Exploring English Language Anxiety Among Undergraduate Female ESL Learners in Mewat Region of Haryana, India

Abstract

The study aims to investigate English language anxiety among Mewat female ESL learners and the causes and sources of anxiety. It also seeks to investigate if the differences in their demographic profiles shape their anxiety levels differently. As the study deals with how certain independent variables (e.g. level/year of study, parents’ educational level, and their employment profile) shape the dependent variable (English language anxiety), a descriptive quantitative approach was adopted, and the Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale developed by Horwitz et al. (1986) was utilized to collect the data from respondents. 214 study participants were selected through a simple random sampling method from the population of undergraduate ESL learners studying at different levels of the graduate program at Government Women’s College, Nuh, Mewat, Haryana, India. The findings revealed that the study respondents experience moderate levels of anxiety. However, their anxiety levels differ concerning different aspects/sources of anxiety. Communicative anxiety is the highest followed by classroom anxiety, test anxiety, and fear of negative evaluation respectively. One-way ANOVA analysis revealed statistically significant differences in the means of the responses of study participants based on level/year of study and parents' educational level. However, no difference of any statistical significance was found in the means of the response of the respondents based on their parents' professional profiles. The study findings would be useful in addressing anxiety, understanding its causes and consequences, and uncovering ways to help students overcome anxiety and learn English properly.