Abstract
Anxiety in language classrooms has been acknowledged by local scholars as detrimental to Malaysian learners' English proficiency. Part of the Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) institutions' mission is to provide immediate workforce of holistic and great communicators. However, language learning anxiety lent support to the poor English performance among learners and is misaligned with the vision by the government as stipulated in the Malaysia Education Blueprint 2015–2025 (Higher Education). The blueprint was developed in 2013 to keep the education system in line with the global trends to help prepare Malaysian youth to survive in the rapidly-changing future. One of highlights is the government's aspiration for high bilingual proficiency among the people. Thus, understanding the types of anxiety in English as a Second Language (ESL) classrooms is pertinent to customised efforts for pedagogical intervention. Adapting the Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (FLCAS), the current study aims to investigate the factors of learning anxiety in ESL classrooms among 236 respondents from various TVET institutions from the Southern states of Malaysia. The questionnaire was distributed online with the items reflective of three types of anxiety in ESL classrooms: communication apprehension, test anxiety, and fear of negative evaluation. Findings of the study indicated that the respondents suffered from anxiety across the components which confirm the perpetual concern by educators over the reasons why most Malaysian learners still grapple with English proficiency despite years of learning it in formal settings. The study also revealed interesting insights from a psychological perspective by reporting constant anxiety about speaking and presenting in the presence of an audience as well as anxiety when receiving negative feedback from teachers and peers. Implications of the study for practice, subsequent research, and policy are presented with some recommendations for future research to mitigate language anxiety in ESL classrooms.
Highlights
Language learners experience varying degrees of language anxiety when forced to express themselves in front of others which is quite a common phenomenon, generally among less competent non-native speakers
By applying the model of Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (FLCAS) of Horwitz, Horwitz, and Cope (1986) [1], this study aims to identify the factors that contribute to learners’ second language classroom anxiety
The items presented are reflective of communication apprehension, test-anxiety, and fear of negative evaluation in the second language classroom
Summary
Language learners experience varying degrees of language anxiety when forced to express themselves in front of others which is quite a common phenomenon, generally among less competent non-native speakers. According to Horwitz, Horwitz, and Cope (1986) [1], learners may enjoy speaking in a target language and be strongly motivated to do so, but they may experience anxiety when speaking in public that obstructs successful performance in a language classroom. Learners did not start language learning with anxiety; instead, they develop attitudes and feelings toward learning a new language after exposure to target language situations (MacIntyre and Gardner, 1989) [3]. Tuncer and Doğan (2015) [4] argue that negative experiences may lead to a second or foreign language anxiety of learners. As these negative experiences prevail, anxiety will arise constantly and will subsequently result in poor performance and anxious learning
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