1. Home
  2. Vol 15, No 1 (2022)
  3. Zulfikar

Investigating Hgh-School EFL Learners’ Foreign Language Anxiety: A Case Study at SMA 4 Banda Aceh

Zulfikar Zulfikar

Abstract


This study aimed to investigate the level of foreign language anxiety (FLA) experienced by senior-high-school English language learners (ELLs) and to explore plausible factors that contribute to the learners’ anxiety. This research employed a qualitative descriptive method with a case study approach, involving thirty-four twelfth-grade ELLs from SMA 4 Banda Aceh, Indonesia, as participants. In gathering the data, Horwitz et al.'s (1986) Foreign Language Speaking Anxiety Scale (FLCAS) and semi-structured interview were used as instruments. The findings revealed that the majority of the ELLs were at a moderate level of anxiety, with more than half of them being at “Mildly Anxious” level and with no “Very Anxious” learners. The findings also indicated that the ELLs’ FLA was caused not only by teacher factors but also student factors. The teacher factors include oral presentation task, incomprehensible input, and teachers’ attitude, while student factors comprise learners’ fear of being laughed at, their’ beliefs about L2, and lack of preparation.

References


Aichhorn, N., & Puck, J. (2017). “I just don’t feel comfortable speaking English”: Foreign language anxiety as a catalyst for spoken-language barriers in MNCs. International Business Review, 26(4), 749–763. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.IBUSREV.2017.01.004

Al-Mukdad, S. (2021). The cause of speaking anxiety of pre-intermediate efl learners and its effects on their oral performance. Theory and Practice in Language Studies, 11(5), 580–585. https://doi.org/10.17507/TPLS.1105.18

Al-Saraj, T. M. (2014). Foreign language anxiety in female Arabs learning English: case studies. Http://Dx.Doi.Org/10.1080/17501229.2013.837911, 8(3), 257–278. https://doi.org/10.1080/17501229.2013.837911

Ary, D., Jacobs, L. C., Sorensen, C., & Walker, D. A. (2014). Introduction to research in education. Wadsworth Cengage Learning.

Ayu, M. (2019). Interactive activities for effective learning in overcrowded classrooms. Linguists: Journal Of Linguistics and Language Teaching, 4(2), 1–6. https://doi.org/10.29300/LING.V4I2.1658

Bashori, M., van Hout, R., Strik, H., & Cucchiarini, C. (2020). Web-based language learning and speaking anxiety. Computer Assisted Language Learning, 1–32. https://doi.org/10.1080/09588221.2020.1770293

Bidari, N. P. I., Santosa, M. H., & Mahendrayana, G. (2021). Students and teachers’ anxiety levels in learning English during the emergency remote teaching in Indonesia. ETERNAL (English, Teaching, Learning, and Research Journal), 7(2), 395–408. https://doi.org/10.24252/ETERNAL.V72.2021.A11

Brown, D. H., & Abeywickrama, P. (2019). Language assessment : principles and classroom practices (3rd ed.). Pearson Education.

Derakhshan, A., Khalili, A. N., & Beheshti, F. (2016). Developing EFL learner’s speaking ability, accuracy and fluency. English Language and Literature Studies, 6(2), 177–186. https://doi.org/10.5539/ells.v6n2p177

Dewaele, J.-M., Witney, J., Saito, K., & Dewaele, L. (2017). Foreign language enjoyment and anxiety: The effect of teacher and learner variables. Language Teaching Research, 22(6), 676–697. https://doi.org/10.1177/1362168817692161

Diaab, S. (2016). Role of faulty instructional methods in Libyan EFL learners’ speaking difficulties. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 232, 338–345. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.SBSPRO.2016.10.032

Effiong, O. (2016). Getting them speaking: Classroom social factors and foreign language anxiety. TESOL Journal, 7(1), 132–161. https://doi.org/10.1002/TESJ.194

Furaidah, F., Saukah, A., & Widiati, U. (2015). Washback of English national examination in the Indonesian context. TEFLIN Journal, 26(1), 36–58. https://doi.org/10.15639/TEFLINJOURNAL.V26I1/36-58

Gkonou, C. (2014). The sociolinguistic parameters of L2 speaking anxiety. Second Language Learning and Teaching, 17, 15–32. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-00188-3_2

Gregersen, T., Macintyre, P. D., & Meza, M. D. (2014). The motion of emotion: Idiodynamic case studies of learners’ foreign language anxiety. The Modern Language Journal, 98(2), 574–588. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1111/modl.12084

Gumbaridze, J. (2013). Error correction in EFL speaking classrooms. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 70, 1660–1663. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.SBSPRO.2013.01.237

Habrat, A. (2013). The Effect of Affect on Learning: Self-Esteem and Self-Concept BT - Language in Cognition and Affect (E. Piechurska-Kuciel & E. Szymańska-Czaplak (eds.); pp. 239–253). Springer Berlin Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-35305-5_14

Hamouda, A. (2013). An exploration of causes of Saudi students’ reluctance to participate in the English language classroom. 1(1), 17–34. https://doi.org/10.5296/ijele.v1i1.2652

He, D. (2013). What makes learners anxious while speaking English: a comparative study of the perceptions held by university students and teachers in China. Educational Studies, 39(3), 338–350. https://doi.org/10.1080/03055698.2013.764819

Horwitz, E. K., Horwitz, M. 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

Houghton, C., Murphy, K., Shaw, D., & Casey, D. (2015). Qualitative case study data analysis: An example from practice. Nurse Researcher, 22(5), 8–12. https://doi.org/10.7748/NR.22.5.8.E1307

Huang, Q. (2012). Study on correlation of foreign language anxiety and English reading anxiety. Theory and Practice in Language Studies, 2(7), 1520–1525. https://doi.org/10.4304/TPLS.2.7.1520-1525

Jiang, Y., & Dewaele, J. M. (2020). The predictive power of sociobiographical and language variables on foreign language anxiety of Chinese university students. System, 89, 102219. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.SYSTEM.2020.102207

Johana, L., & Rico, A. (2014). Identifying factors causing difficulties to productive skills among foreign languages learners. OPENING WRITING DOORS JOURNAL, 11(1), 65–86.

Khusnia, A. N. (2016). Students’ perspectives on speaking anxiety in the English foreign language classroom. Ahmad Dahlan Journal of English Studies, 3(2), 41–51. https://doi.org/10.26555/ADJES.V3I2.4988

Kralova, Z., & Petrova, G. (2017). Causes and consequences of foreign language anxiety. XLinguae, 10(3), 110–122. https://doi.org/10.18355/XL.2017.10.03.09

Lee, E. J. E. (2016). Reducing international graduate students’ language anxiety through oral pronunciation corrections. System, 56, 78–95. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.SYSTEM.2015.11.006

Lee, M., Schutz, P. A., & Vlack, S. van. (2017). Non-native English-speaking teachers’ anxieties and insecurities: Self-perceptions of their communicative limitations (J. de D. Martinez Agudo (ed.); pp. 119–138). De Gruyter Mouton. https://doi.org/doi:10.1515/9781501504143-007

MacIntyre, P., & Gregersen, T. (2012). Affect: The role of language anxiety and other emotions in language learning. In S. Mercer, S. Ryan, & M. Williams (Eds.), Psychology for Language Learning (pp. 103–118). Palgrave Macmillan UK. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137032829_8

Marwan, A. (2016). Investigating students’ foreign language anxiety. Malaysian Journal of ELT Research, 3(1), 19.

Nilsson, M. (2020). Young learners’ perspectives on English classroom interaction : Foreign language anxiety and sense of agency in Swedish primary school [Department of Language Education, Stockholm University]. In Doktorsavhandlingar i språkdidaktik - Dissertations in Language Education NV - 15. http://su.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:1459724/FULLTEXT01.pdf

Odabaşı, F., & Suleimenova, Z. (2013). Speaking anxiety in a foreign language classroom in Kazakhstan. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 93, 1860–1868. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.SBSPRO.2013.10.131

Oteir, I., & Al-Otaibi, A. N. (2019). Foreign language anxiety: A systematic review. Arab World English Journal, 10(3), 309–317. https://doi.org/10.24093/AWEJ/VOL10NO3.21

Pramuktiyono, A., & Wardhono, A. (2016). Foreign language anxiety and beliefs of EFL learners at Indonesia. Indonesian EFL Journal: Journal of ELT, Linguistics, and Literature, 2(1), 14–36. http://ejournal.kopertais4.or.id/mataraman/index.php/efi/article/view/1924

Rahman, B., Hamid, S., & Gul, A. (2020). The Impact of stress on the performance of university students in the light of Krashen’s affective filter theory. Liberal Arts and Social Sciences International Journal (LASSIJ), 3(2), 59–64. https://doi.org/10.47264/idea.lassij/3.2.7

Saha, M. (2014). EFL test anxiety: Sources and supervisions. Journal of Teaching and Teacher Education, 2(2), 187–208. https://doi.org/10.12785/JTTE/020208

Salehi, M., & Marefat, F. (2014). The effects of foreign language anxiety and test anxiety on foreign language test performance. Theory and Practice in Language Studies, 4(5), 931–940. https://doi.org/10.4304/tpls.4.5.931-940

Stomff, M. (2014). The effects of teachers’ attitudes on anxiety and academic performances. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 127, 868–871. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.SBSPRO.2014.03.370

Suleimenova, Z. (2013). Speaking anxiety in a foreign language classroom in Kazakhstan. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 93, 1860–1868. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.SBSPRO.2013.10.131

Tran, T. T. T. (2012). A review of Horwitz, Horwitz and Cope’s theory of foreign language anxiety and the challenges to the theory. English Language Teaching, 5(1), 69–75. https://doi.org/10.5539/ELT.V5N1P69

Trang, T. T. T., Baldauf, R. B., & Moni, K. (2013). Investigating the development of foreign language anxiety: an autobiographical approach. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 34(7), 709–726. https://doi.org/10.1080/01434632.2013.796959

Wesely, P. M. (2012). Learner attitudes, perceptions, and beliefs in language learning. Foreign Language Annals, 45(s1), s98–s117. https://doi.org/10.1111/J.1944-9720.2012.01181.X

Yassin, A. A., & Razak, N. A. (2017). Investigating the relationship between foreign language anxiety in the four skills and year of study among Yemeni University EFL learners. 3L: Language, Linguistics, Literature, 23(3), 147–159. https://doi.org/10.17576/3L-2017-2303-11

Yosintha, R. (2020). Indonesian students’ attitudes towards EFL learning in response to industry 5.0. Metathesis: Journal of English Language, Literature, and Teaching, 4(2), 163–177. https://doi.org/10.31002/METATHESIS.V4I2.2360

Zhang, R., & Zhong, J. (2012). The hindrance of doubt: causes of language anxiety. International Journal of English Linguistics, 2(3), 27–33. https://doi.org/10.5539/ijel.v2n3p27

Zheng, Y., & Cheng, L. (2018). How does anxiety influence language performance? From the perspectives of foreign language classroom anxiety and cognitive test anxiety. Language Testing in Asia, 8(1), 1–19. https://doi.org/10.1186/S40468-018-0065-4/TABLES/8


Full Text: PDF

DOI: 10.24042/ee-jtbi.v15i1.12046

License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0