of their own language
aptitude, or their personality variables. They can also be blocked by this feeling in
stressful experiences. (As cited in Zheng & Cheng, 2018, p. 2-3). Moreover, Horwitz et
al (1986) agreed upon the primary sources of language anxiety that are: communication
apprehension, fear of negative evaluation, and test anxiety.
2.3. Types of Anxiety

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 According to MacIntyre and Gardner (1991) there are three types of anxiety: trait,
state, and situation-specific anxiety.
The Trait anxiety: is a tendency to feel anxious across a variety of objectively, non-
threatening situations. Trait anxiety forms a part of the learner’s personality. It is "an
individual's likelihood of becoming anxious in any situation" (Spielberger, 1983, cite in
MacIntyre & Gardner, 1991, p.87).
The State anxiety: is a temporary experience of fear that is elicited from a real or
potential threatening situation. Spielberger (1983) defined the state anxiety as a sense
of uneasiness that can be experienced at a particular moment in time, as a response to a
definite situation; for example, prior to an examination.
The Situation specific anxiety: refers to the anxiety experienced in a well-defined
situation (MacIntyre& Gardner, 1991, p.90). It is temporary and context-dependent,
which means that it arises in response to particular circumstances and tends to subside
once the triggered event has passed such as when speaking a second language. It can
also be provoked by a particular type of situation or event according to MacIntyre&
Gardner. (1994).
In 1999, The Oxford dictionary added new classifications: Helpful and harmful, are
what was called the “facilitative” and “debilitative” anxiety by Dörneiy (2005)
Horwitz, (1986); Scovel (1978) and Young, (1991). On the one hand learners with a
facilitative anxiety, according to them, interpret stressors as challenges rather than
threats. For instance, some students get motivated before a test and study diligently to
perform well. According to Scovel (1978) the facilitative anxiety motivates the learner
to acquire knowledge and encourages them to make more efforts to reduce its negative
impact as stated by Scovel, (1978), (cited in Ellis1994:482).
The debilitative anxiety, on the other hand, interferes with people's performance. It
is widely common among EFL learners because it affects negatively their behaviour,
and creates an obstacle to their learning.

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3.SPEAKING ANXIETY
3.1. The Relationship between Anxiety and Speaking

The Relationship between Anxiety and speaking is a common fear that can affect
people's ability to learn a foreign language. It is noticed by feelings of nervousness,
worry, and fear when speaking in front of others. Young (1992) found that students
with a high level of speaking anxiety often perform poorly in oral presentations. They
may hesitate, stutter, or make other mistakes. Horwitz et al. (1986) suggest that
speaking anxiety is mostly related to oral communication and that foreign language
students often struggle with spontaneous speech. They emphasize the importance of
positive interactions between teachers and students in reducing anxiety levels. Huang
(2004) studied the relationship between speaking anxiety and gender, as well as the
learners' motivation and the timing of their English language learning. The results show
that women tend to experience more anxiety than men, and those who began learning
English in pre-school have lower levels of anxiety.

Woodrow (2006) made a research on the relationship between second language

anxiety and the speaking performance, as well as its main sources. Her study concluded
that speaking anxiety in a second language can significantly impair oral performance,
with native speakers being a major source of anxiety.

3.2. Causes of Speaking Anxiety

Speaking anxiety is a common problem that affects language learners and can hinder
their ability to develop their speaking skills. According to Mak (2011) and Liu (2006),
many learners prefer the written language comparing to the oral one due to feelings of
fear and significant hindrances. Speaking anxiety is the fear felt by individuals when
speaking in front of others (Zhanibek, 2001). Horwitz et al. (1986) suggested that this
speaking issue is primarily associated with the oral components of language, and
foreign language students often struggle with spontaneous oral communication. Daly
(1991) and Brown (2000) identified common reasons that cause speaking anxiety, such

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as being humiliated, poor preparation, feeling unconfident with physical looks, fear of
criticism by the audience, and low self-esteem. Brown (2012) found that past negative
experiences during public speaking engagements create lasting psychological impacts,
which lead to high anxiety levels. Johnson (2010) argued that cultural differences and
societal expectations play also a role in encouraging speaking anxiety among
individuals from diverse backgrounds.

3.3. Effects of Speaking Anxiety on the Learner’s Oral Performance

Horwitz, and Cope (1998) stated that anxiety is the main obstacle to overcome in
learning to speak any foreign language. Therefore, speaking anxiety impacts the
learner’s speaking performance negatively. Speech anxiety can hinder the learner’s
ability to express their ideas clearly and coherently, which results in grammatical
mistakes, pronunciation, and vocabulary problems leading to misunderstandings and
misinterpretations. Zheng (2008) claims that speaking anxiety influences the speed, the
accuracy, and the quality of communication output as the delivery of information has a
strong desire to finish the speech as soon as possible, therefore they stutter and bumble
which reduces fluency. According to MacIntyre and Gardner (1991), speaking anxious
students tend to withdraw from participating in the classroom. This behaviour deprives
learners from opportunities to practice their language, and consequently have low
speaking ability, bad performance in oral exams and thus, bad grades. Richmond and
Falcoine (1977) discovered that students with high levels of speech anxiety have poor
self-esteems. Generally, speaking anxiety impacts negatively the development of the
needed speaking skills in particular and the language learning process in general.

3.4. Classroom speaking Anxiety Detection Scales

Throughout years several instruments were used to assess foreign language speaking
anxiety in a classroom through questionnaires, interviews, and diaries. One of the most
frequently used scales to detect the Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety was Horwitz
(1986) FLCAS. It is a questionnaire of a thirty-three items relating to communication

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apprehension, test anxiety and fear of negative evaluation. The individuals indicate the
degree to which each statement applies to them by marking whether they 1)strongly
disagree, 2) disagree , 3) are neutral, 4) agree, 5) or strongly agree. (Horwitz, 1991:22
cited in Khalloufi Sellam). Recently, an eight-item Short-Form FLCAS was developed
by Öztürk and Gürbüz in 2013 to stand for a new referential Foreign Language
Speaking Anxiety Scale (FLSAS). It measures the students’ level of anxiety
experienced when speaking that language.

Woodrow (2006) is also a scholar who developed another scale known as the Second
Language Speaking Anxiety Scale (SLSAS). The latter adopted a classification scheme
composed of 27 items about the “in-class anxiety” and “out-of-class anxiety”. Another
scale that was used to specially measure the anxiety levels in public speaking is the
Personal Report of Communication Apprehension (PRCA-24) by McCroskey (1978).
This one was composed of twenty four statements detecting the different feelings when
communicating with others.

Measuring the level of anxiety for all these scholars was considered as helpful in
developing teachers and students’ awareness regarding its negative influence on oral
communication. These scales were established to eventually design some appropriate
interventions to support students to better their oral participations.

4.STRATEGIES FOR COPING WITH SPEAKING ANXIETY

To remedy to the negative effects that anxiety leaves on students, scholars studied
seriously this issue and sorted out with some strategies to help learners in their
language learning acquisition and practice. Some of those strategies were destinated to
learners to empower them and help them enhance their language acquisition, while
others concerned teachers, who needed to use those strategies to encourage their

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learners to get out from their internal hindrance and help them reach a certain language
learning level, mostly in speech.

4.1. Students’ strategies

From the students’ perspective, coping with anxiety is an important component of

both academic performance and well-being. Scholars have settled some strategies to
help students manage anxiety. These are the following: Conley and Lehman (2012)
recommend mindfulness practices such as meditation and deep relaxation to reduce
anxiety levels. Bandura’s theory of self-efficacy (1977) emphasizes the importance of
developing control and confidence in one’s ability to manage anxiety. This can be
achieved by setting goals and gradually expand the challenges. Smith and Jones (2021)
emphasize the importance of social support. Building strong support networks,
including friends, family, and mentors, can provide students with valuable emotional
support during times of stress and anxiety. To overcome anxiety in language learning,
many studies have examined learners’ personal and social factors to identify
appropriate coping strategies. Yasuda and Nabei (2018) found that there is a limited
understanding of students’ backgrounds and the instructional environment they
encounter. However, several studies have identified effective coping strategies for
public speaking anxiety, such as cognitive restructuring, systematic desensitization,
skills training, and physical relaxation exercises (Daly, 1991; Brown, 2000; Allen et al.,
2009). Kondo and Ying-Ling (2004) on their part identified 70 basic strategies for
coping with foreign language anxiety; these can be reduced into five main macro
strategies related to: cognitive, affective, behavioural, social, and physiological levels.
Raja (2017) suggested practicing and rehearsing before presentations or public
speaking engagements can help reduce anxiety levels.

4.2. Teachers' strategies

Anxiety is clearly qualified as a serious issue in language learning and has

debilitating effects on some students speaking skill. Therefore, it is important that

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teachers detect the anxious learners to provide them help so as to minimize its effects
on their language acquisition. According to (Liu and Jackson, 2008; Hashemi and
Abbashi, 2013; Djaith, 2016; Tahiri Bachari, 2020) the following are the main
strategies used to help students from anxiety hindrance.

-Teachers should not be overly serious and strict with their students. They have to
establish a non-threatening learning environment to encourage students to participate
and start speaking in the target language.
-Teachers should emphasize more on formative assessment and feedback to reduce
students’ fear of negative evaluation.
-Motivating and comforting students by facial expressions (smiling), body language,
use of humour, and verbal motivation (It is okay to make mistakes/ we are here to
learn) are considered as a great psychological help to make them trust themselves and
their surroundings.
-It is necessary for teachers to know their students’ interests and make various
activities to keep their attention.
-Allow them enough time to think, organize, and communicate their thoughts.
-Direct them through their talk by suggesting words and ideas, and asking alternative
questions.
-It is important to provide various kinds of material such ICTs where learners can
practice their speaking skills with people on different situations.
-Use different Cooperative learning tasks as for instance: pair or group work.

Conclusion

For long years anxiety has always been considered as an obstacle to language
acquisition and learning as it obstructs the development of the necessary skills to
master any language. Anxious students may have many difficulties namely; in learning,
in expressing themselves and in coping with their class surrounding. It makes them
nervous which results in poor language acquisition and practice. Since the goal of most
EFL learners is to communication in the target language, it becomes hard for them to

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realize it, due to speaking anxiety. A considerable link was then, established between
speaking anxiety and the speaking performance. Therefore, students and teachers must
be aware of the existence of such relationship and the consequences left behind it. This
is in the aim to hinder its negative effects and design some appropriate interventions to
maintain a good learning/ teaching atmosphere.

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 PART TWO

Review of Empirical Studies

Introduction

The current part intends to compare and critically discuss three research articles from
different contexts discussing the issue of anxiety and its impact on foreign language
speaking. The selected articles revealed some crucial information in relation to the
effect of anxiety on foreign language speaking in different parts of the world. These
studies may help rising awareness among teachers regarding learners’ struggles to
enhance their learning process. The present part is divided into three main sections. The
first one exposes an overview of the selected articles in terms of their context of the
study, participants, and research instruments. The second part deals with the analysis
comparing and contrasting the major findings of the three studies. The third section is
devoted to the discussion of the findings and their connection to the different theories
mentioned in the theoretical background in relation to anxiety and the learners’
speaking performance. It entails an answer to the research problem alongside with the
conclusion of this part.

1. The Articles Overview

The following section provides an overview of the articles that investigated the
impact of anxiety on the learners’ speech.

1.1. Woodrow, L. (2006). Anxiety and Speaking English as a Second

Language. https://doi.org/10.1177/0033688206071315
The first study was conducted by Lindy Woodrow, in 2006. It sought to investigate a
group of learners’ language learning anxiety. The sample represented students studying
English for academic purposes at Sydney University in Australia. The study addresses
the conceptualization of the second language speaking anxiety, the relationship
between anxiety and second language performance, and the major reported causes of
second language anxiety.

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 The researcher adopted a mixed method approach to collect data. The second
language speaking anxiety scale (SLSAS) was used in view of finding some answers to
this kind of issue in FLL classes. The questionnaire consists of twelve items on a five-
point Likert type scale. The items reflected the communicative situations the
participants were likely to encounter according to a given setting, interlocutor
(speaker/listen) variables, and the nature of communication. The performance was
measured using an IELTS type oral assessment. It consists of three stages: introduction
and general interview, individual long turn and two way discussion. Forty-seven
participants took part in an interview with the researcher to provide further insights into
perceived stressors in speaking English in a second language environment. The
participants, 275 students the majority of them from Asian countries, were all in their
final months of studying English immediately prior to enrolling on university courses
in Australia.

The results indicated a support for a dual conceptualization of second language

anxiety, an existence of a negative relationship between second language anxiety and
oral performance, and the interaction with native speakers as the main source of
anxiousness.

1.2. Melouah, A. (2013). Foreign Language Anxiety in EFL Speaking

Classroom. https://awej.org/images/AllIssues/Volume4/Volume4Number1March2013/6.pdf

The second study was published in the Arab World English Journal in 2013 by Asma
Melouah. It was a case study of first-year English LMD student, at Saad Dahlab
University of Blida, Algeria. The study attempted to examine the nature of anxiety
experienced by first year LMD students when speaking EFL in oral classes, and the
possible factors generating foreign language speaking anxiety in classes.

The participants were 30 first year LMD students, randomly chosen from the
department of English, aged between 17 and 22. A questionnaire of twenty-three items
was distributed to all students involved to collect data. The questionnaire was a

16
modified version of the original (FLCAS) to measure the speaking anxiety. Hence, the
(FLSAS) was constructed. The questionnaire’s analyzed data revealed that most
freshmen students experience a debilitative anxiety during oral classes, mostly due to
fear of interaction with others, and low self-esteem.

1.3. Tran, T. T. L. (2022). An Investigation into the Causes of Students'

Anxiety in Learning English Speaking Skills. https://doi.org/10.54855/ijte.222312

The last study was conducted by Tran Thi Trang Loan, in 2022, in Vietnam. Its main
aim was to investigate the causes of students’ anxiety in learning English speaking
skills, and which strategies should be used to help students overcome their fear in
learning speaking skills.

To set up the study, 150 non-English major freshmen from College Electro-
Mechanics, Construction, and Agro-forestry of Central Vietnam (CECAC), and 4
teachers of English speaking skills were randomly selected. It involves the collection
and the analysis of both some quantitative and qualitative data. Accordingly, the study
is quantitative for the use of a questionnaire that includes both closed and open-ended
questions, and is qualitative because of the use of a semi-structured interview with the
teachers and 6 random students out of 150.

The findings of the study revealed that the reasons causing speaking anxiety among
the students were mostly internal, from their teachers, and other sources as well.
Regarding strategic methods, both teachers and students should help from their part to
help motivate anxious students to participate in the oral class tasks to better their
performance.

2. The Three Articles’ Major Findings Analysis

The findings section presents the results of the study in a non-interpretive way. It
compares and contrasts the major findings of the three articles, which all investigated

17
the relationship between anxiety and EFL speaking, and its causes and effects on the
speaking performance. The studies used similar qualitative and quantitative
instruments, such as questionnaires, interviews, and observations. The three studies
were conducted with small sample sizes to maximize the participants’ learning
experience, yet they used different data collection and analysis methods.

All of the three studies revealed that almost all the participants suffer from a
debilitative anxiety while speaking English, which has a negative impact on their oral
communication. The participants in Woodrow’s (2006) study are highly to experience
speaking anxiety inside and outside of the classroom because they are non-English
speaking foreigners in an English speaking country. Meanwhile, the students in
Melouah’s (2013) study are Algerians and English is not used on daily basis in Algeria,
they are most likely to experience speaking anxiety during oral lessons or while
addressed to speak in class.

The articles also investigated the causes of speaking anxiety. Depending on

Woodrow's (2006) SLSAS and the interviews she made with students. The most
common causes given for an “inside” anxiety were: the oral presentations or the role-
play delivery, when asked a question by the teacher for an oral assessment, and in
formal discussions. Concerning the “outside” anxiety causes, they reveal the strong
feeling of anxiety that learners have when speaking to native speakers in general.
However, the causes discovered in Melouah’s (2013) study framed: the teachers’ error
corrections, the lack of language proficiency, the lack of self-confidence, the fear of
interacting with their classmates, and the fear of the perception of others. Nevertheless,
the findings of Tran’s (2022) study revealed that the first barrier that makes Vietnamese
students anxious while speaking English is the students’ self-perceived language
competence. They believe that their vocabulary is not broad enough, their grammar is
poor, and their pronunciation sounds embarrassing. In addition to their fear of making
mistakes, being corrected and evaluated.

18
 Furthermore, all three studies concluded that speaking anxiety has a negative
influence on the learner’s speaking performance, that it can hinder their learning
journey, which systematically messes with their academic and personal lives.
Therefore, teachers should undertake some pedagogical implications to reduce learners’
anxiety when teaching English or make other students cope with it while learning. The
Table 7 from Woodrow’s (2006) study shows the coping strategies used by the
students, which are: perseverance, compensation, language skills improvement, and the
use of relaxation techniques and positive self-talk. At the end of Melouah’s (2013)
article, she gave some suggestions to foreign language teachers namely: Provide
opportunities for students to practice language in a comfortable environment without
being evaluated or judged. Help students acknowledge their anxiety and its sources and
develop strategies to cope with it. Allow students to learn in a variety of settings, such
as pairs or small groups. Also incorporate games and role plays in the classroom.
According to the results of the interview in Tran’s (2022) study, teachers must change
their “traditional ways” of teaching and renew them by varying the activities, and
choosing nowadays topics. Vietnamese students agreed that a loving teacher who has a
sense of humour can ease their anxiousness. For students, two techniques were most
suggested; namely, more oral practice and listening ability improvement.

Overall, the findings of the three studies provided valuable insights into the
interacting link between anxiety and English language speaking performance in an EFL
classroom. These findings can be used to design and implement more effective
interventions to reduce anxiety in order to improve students' speaking skills and
enhance their foreign language learning.

3. Discussion of the Findings

The three articles tackle the topic of the causes and effects of anxiety on learners’
speaking skills. The findings of the articles offer valuable insights into the nature of

19
anxiety experienced by EFL students, the triggers behind their anxiousness while
communicating, and some strategies regarding both teachers and students to reduce its
effects. The present section is to treat the findings according to the principles of the
aforementioned theories selected in the literature review.

The three studies consistently revealed that anxiety can adversely affect students’
oral communication by hindering their language capacities. Woodrow's (2006) study
shows that non-English-speakers or foreigners proved as participants in the research
experiment, that the speaking anxiety exists both inside and outside the classroom. Due
to the students’ immersion in an English-speaking environment, a great deal of
interaction in English occurs outside of the classroom, which creates them a feeling of
anxiety. A participant reported their experience when speaking in English out of the
class “I know my English... my speaking English...is not correct, so maybe it makes the
native speakers confused and maybe sometimes what I’m talking about is not
interesting.” The student is concerned with whether the listener can understand them or
judges their English. Therefore, when they experience the fear of a negative evaluation
this negative feeling grows in him causing an internal panic. The students experiencing
"in-class" anxiety stated “When I stand in front of my classmates to make a
presentation I feel anxious because I lack practice in speaking.” “When I speak to my
teacher and ask questions I usually feel very anxious... I can’t remember anything.”
Thus, the main stressors that trigger their anxiety is giving presentations, and asking
questions, due to lack of practice and information retrieval problems.

Most students tend to feel that they must sound like natives when they do speak the
target language, while they forget that practice is the key to perfection. If they do not
speak their broken English and make mistakes there will not be aware of their
weaknesses and will not have the chance to correct them. They will consequently, not
be able to develop their English, and therefore, will be unable to communication
effectively. The participants also highlighted some of the ways they dealt with their
speaking anxiety. Some preferred perseverance by talking again and again and not

20
giving up. This technique helps students memorize the new knowledge and retrieve it
when needed. Others use relaxation techniques, trying deep breathing and positive self
talk like “I can do this” “It is just speaking, and we practiced it before” This might be
the best technique while facing a speaking anxiety attack because it reassures the
speaker and somehow boost their self-esteem (Young 1991; Zeidner 1998).

Melouah (2013) examined the nature of Algerian students' anxiety during the oral
classes. The results showed that most of the students experience debilitative anxiety
while attending oral classes. Since English is considered as a third language in Algeria,
so not commonly used in daily life but rather in classes; the participants did not
encounter interactions outside the classroom, which hinder their opportunities to
practice the language, letting them the few hours of oral lessons to speak, where
classrooms are crowded. This kind of setting might interfere with a person’s behaviour
and make them anxious, afraid of making mistakes, and worried about being judged
while interacting with their peers or the teacher, which in return results in avoidance of
the class interaction, and therefore, missing opportunities to practice their spoken
language.

These findings corroborate Subaşı’s (2010) study who found that sources like fear of
negative evaluation, teachers’ manners of error corrections, student’s low language
proficiency and self- perception impacted negatively Turkish EFL students’ speaking.
Based on these results, Melouah suggested some implications to help reduce speaking
anxiety in the EFL oral classroom, mainly: establishing a pleasant, competition-free
atmosphere where the students are encouraged to express freely without fear of being
judged or ridiculed. The oral sessions should be the outlet for students where they
practice their speaking abilities and correct each other through teacher-student or
student-student interactions. In order to raise teachers’ awareness about the negative
impact that the speaking anxiety can have on learners; they should apply new
communicative techniques and rely more on the students’ centre learning to have less
teachers’ direct assessments. This will enable teachers identify anxious learners among

21
other students to help them reduce their high amount of anxiety that is at the origin of
their speech hindrance.

Similarly, in a study of Vietnamese learners by Tran (2022), it was noticed that these
learners are often afraid of making mistakes, afraid of being ridiculed, and afraid of
being misunderstood. They are afraid to speak in public because of lack of confidence.
Tran’s research revealed a variety of strategies that could be used to address this
concern. For example, students may need to learn spoken English outside of class, use
relaxation techniques, and pretend in many speech situations. Furthermore, seeking
support from teachers or peers also proved to be beneficial for these students. The
findings confirmed that the speaking anxiety is a common issue among Vietnamese
learners. This study shows not only the prevalence of the speaking anxiety among
learners but also suggests a number of proactive strategies to improve their language
acquisition. Tran emphasizes the importance of classroom emphasizing a “supportive
and encouraging” environment for students. Regular language skills have been shown
to be an effective way to help students monitor their progress. Encouraging students to
use English outside the classroom, using a patient and an understanding approach can
help overcome anxiety and develop effective communication skills. By combining
these strategies teachers can play an important role in guiding their students to effective
language learning experiences.

Conclusion

The second part of the work examined more closely three educational articles
focusing on the relationship between anxiety and EFL speaking skills. This section is
divided into three main parts: an overview of the content, participants and research
methods, a comparison and contrast of the major key findings, and a discussion of
these findings in relation to theories related to anxiety and speaking. This discussion

22
aimed to address the research question and provided conclusions to the issue discussed
in this work.

23
 General conclusion

The increased focus on the communicative skills in teaching foreign languages, and
in our case teaching English as a Foreign Language (EFL), leads people to perceive
anxiety as a major barrier. This secondary research examined the complex relationship
existing between the EFL learners’ internal barrier represented by anxiety and their
language speaking performance.

This work sheds light on a crucial concern that EFL teaching and learning are
suffering from especially in the oral communicative domain. By examining the issues
of anxiety from different perspectives, this study contributes to a broader understanding
of its impact on EFL learners. The journey through the theoretical and empirical
aspects of this research has highlighted the complexity and implications of speech
anxiety. Armed with practical insights and interventions, teachers and students can
apply them to overcome the challenges posed by this psychological barrier to
ultimately support an effective speaking skill and enable a better oral communicative
language development.

Three research articles were compared and contrasted to investigate the primary
causes of anxiety, and their impact on EFL learners’ oral communicative skill. These
Studies pointed that a significant number of English language learners have already
experienced a primary language anxiety. This barrier originating from a variety of
factors namely; communication with native speakers, the fear of a negative evaluation,
a limited vocabulary, and many other reasons, were detected as the most alerting causes
for breaking the learners’ oral communication and reaches to interfere with the whole
language learning process.

In response, this study provides practical interventions to create a supportive

environment for skill development. These activities include strategies such as drills,
rehearsals, games, and pair work. By incorporating these strategies, teachers and

24
students can jointly address the challenges of speaking anxiety and improve speaking
skills.

This work highlights the critical relationship between anxiety and the overall speech
performance hindrance, and the importance of paving the way towards effective
solutions to help learners enhance their oral capacities. It is, therefore, important for
teachers and students to understand the implications of this connection to lower the
impact of this barrier and plan an appropriate use of materials to create a positive and
productive learning environment.

25
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 ‫‪Arabic Abstract‬‬

‫الملخص‬

‫في اآلونة األخيرة أصبح إتقان مهارات التواصل أهم جانب في تعلم اللغة اإلنجليزية‬
‫كلغة أجنبية مقارنة بالمهارات اللغوية األخرى‪ .‬ومع ذلك‪ ،‬لوحظت صعوبة تحقيق مستوى‬
‫مقبول في عملية التواصل الشفوي لدى عدد كبير من متعلمي اللغات األجنبية‪ .‬تم تحديد‬
‫هذا العائق التواصلي استنادا على عوامل مختلفة مثل القلق والذي هو في طليعة مشاكل‬
‫ممارسة اللغة لدى المتعلمين‪ .‬تهدف الدراسة الحالية إلى مقارنة ثالث مقاالت تبحث في‬
‫العالقة المعقدة بين القلق وأداء متعلمي اللغة اإلنجليزية كلغة أجنبية‪ .‬يسعى هذا العمل‬
‫إلى اكتشاف أسباب هذا القلق وتأثيره على قدرات التواصل الشفهي لمتعلمي اللغة‬
‫اإلنجليزية كلغة أجنبية‪ .‬المشاركون في المقاالت هم جامعيون متعلمون للغة اإلنجليزية‬
‫كلغة أجنبية من سياقات جغرافية مختلفة حيث يتم استخدام كل من األساليب النوعية‬
‫والكمية كمنهجيات بحث‪ .‬وفقا للنتائج‪ ،‬عانى عدد كبير من متعلمي اللغة اإلنجليزية من‬
‫القلق‪ ،‬ال سيما في مرحلة التحدث‪ ،‬وهو الذي يمكن أن ينتج عن مصادر مختلفة مثل‬
‫التحدث مع الناطقين األصليين بها‪ ،‬والخوف من التقييم السلبي‪ ،‬والمفردات المحدودة؛‬
‫مما يؤثر على قدرتهم على التواصل بفعالية‪ ،‬الذي بدوره يعيق عملية التعلم الخاصة بهم‪.‬‬
‫لذلك تقدم هذه الدراسة للمعلمين والمتعلمين تدخالت عملية بما في ذلك الممارسة‬
‫والبروفات واأللعاب وتوفير التغذية الراجعة والعمل الجماعي من أجل توفير معرفة‬
‫معمقة حول قلق التحدث وكيفية التغلب على العقبات التي تعيق تطوير استخدام الطالب‬
‫للغة‪.‬‬

‫الكلمات المفتاحية ‪ :‬مهارة التواصل ‪،‬عقبات التحدث ‪،‬القلق ‪،‬عائق التواصل ‪،‬استخدام‬
‫اللغة األجنبية‪.‬‬

‫‪31‬‬