A Correlational Study of the English Listening and Speaking Anxiety in Rural Areas

Abstract

English proficiency amongst Malaysian is debatably on a decline. Possible causes of this phenomenon are extensively argued. Thus, renewed interest towards English language anxiety, an internal factor of learners’ level of intensity in listening and speaking skills, can sometimes be overlooked. An investigation was conducted on selected secondary schools' students in Selangor, a state in Malaysia. The schools lacked facilities and meagerly equipped with basic resources and facilities. A total of 311 non-national examination takers students from three different schools were selected. A set of questionnaire were distributed which adopted a composite of foreign language anxiety surveys, measuring their level of anxiety towards the English language classroom according to the four language skills (reading, listening, speaking, writing). The results were measured and the scores were tabulated. A correlation was established between the listening anxiety and speaking anxiety skill from the scores. This finding explored the possibility of reducing language anxiety in two skills by intervening in only one instance which can be helpful in reducing the time spent on managing the English language classroom anxiety. However, further studies should be conducted in order to improve the validity of this result.