Exploring English Major Students’ Pronunciation Anxiety

Abstract

This paper reports a descriptive account of English language learners’ perceived pronunciation anxiety, which is a relatively underexplored area of foreign language learning anxiety. The participants of the study were English Language and Literature students studying at a public university in Türkiye in the 2022-2023 academic year. The research data were collected through a questionnaire survey form consisting of the Measure of Pronunciation Anxiety in Foreign Language Classroom (MPA-FLC) and a personal information section and were analyzed via statistical tests in SPSS. The findings indicated that the students felt mild-to-moderate levels of pronunciation anxiety and that the pronunciation anxiety component with the highest rating was beliefs about pronunciation and its importance as a communicative skill. The study also sought to examine the effects of some learner characteristics on pronunciation anxiety. The findings demonstrated that the students’ gender, perceived English proficiency and previous language learning experiences influenced their anxiety levels whereas the variables of age and year of study in the department had no significant effects on student responses. The females, those students with lower levels of perceived proficiency, and those who received intensive English language education at the foreign language departments at high school reported higher pronunciation anxiety. The results are discussed in the light of available literature providing implications and recommendations for further research.