INVESTIGATION OF STUDENTS’ ENGLISH SPEAKING ANXIETY: A CASE STUDY AT SMP NEGERI 7 MAGELANG

Name : Kenti SugiyatiMercya Christ Sita Dewi

Affiliation : Universitas TidarAbstract Code : ABS-ICOLLITE-20130

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INTRODUCTION

Speaking anxiety is a common phenomenon, which is experienced by a foreign

language students. Previous researchers assumed that investigating EFL students’

speaking performance issue is an urgent need to be explored as it can guide students’

performance, proficiency and achievement in speaking skills (Indrianty, 2016; Liu,

M., & Huang, 2011; Miskam, N. N., & Saidalvi, 2019; Öztürk & Nurdan, 2014;

Rachmawati & Jurianto, 2020; Zhang, W., & Liu, 2013).

In accordance with the previous studies, the content of this study concerns the level,

major causes, or factors, which provoke anxiety in speaking an English language. Two

questions are purposed in this current study:

1. Do the students experience EFL speaking anxiety? If so, what is the level of it?

2. What are the major causes or factors of EFL speaking anxiety?

“: Literature Review

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Foreign Language Anxiety

Horwitz et al. (1986) construed foreign language anxiety as a distinct complex

of self-awareness, beliefs, feelings, and attitudes towards classroom language

learning generated from the distinctiveness of the language learning process.

Furthermore, Horwitz et al. (1986) categorized the three related situation

arousing performance anxieties:

1) Communication apprehension,

2) Test anxiety,

3) Fear of negative evaluation.

Tanveer (2007) stated that EFL students face a ‘mental block’ in case of learning English,

especially in speaking class. Students in foreign language classrooms report that speaking

is the most anxiety-provoking experience.

Foreign language speaking anxiety itself can be detected by applying questionnaires

offered by Horwitz et al. (1986) that have been modified. Öztürk and Gürbüz (2014)

divided foreign language speaking anxiety levels by calculating the total score of the

questionnaires into three different levels: low, moderate, and high.

Foreign Language Speaking Anxiety Level

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METHODOLOGY

Research Design

Distributing questionnaires (FLSAQ) purposed by Öztürk and Nurdan (2014) to 27 English club students

at SMP Negeri 7 Magelang in which the researchers translated the statements included in the

questionnaire into Bahasa Indonesia as the students’ first language to prevent any misunderstanding.

Data Collection

Data Analysis

Descriptive statistics were taken to explore the data collected from the foreign language speaking anxiety

questionnaire (FLSAQ). This study also applied content analysis approach to categorize and investigate

the major cause of student’ speaking anxiety by classifying the statements was attached in the

questionnaire.

The whole study primary was carried out by applying a quantitative approach. Boeren (2018) articulates

that the quantitative method requires the researcher to gather the data using predetermined instruments

such as questionnaires in which the data are being subjected to statistical analyses.

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FINDING AND DISCUSSION

The Level of Students’ Speaking Anxiety

Statement Scores Percentages Frequencies

Low level of

speaking anxiety449 37 10

Moderate level of

speaking anxiety957 59 16

High level of

speaking anxiety77 4 1

Total 1.483 100 27

> 54% : low level

54 – 72 %: moderate level

< 72% : high level

Following to the table, the researchers

measure the mean score of students’ speaking

anxiety as follows:

1.483

27= 54,9

The result demonstrates that students

generally experience a moderate level of EFL

speaking anxiety.

FINDING AND DISCUSSION: English Language Speaking Anxiety Factors

Item

Percentages

SA+A N D+SD

% % %

1 29,6 55,5 14,8

4 33,3 25,9 40,7

5 62,9 14,8 22,2

7 59,2 29,6 11,1

8 62,9 22,2 14,8

9 11,1 48,1 40,7

13 7,40 51,85 40,73

14 14,81 55,5 29,6

15 37 29,6 33,3

16 11,1 37 51,8

Item

Percentages

SA+A N D+SD

% % %

2 48,1 14,8 37

6 18,5 37 44,4

10 29,6 25,9 44,4

12 55,5 29,6 14,8

17 44,4 18,5 37,3

18 62,9 18,5 18,5

Item

Percentages

SA+A N D+SD

% % %

3 37 25,9 37

11 59,2 11,1 29,6

Communication Apprehension Fear of Negative Evaluation Test Anxiety

62, 9% of the subjects start to

panic when they have to speak

without preparation in English

classes, item 5 and get upset when

they do not understand what the

teacher is correcting, item 8.

The results indicate that 62,9%

of the subjects got nervous

when the English teacher asks

questions without their

advanced preparation, item 18.

59, 2% of the subjects agree

that they feel their heart

pounding when going to be

called on in English classes.

CONCLUSION

By utilizing a questionnaire proposed by Öztürk and Gürbüz (2014), the researchers found out that

most students of SMP Negeri 7 Magelang experienced a moderate with a scale of 59% level of

speaking anxiety. It demonstrates that most of them only feel less confident in a particular situation.

The researcher classified the factors arousing students speaking anxiety by Horwitz et al. (1986)

theories on the three specific situations causing anxiety: communication apprehension, fear of negative

evaluation, and test anxiety. The most factor that provokes students' anxiety on communication

apprehension are when they are asked to speak in English classes without preparation and when they

do not understand what the teacher is correcting. Both of these particular anxiety factors are calculated

with 62.9% of the students who agree with the items. Similarly, in Fear of Negative Evaluation, 62.9%

of the students agree that they get nervous when the teacher asks questions without preparation time.

Furthermore, the finding denoted that 59,2% of the students get heart pounding when going to be

called in English classes. This item is classified into a Test Anxiety component, as it requires students

to perform their speaking ability and being evaluated by the teacher. To conclude this study, it can be

considered that issues on anxiety need to be tackled as well because it significantly affects students'

foreign language speaking ability.

REFERENCESHorwitz, E.K., Michael B. Cope, J. (1986). Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety. The Modern Language Journal, 70(2), 125–132.https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-4781.1986.tb05256.x

Indrianty, S. (2016). Students’ Anxiety in Speaking English (A Case Study in One Hotel and Tourism College in Bandung). ELTIN Journal, Journal of EnglishLanguage Teaching in Indonesia, 4(1), 28–40.

Liu, M., & Huang, W. (2011). An Exploration of Foreign Language Anxiety and English Learning Motivation. Education Research International, 1–8.Miskam, N. N., & Saidalvi, A. (2019). Investigating English Language Speaking Anxiety among Malaysian Undergraduate Learners. Asian Social Science, 5(1),1–7.

Tanveer, M. (2007). Investigation of the factors that cause language anxiety for ESL/EFL learners in learning speaking skills and teh influence it casts oncommunication in the target language (Unpublished master’s )

Öztürk, G. G., & Nurdan. (2014). Speaking anxiety among Turkish EFL learners: The case at a state university. Journal of Language and Linguistic Studies,10(1), 1–17.

Rachmawati, D. I., & Jurianto, J. (2020). Investigating English Department Students’ Foreign Language Speaking Anxiety: a Case Study in UniversitasAirlangga, Indonesia. Social Sciences, Humanities and Education Journal (SHE Journal), 1(2), 22. https://doi.org/10.25273/she.v1i2.6624

Zhang, W., & Liu, M. (2013). Evaluating the Impact of Oral Test Anxiety and Speaking Strategy Use on Oral English Performance. The Journal of Asia TEFL,10(2), 115–148.