Abstract
The purpose of this study was to identify the causes of speaking anxiety in highly anxious students, of which their teachers might not have been aware, and solutions to alleviate the problem. Sixteen students from a Japanese language-oriented university participated in an interview survey. The participants’ anxiety levels were measured using a five-point Likert scale questionnaire that included five items related to foreign language classroom anxiety. The results were compared to the results of interviews with their teachers, and interesting responses from the student interviews that their teachers did not raise were highlighted. The main causes of anxiety were an unpleasant classroom environment, peer pressure, and non-ideal class types. Students argued for several strategies to reduce the anxiety associated with speaking practice, increase their use of English, and improve their proficiency. To achieve these strategies, teachers need to take into account the opinions of students they did not previously focus on.
Highlights
It has been pointed out that students’ emotions have a tremendous influence on the acquisition of English as a foreign language (EFL), but very few studies in the field of English education have focused on students’ feelings of anxiety
The English-only policy, which severely restricts the use of the first language (L1), has been applied in many Japanese EFL communication classes with the aim of improving proficiency in the target language (TL), but the policy is one of the main causes of anxiety in these classes (Rivers, 2011)
The interview survey of the students revealed that the factors considered likely to increase their anxiety and to prevent them from speaking English willingly were an uncomfortable classroom atmosphere, peer pressure, and an inappropriate class type
Summary
It has been pointed out that students’ emotions have a tremendous influence on the acquisition of English as a foreign language (EFL), but very few studies in the field of English education have focused on students’ feelings of anxiety. If teachers could address the anxiety of highly anxious students, this would have a positive effect but, if they are not able to do so, their students’ anxiety will not decrease at all. The ultimate goal of this study was to identify the causes of anxiety of which teachers were unaware and that prevent highly anxious students from practicing speaking English in the classroom, and to find solutions to mitigate the problem. The pedagogical implications can be shared with teachers and suggestions can be given regarding how to create an environment that reduces the students’ anxiety
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