Analysis of Turkish Language Teacher Candidates' Speech Anxiety in Terms of Various Variables in the Context of 21st Century Skills

The requirements of the 21st century encompass not only grammar and vocabulary but also effective communication through oral, written, and ICT-mediated processes. The teaching profession should be embraced as an art of addressing the student's soul and nurturing individuals. Speech anxiety is a common condition encountered in communication, language learning, and teaching processes, which can negatively affect students' language skills. The aim of this article is to analyze the speech anxiety of Turkish language teacher candidates in terms of various variables. The research was conducted using a survey model where the 'Speech Anxiety Scale,' a 5-point Likert-type scale, was employed. The sample of the study consisted of 200 voluntary Turkish language teacher candidates continuing their education at two different universities in the Eastern Anatolia and Central Anatolia regions in 2023. Descriptive statistics (% and f), independent samples t-test to determine changes in scores based on participants' gender, one-way ANOVA for class levels, and one-way ANOVA analyses to determine score differences based on the grade variable were used in the data analysis. After ANOVA, Dunnett C test was used for determining the differences that emerged. The research examined the levels of speech anxiety of teacher candidates and found that this anxiety was especially prevalent in items such as 'Fear of speaking in front of an audience,' 'Feeling embarrassed when talking about myself to people,' and 'Getting excited when talking to someone of the opposite sex' with 'Always' responses. While no significant differences were found between gender and class levels, factor analysis results revealed that the FF and DC groups had lower environmental-focused anxiety and overall speech anxiety compared to the BA group.