The Perceptions of Saudi EFL Students Toward the Effect of Anxiety on Their Oral Communication

Abstract

Oral communication is one of the most important skills of communication among individuals with each other. It refers to communication between the students and their teachers through the spoken language, which includes a group of distinctive words, phrases, and sentences which are associated with specific meanings. However, there are many barriers that affect this communication. Therefore, this study addresses some of the barriers of anxiety when communicating using the English language in which it constitutes a major problem for EFL students and hinders their goals in learning the English language. This study aims to investigate the EFL students’ perceptions towards the effect of anxiety on their oral communication in various Saudi universities. Moreover, it explores some strategies that may help EFL students to overcome this problem. The research instrument used in this study was a questionnaire that was modified for the purposes of the study. The questionnaire consisted of 20 items divided into two parts. Furthermore, 102 EFL students participated in this study. The results showed that EFL students suffer from anxiety while speaking English, whether in a discussion class with the teacher or when presenting a presentation. The participants also agreed with most of the strategies stated in the survey. Based on the findings, recommendations and suggestions for further research are provided.