Speaker
Description
Anxiety while speaking English has long been perceived as one of the factors that hinder the speaking skills of students and present a number of challenges for students in communication within the classroom and real-life contexts. Thus, the objective of this research was to examine non-English majors’ level of anxiety while speaking English, its effects on their speaking competence, and the coping strategies for speaking anxiety. Using a mixed -methods explanatory sequential design, this study was conducted on a sample of 191 freshmen and sophomore non-English majors. Data were collected through questionnaires, audio recordings of students’ speaking performance during an in-class test, and semi-structured interviews. The finding revealed that students’ perceived level of speaking anxiety varied from moderate to high. Fear of negative evaluation emerged as a more influential factor than trait anxiety, even though its impact remained consistent at a moderate level. Besides that, the influence of speaking anxiety was evident in students’ speaking through limited lexical diversity, a high occurrence of filled and unfilled pauses that affected fluency, and constraints in their accurate and fluent speech, as well as an overuse of their first language (L1) during second language (L2) production. Moreover, students’ fear of speaking English contributed to a decline in their motivation to learn English, though some students demonstrated resilience by focusing on the long-term benefits of English proficiency Further detrimental consequences of speaking anxiety were identified, alongside a number of coping strategies students employed to decrease the level of speaking anxiety. The study concludes by offering some pedagogical implications for both teachers and students in terms of overcoming speaking anxiety in classroom activities as well as directions for future research.
Biography
Ms. Pham Thi Nhu Y is a post-graduate student majoring in Principles and Methods in English Language Education. During and after her studies at Can Tho University, she derived a great interest from exploring various factors affecting students’ language acquisition and motivation, and teachers’ determination in professional development. Currently, she is a teacher at Au Viet My International English School in Ninh Kieu, Can Tho. In this presentation, Ms. Nhu Y presents a brief assessment of non-English majors’ level of anxiety while speaking English and the effects of speaking anxiety on their English speaking performance. She also provides significant pedagogical implications for both teachers and students in terms of overcoming speaking anxiety, as well as various areas for further research.
Dr. Hoang Thi Linh Giang is lecturer in the English Department, University of Foreign Languages and International Studies, Hue University. She obtained a PhD in Applied Linguistics from the University of Melbourne. Her research involves technology enhanced assessment, automated writing assessment, and translation and interpreting studies.
