A STUDY OF SPEECH ANXIETY AMONG ESL LEARNERS

This research investigated English as a second language (ESL) speaking anxiety faced by university students. Data was obtained through a group of 44 students in the undergraduate course, in public university in Malaysia through questionnaires in a Google Form. This study examined reasons of anxiety, types of anxiety, and methods to cope with the anxiety. The instrument is a questionnaire. The data was analysed using SPSS. The result of the analysis revealed that ESL students suffered from English language speaking anxiety. Furthermore, fear of negative evaluation and lack of confidence was proven to be the source of ESL speaking anxiety. Additionally, different students have different types of anxiety such trait anxiety and situation anxiety. In order to cope with anxiety, development of self-confidence is important. Preparation is another way to relieve language anxiety for instance implementation of roleplay or simulations. Article visualizations: