Anxiety in Second Language in Relation to Students’ Speaking Performance

Abstract

Language anxiety is thought to hinder language learning, and if the learners are truly anxious in class, they are probably not fully engaged, if at all. With the help of the Foreign Language Speaking Anxiety Scale (FLSAS) and a free-speaking exercise, this study intends to ascertain the association between language anxiety and speaking performance among undergraduate and graduate students. Frequency count, percent, mean, and Kruskal Wallis were used as statistical techniques to total, tabulate, and further analyze and interpret scores. An extensive, unstructured phenomenological interview with the students was undertaken to ascertain the causes of their language anxiety, and the thematic analysis was carried out using Giorgi's phenomenological method. Students did less satisfactorily in speaking performances and were found to be moderately worried. Language anxiety and speaking abilities, particularly in vocabulary and comprehension, are significantly correlated. This is ascribed to error-causing factors such as the impact of the native language on the second language, lack of confidence, anxiety about communicating, and fear of being evaluated. This study concluded that speaking performance could be predicted using linguistic anxiety. Particularly in understanding and vocabulary, the worried learner frequently performed worse than the native speaker when speaking in English. According to this study, students who are really worried about language should receive training. Teachers can provide straightforward, captivating, varied, and entertaining oral tasks that will give pupils the chance to speak English freely.