Level Of Speaking Anxiety Research Articles

Examination of emotional contagion and social anxiety using novel video stimuli

ABSTRACT Background and Objectives Socially anxious individuals often exhibit signs of anxiety that might elicit discomfort in others and negatively influence their interactions, due in part to emotional contagion. However, there is limited research examining the phenomenon of emotional contagion in social anxiety, which is the topic of the current study. Design and Methods An experimental design was used in which undergraduate psychology students (N = 128) were assigned to either an experimental condition (watching a video of a socially anxious presenter) or a control condition (watching a video of a nonanxious presenter). Various measures were administered to assess social anxiety, emotional contagion, state anxiety, and related constructs. Results After controlling for baseline anxiety levels, participants in the experimental condition reported significantly higher levels of anxiety during and immediately after watching the video compared to individuals in the control condition (multivariate analysis of covariance, analysis of variance). Similar results were found across both conditions in participants with higher levels of trait social anxiety and higher public speaking anxiety (moderated regression analyses). Conclusions The findings suggest that social anxiety may be emotionally contagious, and provides insight into the role that emotional contagion may play in the association between social anxiety and interpersonal functioning.

SPEAKING ANXIETY LEVEL OF EFL STUDENTS AT TENTH GRADE OF SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL 2 LUBUK SIKAPING

This research has been done because the researcher found some problems in speaking at the tenth grade at SMAN 2 Lubuk Sikaping. The first problem was the students nervous when they were asked to speak up. The second problem was the students had lack of confidence. The third problem was the students had a felt panic when their teacher gave test. The last problem was the students felt afraid the teacher inform the score of the meeting. This study aimed to find out the speaking anxiety level at tenth grade SMAN 2 Lubuk Sikaping.The design of this research was a descriptive quantitative research.The population of this research were tenth grade students that consist of 134 students. The students were divided into four classes.The researcher took 25 % of the population by using random sampling technique to determine the sample because the population is more than one hundred students and there are 34 students of this research. To collect the data, researcher used questionnaire to find out speaking anxiety level of the students.The result researcher found the data there were 3 components of speaking anxiety. The consist of communication apprehension, test anxiety and fear of negative evaluation. It was found that 89 total score of the students had moderately low anxiety level in communication apprehension. Then 94 total score of the students had moderate anxiety level in test anxiety. The last result found that 88 total score of the students had moderately low anxiety level in fear of negative evaluation. In conclusion, the students speaking anxiety level at the tenth grade at SMAN 2 Lubuk Sikaping based on those three components above was 90 total score which mean the students anxiety level in speaking was in moderate level.

The Impact of Using Cambly on EFL University Students’ Speaking Proficiency

This study sought to investigate the impact of using Cambly, a computer-mediated communication tool, on the speaking proficiency of English as a foreign language (EFL) learners. Further, it aimed to explore the participants’ perceptions of using Cambly. The study employed an experimental design featuring a mixed-methods approach to data collection that involved pre- and post-testing of the participants’ speaking proficiency as well as semi-structured face-to-face interviews. The study sample consisted of 28 EFL university students who were divided into the control and experimental groups. The participants in the experimental group used Cambly to conduct audio calls with native speakers of English over a period of 4 weeks. The quantitative analysis of the participants’ speaking proficiency tests revealed no significant differences between the experimental and control groups’ post-test scores. Moreover, no significant differences were found between the experimental group’s pre- and post-test scores. The qualitative analysis of the participants’ interviews revealed that the use of Cambly had a positive influence on their speaking proficiency, motivation, anxiety level, speaking opportunities, autonomy, social relationships, and cultural awareness.

INVESTIGATING ENGLISH DEPARTMENT STUDENTS’ FOREIGN LANGUAGE SPEAKING ANXIETY: A CASE STUDY IN UNIVERSITAS AIRLANGGA, INDONESIA

Anxiety during a speaking performance is a common phenomenon experienced by any EFL learners, including students majoring in English. Focusing on the issue, this study investigates the correlation between students’ foreign language speaking anxiety and speaking achievement. Moreover, this study also observes the levels and the sources of the speaking anxiety among the English Department’s fifth-semester students of Universitas Airlangga. This study used the Foreign Language Speaking Anxiety Scale (FLSAS) by Öztürk and Gurbuz (2014). The FLSAS questionnaire was distributed to 114 students in order to explore the correlation between speaking anxiety and speaking achievement, the speaking anxiety levels, and the speaking anxiety sources. The data collected through questionnaire were analyzed with SPSS 25.0. Pearson Product Moment Correlation isused to determine the correlation, while descriptive statistic alanalys is isused to investigate the levels and the sources for speaking anxiety. Horwitz, Horwitzand Cope’s(1986) theory and Horwitz and Young (1991) about the source and the levels of foreign language speaking anxiety are also used in this study. This study found that there is a significant negative correlation between speaking anxiety levels and speaking achievement. This means the higher the speaking anxiety they experience, the lower the achievement score they get. Most of the students have moderate levels of speaking anxiety, which is mainly due to the fear of negative evaluation.This study indicates that although the EFL learners are often exposed to English, they still experience speaking anxiety. These findings suggest that the lecturers should be more aware of students’ anxiety and use strategies that might encourage the students to speak more confidently.

The intraocular pressure responses to oral academic examination: The influence of perceived levels of public speaking anxiety

We examined the intraocular pressure responsiveness to oral examination stress, as well as the mediating role of the perceived levels of public speaking anxiety on intraocular pressure changes. Thirty-two university students (intervention group) publicly defended their degree final project, and intraocular pressure and perceived levels of stress were measured before and after the oral presentation, and after 10 min of recovery. The control group (n = 32) was not exposed to any stressful situation, and the dependent measures were taken at the same time points. All participants completed the public speaking anxiety scale. The intervention group exhibited higher intraocular pressure values before the oral presentation (corrected p-values<0.001), with these changes being positively associated with the perceived levels of public speaking anxiety (p < 0.001, r = 0.71). Our results reveal a mediating role of public speaking anxiety on the intraocular pressure responsiveness to oral examination stress, and highlight the utility of intraocular pressure as an indicator of stress in applied situations.

RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ARABIC LANGUAGE SPEAKING ANXIETY AND MOTIVATION AMONG RELIGIOUS SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS IN MALAYSIA

Purpose of the study: This study aimed at identifying the level of Arabic language speaking anxiety and its relationship to motivation among students of religious secondary schools in Malaysia.&#x0D; Methodology: This quantitative study identifies the anxiety level in speaking Arabic and its relationship with motivation. A survey was done with a selected number of 500 Arabic students out of the total population throughout Malaysia. The survey was done using questionnaires that have been adapted and modified from past studies after completing its validity and reliability process.&#x0D; Main Findings: The findings indicate that the level of Arabic speaking anxiety among secondary religious school students in Malaysia is moderately high and also shows that students’ anxiety in speaking Arabic does not have any significant relationship with their motivation. This finding illustrates that Arabic speaking anxiety is unrelated to student motivation in learning the Arabic Language.&#x0D; Applications of this study: The study can be useful for Arabic Language teachers. Students with a high anxiety level will feel anxious and avoid taking part in learning activities that will then influence the quality of learning. Hence, speaking anxiety must be tackled separately by the Arabic Language teacher from motivation since there is no significant relationship between the two variables.&#x0D; Novelty/Originality of this study: This study produced instruments to assess the level of Arabic speaking anxiety. The result of this study is consistent with previous studies, which investigated the level of anxiety in learning a foreign language and speaking anxiety must be tackled separately from motivation because it has no significant relationship with individual students’ motivation.

Investigating Foreign Language Enjoyment and Public Speaking Class Anxiety in the EFL Class: A Mixed Methods Study

Foreign language enjoyment and speaking anxiety in the classroom are two potential emotion-inducing factors for foreign language learning. This sequential mixed methods study investigated whether and to what extent Iranian EFL students experienced foreign language enjoyment and public speaking anxiety in their English classrooms, and how they characterize the sources of the enjoyment and speaking anxiety in such a context. To these ends, 128 learners of English as a foreign language (EFL) from several English language institutes, selected based on convenience sampling, took part in this research. They completed Dewaele and MacIntyre’s (2014b) Foreign Language Enjoyment and Yaikhong and Usaha’s (2012) Public Speaking Class Anxiety questionnaires, and write down about an episode in which they had experienced enjoyment and speaking anxiety in the EFL classroom. Quantitative and qualitative statistical data analyses were applied to examine foreign language enjoyment and public speaking class anxiety. Descriptive data analysis showed that the learners had a medium-to-high foreign language degree of enjoyment and a low level of public speaking anxiety. Besides, they reported more enjoyment than public speaking anxiety in class. Further qualitative data analysis revealed 12 sub-themes and four main themes of Teacher, Learning, Class Activities, and Class Atmosphere in explaining their enjoyment, as well as eight sub-themes and four main themes of Exam Phobia, Reaction/Feedback, Personal Failure, and Lack of Self-Confidence for speaking anxiety. The findings provide implications for language teachers and policymakers to gain better insights into factors underlying enjoyment and speaking anxiety in the field of foreign language learning.

Drama Techniques as Correlators of the Level of English Language Speaking Anxiety

Introduction. The study aims to investigate what factors strengthen and weaken personal speaking anxiety. With the use of selected standardized surveys, the research examines how drama techniques affect a learner’s level of English language speaking anxiety. Materials and Methods. The research group includes 17 Polish primary school learners who attended drama classes and prepared two performances in English for other learners and their parents. The questionnaire with the stated research questions was applied, and the data ob tained were statistically analyzed. Results. The research results show that the learners participating in English drama classes had a lower level of speaking anxiety than those who did not practice drama at all. As to the learners´ English language proficiency, the level of speaking anxiety dropped with the rise of academic level. No significant difference was observed either in the level of speaking anxiety between male and female participants or in the level of speaking among learners of different age. The impact of drama techniques implemented into the English language classes is discussed in the study. The research results indicate the influence of drama techniques on the reduction of the level of speaking anxiety. The decrease is very noticeable that should inspire teachers to use drama techniques while teaching a foreign language, especially speaking skills. The analysis also indicates a close correlation between drama classes and the inc reasing level of English proficiency. Discussion and Conclusion. The topic of the article is to meet the interest of foreign language teachers and learners, would-be teachers of the English language.

The relationship between tertiary-level students’ self-perceived presentation delivery and public speaking anxiety: A mixed-methods study

Oral presentations are common in higher education worldwide. There is no shortage of evidence substantiating the association between oral presentations and anxiety. In the light of the close connection between self-perception and anxiety, and the under-researched nature of the delivery aspect of presentations (e.g. use of voice and body language), this study explored the relationship between tertiary-level learners’ (n = 211) perceived delivery competence (23 areas) and their levels of public speaking anxiety. The data were collected via questionnaires and interviews. The questionnaire results revealed highly significant correlations between anxiety and 22 of these areas. The 23 areas overall also had a highly significant predictive power for anxiety levels, indicated by their explaining 45% of the variance. Follow-up in-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with six participants to shed light on these quantitative findings. This article ends with an argument for greater emphasis on presentation delivery skills in higher education, which can potentially mitigate learners’ public speaking anxiety.

Speaking Anxiety, English Proficiency, Affective and Social Language Learning Strategies of ESL Engineering Students in a State University in Northern Luzon, Philippines

The primary aim of this paper is to examine the speaking anxiety, affective and social language learning strategies and English language proficiency among ESL Agricultural and Biosystems and Civil Engineering students of a state university in Northern Luzon, Philippines including the possible relationship among the aforementioned variables. The research adapted six (6) items on Affective Language Learning Strategies (ALLS) and six (6) items on Social Language Learning Strategies (SLLS) by Oxford (1990); the Foreign Language Communication Anxiety Scale designed by Horwitz et al. (1986) and the English Proficiency Test developed by Commission on Higher Education were utilized in this study. The findings disclose that the speaking anxiety level of the respondents is moderate. It was noted that they are uneasy every time teachers called them to recite in English class unprepared. To add more, their ALLS and SLLS are both somewhat true for them and the repondents&amp;rsquo; English Proficiency Level is moderate. It also showed that small negative correlation exists between their English proficiency and speaking anxiety. However, a medium and small positive correlation established when their speaking anxiety and ALLS was correlated. And a small positive correlation was obtained in the correlation between the respondents&amp;rsquo; speaking anxiety and SLLS. The research concludes with a list of recommendations on how to lessen speaking anxiety in the English language classroom to ESL learners.

The Relationship of Personality Traits with English Speaking Anxiety

Speaking in front of people is challenging even in one’s own language. Since personality and speaking anxiety are interrelated, students’ personality types are important to find out the reasons for their anxiety. The aim of the current study is to determine the personality traits of the participants; to investigate their foreign language speaking anxiety levels; and to find out whether students’ personality traits significantly predict their foreign language speaking anxiety. According to the results, extraversion, openness and conscientiousness significantly and negatively but neuroticism and agreeableness significantly and positively predict foreign language speaking anxiety. The majority have agreeableness which predicts foreign language speaking anxiety positively; this may explain why people cannot speak English in our country.

Foreign Language Anxiety in the Case of Croatian University Learners of Japanese

The aims of this study are (1) to investigate the frequency, sources, and characteristics of foreign language anxiety regarding speaking activities in the case of learners of the Japanese language at two Croatian institutions of higher education, and (2) to determine which speaking activities anxious learners of Japanese in Croatia would willingly participate in, while remaining sufficiently challenged by the tasks to gain new or reinforce previously acquired linguistic knowledge. A questionnaire was distributed to 65 students at the University of Pula bachelor’s program in Japanese language and culture and the University of Zagreb’s Japanese studies program in February and March of 2018. The results point to lower than expected self-assessment of Japanese speaking competence and high levels of Japanese speaking anxiety, particularly due to the fear of making mistakes, the presence of other individuals relevant to the learning process (classmates, teachers, other native speakers of Japanese), and a lack of activities focused on meaningful interaction. Participant experiences with various learning methods point to their willingness to participate in non-structured, improvisational pair conversation exercises and the potential of these activities to help learners overcome debilitating language anxiety.

Developing Oral Linguistic performance and Alleviating Speaking Anxiety of EFL and AFL Learners: A Proposed Strategy

This study intends to demonstrate how oral performance measures such as accuracy, complexity and fluency can be distinctly targeted using the suggested strategy. Furthermore, the study provides insights into how such learners’ self-reflection-oriented learning based strategy could help in alleviating FL speaking anxiety. The study sample consisted of 30 female EFL and AFL students, divided into two experimental groups. The data were collected through two main instruments: Oral performance test (two parallel forms: English and Arabic) and a foreign language speaking anxiety scale. The performances of each group on the pre and post tests were contrasted and their scores on the three oral linguistic measures were correlated. The instructors’ written comments concerning participants’ performance were also taken into consideration. The results indicated general improvement in both groups, as the suggested strategy prompted students’ oral performance and speaking confidence. Integrating technology and appreciative inquiry in classroom teaching and learning process empowered students to identify their oral performance weaknesses and plan for overcoming them autonomously. The implications of the study are discussed and a number of recommendations are made to assist FL students in dealing with their speaking anxiety level.

Students’ English Speaking Anxiety Based on Personality Traits for Islamic Boarding School

This study was carried out to investigate English speaking anxiety experienced by students based on their personality traits (extrovert-introvert dimension) in boarding school. The method used in this study was quantitative approach with descriptive design. The population in this study were 120 students in the fifth grade student of MUQ Langsa where 92 students as the sample taken by using random sampling technique. The data were collected by “Mark Parkinson (1997) Personality Questionare” that consists of 16 statements and “Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (FLCAS)” by horwitz. et.al (1986) that consists of 33 statements. The finding indicated that the percentage of students who exhibit each dimension of personality from the highest to the lowest; they were introvert dimension (ID) of personality 67,4% and extrovert dimension (ED) of personality 32,6 %. The result of English Speaking Anxiety level divided into five categories. There were 11 students or 12 % in low level, 32 students or 34,8 % in medium level, 47 students or 51,1 % in high level, 2 students or 2,2 % in very high level and there was no one in very low level of the English speaking anxiety. Based on these finding it can be concluded that English speaking anxiety of the students was high level range and introvert was the dominant personality dimension possessed by the students.

Undergraduates’ Speaking Anxiety in English as Second Language (ESL) Classrooms

Many students exhibit fear of speaking in English in the English as Second Language (ESL) classrooms. Additionally, there are limited studies in this area of concern among the undergraduates in Sarawak. Hence, this study aimed to identify the students‟ anxiety level towards speaking English based on four components, namely communication apprehension, test anxiety, fear of negative evaluation, and comfort in using English in the classrooms. This study also examined whether there is any significant difference in the level of anxiety in terms of gender. A total of 592 undergraduates from two public institutions of higher learning in Sarawakwere involved in this study. A Public Speaking Class Anxiety Scale (PSCAS) by Yaikhong and Usaha (2012) was adopted in this study to measure anxiety in the ESL speaking classes. The results gathered through the questionnaires were analysed using SPSS package to determine the students‟ speaking anxiety levels and the significant difference in the level of anxiety in speaking English in terms of gender. The findings revealed that undergraduates experienced an average level of speaking anxiety. T-test analysis of the findings in the study also portrayed that generally the female undergraduates experienced higher speaking anxiety as compared to the male undergraduates in all the four factors of ESL speaking anxiety. Among the four factors of speaking anxiety, only the factor of 'comfort in using English' in the classrooms showed a statistically significant difference between male and female undergraduates. Findings of this study would be significant as knowing the level of anxiety among the undergraduates in ESL classrooms will provide the basis for educators to plan better strategies or techniques to help students in overcoming their English speaking anxiety and to improve their oral English proficiency. It will also help students to be aware of their own speaking anxiety level so that they can seek for measures to overcome their speaking anxiety.

A Sage on a Stage, to Express and Impress: TED Talks for Improving Oral Presentation Skills, Vocabulary Retention and Its Impact on Reducing Speaking Anxiety in ESP Settings

This study explores the impact of using TED Talks on improving oral presentation skills of Business English students and vocabulary uptake/retention. It also assesses the impact of improving such hard cognitive skills on increasing Business majors&amp;rsquo; speaking anxiety level. Sequential explanatory mixed method was used, which includes both quantitative and qualitative data collection and analyses. Business students&amp;rsquo; oral presentation skills were assessed through Oral Presentation Skills Sheet (OPSS), vocabulary retention was assessed through Vocabulary Uptake/Retention Test (VURT), and speaking anxiety level was assessed through Personal Report of Public Speaking Anxiety (PRPSA) (M&amp;ouml;rtberg, Jansson-Fr&amp;ouml;jmark, Pettersson, &amp;amp; Hennlid-Oredsson, 2018). Participants in the study consist 49 students, who were divided into two groups; experimental group consisting of 24 students, and control group that includes 25 Business English majors. Findings of the study revealed that oral presentation skills and vocabulary uptake/retention levels were improved due to the use of TED talks as an ICT tool. Also, it was revealed that Business majors in the experimental group are more enthusiastic, energetic and motivated to give killer presentations as they became more confident and free of anxiety and tension.

Interactive three‐dimensional virtual environment to reduce the public speaking anxiety levels of novice software engineers

Software engineering is a set of activities that rely not only on the technical tasks but also require abilities focused on social duties such as daily meetings and product introduction presentations. However, engineers may experience elevated levels of anxiety when required to present their work in an unfamiliar environment. More specifically, they may suffer from public speaking anxiety even though they are supposed to be effective in those social tasks as well as in their engineering activities. Fortunately, previous studies suggest that the virtual exposure intervention is an effective strategy to reduce public speaking anxiety. In this study, an interactive three-dimensional virtual environment similar to real classrooms and auditoriums was developed to examine whether this might decrease the anxiety levels of novice software engineers. To compare the traditional and virtual exposure intervention, the sample set was divided equally into two groups including one experimental group and one control group. For 4 weeks, the virtual exposure intervention was conducted in the experimental group, whereas the cognitive behaviour therapy-based psychoeducation was used in the control group. The findings from authors’ study illustrate that the virtual exposure intervention may represent an alternative solution to the traditional interventions for software engineers seeking to overcome public presentation anxiety.

An Analysis of the Speaking Anxiety of Turkish Teacher Candidates

The aim of this study is to analyse the speaking anxiety of Turkish teacher candidates studying in Kafkas University. The sample group of the research designed in the survey model consists of 181 Turkish teacher candidates studying in Kafkas University Faculty of Education in fall term of the 2018-2019 Academic Year, who are selected by the random sampling method. The “Speaking Anxiety Scale for the Teacher Candidates” consisting of three sub-dimensions, namely the “physiological symptoms”, “skill-related anxiety” and “psychological state” and 40 items developed by Kinay and Ozkan (2014) has been used in the study as the data collection tool. The findings of the study where the SPSS 17.0 software package is used for data analysis have revealed that; while the speaking anxiety levels of Turkish teacher candidates are not high and do not change depending on their gender or their willingness to become a teacher, they change significantly depending on their grade and public speaking experience.

Relationship between Speaking Anxiety and Self-Efficacy among Elementary Students in Second Language Classrooms in Malaysia

Learning English as a second language has been long implemented in Malaysia since post-independence in 1967. However, many research findings have established that language anxiety remains as an obstacle, which hinders students from mastering English in their second language classrooms. This paper presents the exploration on the relationship between English speaking anxiety and self-efficacy among 289 elementary school students from the population of 1080 students in the zone of Nusajaya, Johor, Malaysia. The results were compared across different academic achievers and genders. A modified version of FLCAS (Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale) by Horwitzs and Cope (1986) and English Speaking Self Efficacy (ESSE) which was adapted and adopted from QESE by Wang (2013) were used as the research instruments. Questionnaires were distributed to the respondents to assess their self-perception on speaking anxiety and self-efficacy. The findings realized the existence of a significant moderate negative relationship between English language speaking anxiety and self-efficacy. No significant difference between genders in the level of speaking anxiety was found but there were significant differences among different academic achievers in the level of speaking anxiety

INVESTIGATING SPEAKING ANXIETY OF THE TENTH GRADE STUDENTS AT SMA NEGERI 4 SINGARAJA

This present study was aimed at investigating the levels of students’ speaking anxiety and the most dominant factor influencing students’ speaking anxiety. This study was a cross sectional survey with quantitative method. The population of this study was the tenth grade students of SMA Negeri 4 Singaraja in academic year 2017/2018. Simple random sampling was used as the sampling technique. The total number of the sample was 110 students who were chosen randomly from 11 classes. The data was gathered by using questionnaire. Then, it was analyzed by finding out the percentage of the students’ speaking anxiety level and mean score for the most dominant factor influencing students’ speaking anxiety. The result of this study showed that most of the students were in mildly anxious level with the percentage 51%. It followed by 24% students felt anxious and 24% of them felt relaxed. Additionaly, 1% student was categorised as very anxious level and only 1% of was in very relaxed level. Finally, in this present study, it was found that cognitive factor was the most dominant factor influencing students speaking anxiety.