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International Journal of Language Learning and Applied Linguistics World (IJLLALW)

Volume 4 (3), November 2013; 179-‐196 Hamid Reza Reyhan Ebrahimi EISSN: 2289-‐2737 & ISSN: 2289-‐3245 www.ijllalw.org

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ANXIETY AS A DETERRING ELEMENT IN LEARNING ENGLISH FOR ORAL COMMUNICATION AMONG EFL

STUDENTS

Hamid Reza Reyhan Ebrahimi Department of English, Islamic Azad University, Abadan Branch, Abadan, Iran

Email: [email protected] ABSTRACT The present study was designed to investigate the effects of anxiety on English language oral performance. In so doing, one hundred undergraduate students doing English in Islamic Azad University ― located in Abadan, Iran ― participated voluntarily in the experiment of this research and were asked to answer a Horwitz-based 33-item questionnaire. Analyses of the data revealed that foreign language anxiety remarkably impinges upon learners’ English speaking. Likewise, the main sources of anxiety were identified as: appearing in front of the audience, making mistakes, losing face, inability to express oneself, fear of failure, teachers as class authorities, and fear of not achieving up to the expectations. Further findings also suggested that anxiety can originate from learners’ own feelings, language learning and language speaking difficulties, and fear of being negatively evaluated. The above findings along with a few more, such as the lack of motivation and interest, helped to conclude that teachers can dispel students’ feelings of anxiety through establishing a friendly learning environment in class filled with care and mutual respect as well as sense of direction and fun. KEYWORDS: Anxiety, English as a Foreign Language, Speaking Skill, Communicative Competence, Communication Apprehension. INTRODUCTION The role of anxiety is one major topic which has increasingly drawn the attention of those involved in the study of foreign language leaning and speaking. A rich body of research and literature has been presented related to EFL learners when asked to perform oral tasks in their English learning classes. This paper will attempt to address this issue in an effort to dig up the reasons that cause foreign language communication anxiety and explain how learners would be best off by taming this mood which very often has a debilitative impact on learning and performing a foreign language. A large number of learners express their inability and sometimes even acknowledge their failure in learning to speak a second/foreign language. These learners may be good at learning other skills but, when it comes to learning to speak another language, they claim to have a ‘mental block’ against it (Horwitz et al., 1986: 125). What, then, hinders them to succeed in learning a second/foreign language? In many cases, students’ feeling of stress, anxiety or nervousness may



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impede their language learning and performance abilities. Theorists and second language acquisition (SLA) researchers have frequently demonstrated that these feelings of anxiety are specifically associated with learning and speaking a second/foreign language, which distinguishes L2/FL learning from learning other skills or subjects. Both teachers and students are aware and generally have a strong feeling that anxiety is a major hurdle to be overcome when learning to speak another language. Learning a language itself is “a profoundly unsettling psychological proposition” because it directly threatens an individual’s ‘self-concept’ and world-view (Guiora, 1983 cited in Horwitz et al., 1986: 28). LITERATURE REVIEW Anxiety: Definition Darwin (1872) thought of anxiety as an emotional reaction that is aroused when an organism feels physiologically under threat. At the beginning of the twentieth century, Freud (1925) thought that anxiety was akin to ‘fear’ or ‘fright’. He stated, “I avoid entering upon the discussion as to whether our language means the same or distinct things by the word anxiety, fear or fright. I think anxiety is used in connection with a condition regardless of any objective, while fear is essentially directed toward an object. (p. 343) Later in the following decades, anxiety was seen as a state of “apprehension, a vague fear that is only indirectly associated with an object” (Scovel, 1975, p. 134). Rholes, Riskind, and Neville (1985) submitted that anxiety may originate when physical peril is expected, and while both anxiety and depression may arise following a loss, anxiety on its own appears when a loss is anticipated. May (1977) saw it as “an emotional response to threat to some value that the individual holds essential to his existence as a personality” (p. 205). Types of Anxiety State Anxiety versus Trait Anxiety There are several kinds of anxiety the two most well-known of which are state anxiety and trait anxiety. State anxiety, on one hand, is fleeting and not an enduring characteristic of an individual’s personality. It is a “transitory state or condition of the organism that varies in intensity and fluctuates over time” (Spielberger, 1966, p. 12). Spielberger (1983) gives as an example of state anxiety the apprehension experienced before taking an examination. Trait anxiety, on the other hand, has been referred to as “a constant condition without a time limitation” (Levitt, 1980, p. 11), and is a stable feature of personality, referring to an “acquired behavioral disposition that predisposes an individual to perceive a wide range of objectively non-dangerous circumstances as threatening” (Spielberger, 1966, p. 16). Situation-Specific Anxiety The ideas and discussions over state anxiety and trait anxiety which were dealt with in the previous section gave rise to the notion of so-called ‘situation-specific’ anxiety. The latter can be “considered to be the probability of becoming anxious in a particular type of situation, such as during tests (labeled as ‘test anxiety’), when solving mathematics problems (math anxiety) or



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when speaking a second language (language anxiety)”. (MacItyre & Gardner, 1994b, p. 2). The author Oh (1990) thought of foreign language anxiety as a “situation-specific anxiety that students experience in the classroom which is characterized by self-centered thoughts, feelings of inadequacy, fear of failure, and emotional reactions in the language classroom” (p. 56). MacIntyre and Gardner (1989) put forward the idea that situation-specific anxiety solidifies (p. 272) in a language learner as a result of suffering state anxiety on several occasions. Facilitating Anxiety and Debilitating Anxiety A distinction has been made between facilitating anxiety and debilitating anxiety by other approaches (Alpert & Haber, 1960; Kleinmann, 1977; Scovel, 1978). Facilitating anxiety, as the name suggests, is thought to be a kind of anxiety that improves learning and performance. Early research suggested that different quantities of facilitating anxiety and debilitating anxiety may be present in the same individual at the same time: Alpert and Haber (1960) asserted that “an individual may possess a large amount of both anxieties, or of one but not the other, or of none of either” (p. 213). It has been proposed that facilitating anxiety and debilitating anxiety may function together (Scovel, 1978). Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Various studies comparing students’ levels of anxiety in their foreign language class to their other classes (e.g. math, history, etc.) indicate that students experience considerably more anxiety in their foreign language classes (Muchnik & Wolfe, 1982; Horwitz et al., 1986; MacIntyre & Gardner, 1989). The concept of ‘foreign language anxiety’ is still in its infancy, thus second language research has not yet adequately defined it in precise terms (Horwitz et al., 1986). Further, there are many varying degrees of intensity, which seemingly make it difficult to apply boundaries towards a set definition (MacIntyre & Gardner, 1991; Doyon, 2000). Some generalizations can, however, be made. Gardner and MacIntyre (1993: 5) define language anxiety as “the apprehension experienced when a situation requires the use of a second language with which the individual is not fully proficient”. Some of the symptoms include nervousness, tension, apprehension, and introversion. Arising out of discussions with beginner foreign language students about anxiety experiences at the Learning Skills Center at the University of Texas, Horwitz and her colleagues (1986) described the physiological and psychological symptoms of this phenomenon, many of which occur in anxious states in general: “ tenseness, trembling, perspiring, palpitations, and sleep disturbances” (p. 129). Anxiety was also observed in language learners in such symptoms as ‘freezing’ in class, ‘going blank’ before exams, and feeling reticence about entering the classroom (Horwitz, 1986, p. 128). They researchers noted how these learners experience apprehension, worry, even dread. They have difficulty concentrating, become forgetful, sweat, and have palpitations. They exhibit avoidance behavior such as missing class and postponing homework (p.126).



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These observations and discussions led the authors to put forward a definition for foreign language classroom anxiety as “a distinct complex of self-perceptions, beliefs, feelings, and behaviors related to classroom language learning arising from the uniqueness of the language learning process” (Horwitz, 1986, p. 128). Effects of anxiety on Learning Much of the early research (Chastain, 1975; Kleinmann, 1977; Scovel, 1978) devoted to anxiety and language learning was difficult to interpret because of its contradictory results. Part of the reason for this has been attributed to the general measurement employed. Some of the early research suggests that a certain amount of anxiety can actually help learners’ performance in the classroom (Scovel, 1978). For example, Kleinmann (1977) reports positive correlations between facilitating anxiety and the use of more difficult linguistic structures. However, as Gardner and MacIntyre (1993) have suggested, this may have more to do with the general measures taken in the studies. More recent studies, using a more specific approach to measurement, support the widespread view that anxiety generally has a debilitating effect on L2 performance (Gardner et al., 1976; Horwitz et al., 1986; Gardner & MacIntyre, 1993). Some studies have shown that anxiety influences the communication strategies learners employ in a language class. Ely (1986), For instance, reports that anxious learners were less likely to take risks in the language class. Similarly, Steinberg and Horwitz (1986) found that anxious learners produced less interpretive and more concrete messages than relaxed learners. The results found in these studies are consistent with research on other types of specific communication anxiety, which states that anxious learners generally speak, write, and participate less in the language classroom than relaxed students (Spolsky, 1989). Causes of Language Anxiety Horwitz et al. (1986) theorize that foreign language anxiety in the classroom can be attributed to three performance anxieties: communication apprehension, social evaluation, and test anxiety. First, communication apprehension may be defined as the fear over the real or anticipated act of speaking. It is this type of anxiety that teachers find most prevalent in oral EFL classes in Japan. Second, social evaluation may be defined as the worry over how one’s actions will be perceived by others in the social setting. It is this type of anxiety that Zimbardo (1977) reports to be predominant in Japanese society. Lastly, test anxiety may be defined as the fear of failure, especially when skills are being measured formally as in exams. This theory is largely based on clinical experience and anecdotal evidence; however, it has received large support in terms of research activity and validating evidence is accumulating. The components receiving the strongest support seem to be communication apprehension and social evaluation, while the importance of test anxiety remains inconclusive (MacIntyre & Gardner, 1991). Other studies have also helped us in understanding the causes of language anxiety. For instance, Bailey’s study (1983) in which she analyzed learners’ diaries found that learners’ competitive natures can act as a source of anxiety. In addition, some researchers have claimed that students may suffer language anxiety due to cultural inhibitions. Oxford (1992) likens this to the concept



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known as culture shock. Learners may fear the experience of losing their identities in the target culture (Ellis 1994). Previous Research The academic literature has offered a somewhat confusing account of language anxiety. Researchers have been unable to draw a clear picture of how anxiety affects language learning and performance. Some researchers reported a negative relationship between language anxiety and achievement, e.g. the higher the anxiety, the lower the performance, (Clement, Gardner, & Smythe, 1977, 1980: cited in Onwuegbuzie et al., 1999: 218). Others reported no relationship, or a positive relationship (Pimsleur, Mosberg, & Morrison, 1962; Backman, 1976; Scovel, 1978: cited in 1999:218). More recently, Horwitz (2001:121) has reiterated that the issue of understanding the relationship between anxiety and achievement is unresolved. The reason for these mixed results is perhaps, as stated by Philip (cited in Shams, 2006: 8), that “a comparison of the experimental research examining the relationship between anxiety and second language learning is, to a degree, perplexing, presenting some conflicting evidence and illustrating that anxiety is a complex, multi-faceted construct.” In addition to the negative effects of anxiety on language learning and performance, anxiety has occasionally been found to facilitate language learning. Anxiety, in its debilitating and facilitating forms, serves simultaneously to motivate and to warn the learner. Facilitating anxiety “motivates the learner to “fight” the new learning task; it gears the learner emotionally for approach behavior” (Scovel, 1991:22). Debilitating anxiety, in contrast, “motivates the learner to “flee” the new learning task; it stimulates the individual emotionally to adopt avoidance behavior” (1991:22). Language Anxiety in the Speaking Skill For many years it has been the common concern of EFL teachers to observe students’ apprehension during oral activities and especially during oral tests. Therefore, it will be interesting to read about how other researchers had delved into this issue. The literature suggests that the speaking skill is extremely anxiety-provoking in many language learners and that it is often seen to arouse more anxiety than the other skills. Indeed, Daly (1991, cited in Von Worde, (2003) reported that in some individuals “fear of giving a speech in public exceeded such phobias as fear of snakes, elevators, and heights” (p. 3). Anxiety reactions suffered by many students when speaking or when being asked by the teacher to speak in the foreign language classroom include “distortion of sounds, inability to reproduce the intonation and rhythm of the language, ‘freezing up’ when called on to perform, and forgetting words or phrases just learned or simply refusing to speak and remaining silent” (Young, 1991, p. 430). Horwitz et al. (1986) found that in counseling sessions at the Learning Skills Center at the University of Texas students said that they had most problems in the listening and speaking skills, with “difficulty in speaking in class [being] probably the most frequently cited concern of



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the anxious foreign language students” (p. 126). Learners said that they had time to plan their spoken interventions, but would “freeze” (p. 126) if they had to speak spontaneously. RESEARCH QUESTION What elements constitute the sources of anxiety in foreign language learners when they try to speak in the new language? METHODOLOGY Participants The participants in this study were recruited from the English Department in Abadan Islamic Azad University (Khoozestan, Iran). A total of 100 students volunteered for this research survey. Within the sample, 31 (N = 100) of the participants were male and 69 (N = 100) of them were female (Table 1 in Appendix 1). All of the experiment subjects had attended standardized English classes in guidance school and high school before entering university. On average, the students had 10 years of English learning experience from guidance school, secondary schools, and the university. In actuality, the participants were taught in the context of learning English as a foreign language. Thus, they all have a similar background in learning English. Instruments The major instrument used in this study for data collection was that of Horwitz et al’s (1986). To put it narrowly, the Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale abbreviated to FLCAS (Horwitz, Horwitz, & Cope, 1986) was used to measure the participants’ English language anxiety. This scale comprises 33 items. Each item is accompanied by a 5-point Likert scale: 1 = strongly disagree, 2 = disagree, 3 = neither agree nor disagree, 4 = agree, 5 = strongly agree. Though the subjects were required to answer all the 33 items in the FLCAS scale, only the items which tended to address the students’ speaking capability were considered as worth mentioning in the “data analysis” section. This scale was chosen for this study because of its effectiveness in identifying respondents’ perception of foreign language anxiety. Preliminary evidence (Horwitz et al., 1986) indicated adequate test-retest reliability over a period of 8 weeks, yielding r = .83 (p < .001), and acceptable internal consistency .93 (N = 75). Saito, Horwitz, and Garza (1999) also reported this instrument has a reliability coefficient of .94 (Cronbach alpha, N = 383). Procedures Volunteers were recruited in the fall semester of 2012. Fliers containing the relevant information regarding this research were made available to the students of the English Department. Afterwards, those who wished to participate in the experiment of the current research referred to the researcher and got enrolled. To encourage students’ participation rate, they were told this research was important and would provide insights and guidelines for teaching approach and curriculum planning in the future. Students then completed a questionnaire containing their background information. In response to the statements on the FLCAS, students were asked to



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think about their experiences in their English courses in the spring semester of 1391 and the preceding ones. Therefore, students’ FLCAS scores reflected their anxiety in the English classrooms they had been ever since they had entered university. In order to encourage honest answers, students were ensured that they were not required to provide their names and a coding system was utilized on their particular questionnaires. In this way, data did not contain any identifiable names. A number of codes were used throughout data collection, analysis, and interpretation. Any identifying information was kept separate and confidential. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION As was formerly stated, the samples are the students of the English Faculty with a population of 100 students. The questionnaire was developed based on the Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (FCLAS). However, this study attempts to identify potential sources of anxiety relevant to the students’ affective needs or concerns in an institution of higher learning through the use of an in-depth qualitative questionnaire. As the pre-administered questionnaire findings indicate, the differences in the level of language anxiety exhibited by the participants seem to vary by a few factors which will be dealt with in due course. Moreover, since this study tries to explore the anxiety which comes about among male and female students while speaking English as a second language, the researcher treated the scale selectively. That is to say, emphasis has been put on those scale items which are, one way or another, more relevant to the subjects’ oral production proficiency. They are listed and analyzed as follows: Statement 1: I never feel quite sure of myself when I am speaking in my foreign language class. This statement was chosen to analyze whether the students felt confident when they were speaking in class and to identify which gender has more self-confidence. As it can be seen in table 2 (see appendix 1), 19% of students who were male along with 60% who were female, with a total of 79%, agreed with the statement. The amount is big enough to clearly indicate that most students, regardless of their gender, lacked self-confidence in terms of expressing themselves in English. Statement 3: I tremble when I’m going to be called on in language class. It is not uncommon to think that language learners find themselves more or less trembling when speaking a new language. This feeling becomes even more acute if they have to do it in front of an audience and particularly teachers, who may as academically important authorities, negatively affect the students’ performance. A glance at table 2 (Appendix 1) reveals the fact that 64% of respondents agreed with the above statement. Out of this amount, 10% accounts for males and 54% for females. This means that the idea of being called on by the teacher in class is fearful for many students. It can also be concluded that, in this study, the majority of the male students are less anxious compared to female students.



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Statement 9: I start to panic when I have to speak English without preparation in language class. The results suggest that, when it comes to speaking English without preparation, a rather large number of students experience anxiety. Based on the statistics available in this research, 81% of all students ─ 22% male and 59% female students ─ subscribed to statement 9. Statement 12: In language class, I can get so nervous I forget things I know. With reference to table 2 (see appendix 1), 64% of the participants find it annoying to forget to say things they know. This feeling of anxiety is observed in males and females comprising respectively 13% and 51% of all the respondents. As the figures show, female participants undergo more nervousness compared to male participants. Statement 13: It embarrasses me to volunteer answers in my language class. Table 2 in appendix 1 reveals that 53% of respondents agree they feel embarrassed when they want to volunteer answers in their language class. Among them, 9% are male and 44% are female. One other remarkable implication here is that, in contrast with female students, male students volunteer answers more willingly in a language class. This might be indicative of the male students being more confident than female students as well. Statement 16: Even if I am well prepared for language class, I feel anxious about it. Through this statement, the researcher intended to determine whether the students were still nervous if they had prepared to speak in English (i.e.; during presentations, interviews, etc.). Drawing on the figures put forth in table 2 (Appendix 1), 56% of the respondents in total agreed with the above statement. This indicates that even preparation for speaking will not fully rob language learners of anxiety. Further analysis of table 2 suggests that female respondents are more anxious compared to males. Statement 19: I’m afraid that my language teacher is ready to correct every mistake I make. As for this statement, 42% of the all participants confirmed that their language teacher corrections frighten them. Out of this figure, 14% were male and 28% female. The statistics related to this statement also indicate that more female students were afraid that their lecturers would correct their mistakes in class. This is because they fear being embarrassed as a result of teacher’s correcting them in front of others. Statement 23: I always feel that the other students speak the foreign language better than I do. The total percentage of those who agreed with this statement is 59% out of which 14% were male and 45% female students. Two major implications can be made here. First, more than half of the respondents were anxious that their classmates would do better in the foreign language speaking. Second, female respondents had higher anxiety levels compared to male respondents. The underlying reason might be sought in self-confidence, i.e., male students usually develop a positive attitude in a situation like this, and hence tend to show more confidence in their ability (here, speaking) compared to female students.



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Statement 24: I feel very self‐conscious about speaking the foreign language in front of other students. One of the key stressors of speaking English is perception of others. In the findings, it can be analyzed that students have a tendency to keep thinking about the perceptions of others with 67% agreeing that they are afraid of others’ perceptions. Of all those who agreed, 22% were male and 47% female. This suggests the superiority of male students over female ones as far as confidence is concerned, because, according to the figures, male participants proved to be less anxious. Statement 30: I feel overwhelmed by the number of rules you have to learn to speak a foreign language. The complaints made by foreign language learners about knowing and applying many rules to speak a new language seem to be never-ending. The reason is not too far to seek. It could be argued that speaking a foreign language (here, English) is a multi-faceted and extremely complicated task. Since, learners have to take into account a number of aspects such as; grammar, pronunciation, accent, choosing appropriate words to express the intended meanings and putting them into a proper order, self-monitoring, self-correcting, being worried about what other people around them would think of their oral performance, and etc. All these might provide one with compelling reasons not to be surprised by the fact that a total of 68% of all students agreed with the above statement with 17% being male and 51% being female. Discussions The findings of this study seem to be mostly supporting the findings offered by the previous research on language anxiety, though not agreeing with every detail. No significant difference was found between students’ perceptions on the anxiety-evoking factors, though they differ in their interpretations of these factors according to their experience and level in ESL/EFL learning process. In spite of high correspondence of the findings to the existing research, the study also found some differences and discrepancies compared to some previous studies on language anxiety. Anxiety-evoking Factors The remainder of this chapter will be dealing with the anxiety-producing factors found in this study. These factors could range from psycholinguistic to socio-linguistic ones. Psycholinguistic factors, on one hand, refer to the learners’ cognition, that is to say their psychological or cognitive process of learning and using a language. The socio-cultural aspect of L2/FL learning, on the other, refers to learners’ culture, social environment, status and power relations, gender, etc. Learners’ manifestations of anxiety and the strategies to cope with language anxiety have also been discussed toward the end of the chapter. Psycholinguistic Elements How learners’ perceive the language learning process, their perceptions about themselves and how they should be performing in any communicative event, and the linguistic obstacles they encounter while communicating in English have been found to be strongly linked with language anxiety. Such psychological and linguistic factors that may cause language anxiety for EFL/ESL



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learners are as follows: a) Formal classroom instruction. b) Class presentation. c) Fear of being negatively evaluated by others. d) Teachers presence in class. e) Pronunciation. f) Grammar. g) Vocabulary. Socio-cultural Elements In addition to psycholinguistic factors which can cause anxiety in speaking a new language as was formerly discussed, there are social several socio-cultural factors that are likely to bring about anxiety in a foreign language speaking context. Among them are; culture discrepancy, social status, learners’ own sense of foreignness while speaking a language other than L1, gender, etc. All these have been found to be linked with L2/FL anxiety. Some participants of this study even remarked that social factors are a more important cause of language anxiety than linguistic factors. CONCLUSIONS Although the existing research has provided a valuable insight into language anxiety from both statistical and descriptive aspects, the phenomenon, because of its complicated and multi-faceted nature, requires further exploration from a variety of perspectives and approaches. The results of this study clearly indicate that the most anxiety provoking skill in L2/FL (English) learning is speaking skill. Almost all research subjects acknowledged that people feel anxious and nervous while speaking English in front of others. What seems to distinguish speaking is the public nature of the skill; this poses a threat to peoples’ self-concept, self-identity, and ego, which they have formed in their first language as reasonable and intelligent individuals. Every factor or situation that creates possibilities or enhances the chances of exposing their deficiencies and language imperfections in front of others is likely to cause language anxiety for ESL/EFL learners. This situation could be either classroom interaction in the form of open class forum, group participation or class presentation, or giving a short talk in any public event is likely to challenge learners’ communicative abilities. However, for effective alleviation of language anxiety, the comparison of the results obtained in this study with those of the past studies suggests that there do not seem to be any specific remedies for language anxiety. Language anxiety, more than anything else, does demand the careful attitude of the language teachers in order to understand and to effectively diagnose this phenomenon in the learners. Then, it requires the application of modern approaches that lay emphasis on enhancing learning opportunities in an environment that is conducive to learning. The problem of learners’ language anxiety remains one of the greatest obstacles teachers have to overcome in language classrooms. I hope to have shed some light on this complex phenomenon, which teachers can only deal with successfully if they are properly informed. The research to date has contributed to our understanding of language anxiety, and provides useful insights to teachers as they consider classroom methods and practices. Nonetheless, there is much we do not yet know about language anxiety ─ especially, about its relationship with other factors such as



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motivation, personality, and self-confidence ─ hence, more research in this area would be urgently helpful. There are limitations to this study that are worth being mentioned. The sample of the subjects who had willingly enrolled to participate in the research experiment was fairly small in size. Also, in order to investigate the complex issue of language anxiety, it was difficult to arrange that subjects would attend the experiments at the same time. This was basically due to the fact that they came from different levels and classes in their four year course of English study. Furthermore, the role played by individual experiences was difficult to evaluate from the questionnaire results, because the participants were not ethnically and culturally homogeneous. They varied in language learning experiences, as well. It is also equally possible that the subjects might not have touched on some of the anxiety-producing factors, but rather having tried to relate some of their experiences with anxiety, which they may not otherwise have felt to be contributing to anxiety. And finally, due to time shortages as well as administrative limitations, no proficiency test was held. Hence, the participants’ homogeneity in terms of language proficiency level was based on the years they had been studying English as a foreign language both in school and university. Implications for pedagogy It is commonly believed that language anxiety can exert detrimental influence on second/foreign language learning and communication in the target language. Accordingly, the language instructors should recognize that anxiety is a major cause of students’ lack of success in L2/FL communication and do anything they can to assist them to overcome their feelings of unease and discomfort. Based on the findings of this study, the following recommendations might be proposed. The first thing is to recognize your own feelings of second language anxiety. It is vital to identify your own feelings, because in the process we will be able to recognize the causes of our anxiety. People sometimes happen to be nervous, however it shouldn’t make one believe that they will perform poorly. Nervousness sometimes will help in enhancing the vitality and enthusiasm brought to the situation. The next important suggestion is to share your feelings with others. It is helpful knowing that you are not suffering those feelings alone. Even professionals such as artists or experienced speakers may feel some sort of anxiety when they have to speak in public. Thus, having a slight feeling of anxiety is normal as it is experienced by many. It should be borne in mind by language learners that nobody is aware of their fright except if there are outward signs of nervousness. However, nervousness can be controlled. Students must focus on getting their message across to the audience and not be afraid to make mistakes. Most of the time, mistakes are signs of learning and progress. Many native English speakers do not speak a second language, so the fact that the students are able to converse in a second language should mean a lot.



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Innovative approaches should be adopted by universities to minimize apprehension and maximize students’ achievement. Instructors must encourage the students to express themselves in English and help them reduce their anxiety by giving them support. Teachers might also use quick relaxation techniques such as tensing the body for a count of 10 and then breathing deeply in and out to a count of four for a period of three to five minutes. This is especially effective after a tension-producing event. The most important thing is, in order to increase the level of efficiency in the English language, we need to practice. Practice will make perfect. Practice speaking with friends or family, or even text messaging them in English which will also help to increase the level of proficiency in English and all these in turn would reduce the level of second language anxiety. It is also highly recommended that for active participation in the classroom discussion, students should be provided with amicable, informal and learning-supportive environments. This can be done by teachers’ friendly, helpful and cooperative behavior, making students feel comfortable when speaking in the class. A sense of fun is also indispensable to create a relaxed learning environment and sustain motivation. Caring and sharing activities can create a sense of fun which would eventually result in reducing the effect of social and status differences between students and teachers to a remarkable extent. The above-mentioned recommendations and suggestions are not posited to be comprehensive covering all the instructional contexts. However, they are apt to drastically curtail the impact of anxiety in the process of foreign language learning, in general, and foreign language speaking, in particular.

This article derives from a research project titled ‘Anxiety as a Deterring Element in Learning English for Oral Communication among EFL Students in Islamic Azad University — Abadan Branch’ which was funded by Islamic Azad University, Abadan Branch, Iran, and the author’s acknowledgement is due whereupon. I also wish to express my deep sense of gratitude to my colleagues; Rahman Makvandi and Hoda Rezaei for their outstanding contributions to the research project.

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Appendix 1 Table 1: Participants of the research.

Gender

Academic level Total Sophomore Junior Senior

Male 4 17 10 31 Female 12 33 24 69 Total 16 50 34 100



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Table 2: Participants’ choice distribution. Agreed Neutral Disagreed

Total Male Female Male Female Male Female Level Item

So. J. S. So. J. S. So. J. S. So. J. S. So. J. S. So. J. S.

1 2 12 5 11 29 20 ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ 2 3 5 1 6 4 100 19% 60% 0% 0% 10% 11% 100%

3 1 3 6 10 25 19 1 ─ ─ ─ ─ ─ 3 12 4 1 10 5 100 10% 54% 1% 0% 19% 16% 100%

9 3 11 8 11 30 18 ─ ─ ─ ─ 2 ─ 1 4 2 1 3 6 100 22% 59% 0% 2% 7% 10% 100%

12 2 7 4 10 25 16 ─ 1 ─ ─ 1 ─ 2 6 6 2 9 8 100 13% 51% 1% 1% 14% 19% 100%

13 1 5 3 9 22 13 ─ ─ ─ ─ 1 ─ 3 10 7 3 12 11 100 9% 44% 0% 1% 20% 26% 100%

16 1 9 6 7 19 14 ─ ─ 1 ─ ─ ─ 3 6 3 5 16 10 100 16% 40% 1% 0% 12% 31% 100%

19 3 6 5 5 12 11 ─ ─ ─ 1 1 ─ 1 9 5 6 22 13 100 14% 28% 0% 2% 15% 41% 100%

23 2 5 7 10 26 9 ─ ─ ─ ─ 3 1 2 10 3 2 6 14 100 14% 45% 0% 4% 15% 22% 100%

24 3 11 8 8 24 15 ─ ─ ─ ─ 2 ─ 1 4 2 4 9 9 100 22% 47% 0% 2% 7% 22% 100%

30 3 6 8 10 23 18 ─ 1 ─ ─ 1 ─ 1 8 2 2 11 6 100 17% 51% 1% 1% 11% 19% 100%

Tota

ls

21 75 60 91 235 153 1 2 1 1 11 1 20 72 39 27 104 86 156 479 4 13 131 217 635 17 348 1000

Notes on table 2: A) ‘Neutral’ corresponds to ‘neither agree nor disagree’. B) ‘So.’ is short for sophomore, ‘J.’ for Junior, and ‘S.’ for senior. C) To save space and have a more compact table, choices ‘strongly agree’ and ‘agree’ are fused together as the general concept of ‘agreement’; likewise, ‘disagree’ and ‘strongly disagree’ as that of ‘disagreement’. Appendix 2 Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (Horwitz et al, 1986) 1. I never feel quite sure of myself when I am speaking in my foreign language class. Strongly agree Agree Neither agree nor disagree Disagree Strongly disagree 2. I don't worry about making mistakes in language class. Strongly agree Agree Neither agree nor disagree Disagree Strongly disagree 3. I tremble when I know that I'm going to be called on in language class. Strongly agree Agree Neither agree nor disagree Disagree Strongly disagree 4. It frightens me when I don't understand what the teacher is saying in the foreign language. Strongly agree Agree Neither agree nor disagree Disagree Strongly disagree 5. It wouldn't bother me at all to take more foreign language classes. Strongly agree Agree Neither agree nor disagree Disagree Strongly disagree 6. During language class, I find myself thinking about things that have nothing to do with the course. Strongly agree Agree Neither agree nor disagree Disagree Strongly disagree



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7. I keep thinking that the other students are better at languages than I am. Strongly agree Agree Neither agree nor disagree Disagree Strongly disagree 8. I am usually at ease during tests in my language class. Strongly agree Agree Neither agree nor disagree Disagree Strongly disagree 9. I start to panic when I have to speak without preparation in language class. Strongly agree Agree Neither agree nor disagree Disagree Strongly disagree 10. I worry about the consequences of failing my foreign language class. Strongly agree Agree Neither agree nor disagree Disagree Strongly disagree 11. I don't understand why some people get so upset over foreign language classes. Strongly agree Agree Neither agree nor disagree Disagree Strongly disagree 12. In language class, I can get so nervous I forget things I know. Strongly agree Agree Neither agree nor disagree Disagree Strongly disagree 13. It embarrasses me to volunteer answers in my language class. Strongly agree Agree Neither agree nor disagree Disagree Strongly disagree 14. I would not be nervous speaking the foreign language with native speakers. Strongly agree Agree Neither agree nor disagree Disagree Strongly disagree 15. I get upset when I don't understand what the teacher is correcting. Strongly agree Agree Neither agree nor disagree Disagree Strongly disagree 16. Even if I am well prepared for language class, I feel anxious about it. Strongly agree Agree Neither agree nor disagree Disagree Strongly disagree 17. I often feel like not going to my language class. Strongly agree Agree Neither agree nor disagree Disagree Strongly disagree 18. I feel confident when I speak in foreign language class. Strongly agree Agree Neither agree nor disagree Disagree Strongly disagree 19. I am afraid that my language teacher is ready to correct every mistake I make. Strongly agree Agree Neither agree nor disagree Disagree Strongly disagree 20. I can feel my heart pounding when I'm going to be called on in language class. Strongly agree Agree Neither agree nor disagree Disagree Strongly disagree 21. The more I study for a language test, the more con‐ fused I get. Strongly agree Agree Neither agree nor disagree Disagree Strongly disagree 22. I don't feel pressure to prepare very well for language class. Strongly agree Agree Neither agree nor disagree Disagree Strongly disagree 23. I always feel that the other students speak the foreign language better than I do. Strongly agree Agree Neither agree nor disagree Disagree Strongly disagree 24. I feel very self‐conscious about speaking the foreign language in front of other students. Strongly agree Agree Neither agree nor disagree Disagree Strongly disagree 25. Language class moves so quickly I worry about getting left behind. Strongly agree Agree Neither agree nor disagree Disagree Strongly disagree 26. I feel more tense and nervous in my language class than in my other classes. Strongly agree Agree Neither agree nor disagree Disagree Strongly disagree 27. I get nervous and confused when I am speaking in my language class. Strongly agree Agree Neither agree nor disagree Disagree Strongly disagree 28. When I'm on my way to language class, I feel very sure and relaxed. Strongly agree Agree Neither agree nor disagree Disagree Strongly disagree 29. I get nervous when I don't understand every word the language teacher says. Strongly agree Agree Neither agree nor disagree Disagree Strongly disagree 30. I feel overwhelmed by the number of rules you have to learn to speak a foreign language. Strongly agree Agree Neither agree nor disagree Disagree Strongly disagree 31. I am afraid that the other students will laugh at me when I speak the foreign language. Strongly agree Agree Neither agree nor disagree Disagree Strongly disagree 32. I would probably feel comfortable around native speakers of the foreign language. Strongly agree Agree Neither agree nor disagree Disagree Strongly disagree 33. I get nervous when the language teacher asks questions which I haven't prepared in



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advance. Strongly agree Agree Neither agree nor disagree Disagree Strongly disagree

Appendix 3 The graphical percentage of the participants who agreed with the experiment’s statements:

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