Foreign Language Speaking Anxiety in EFL Classrooms: The Case of Third year EFL students at the University of Belhadj Bouchaib Ain Temouchent

Abstract

Foreign language anxiety has become a common issue among learners in the process of foreign language learning, because of the impact it has. Several studies have been conducted on it. When it comes to speaking anxiety in EFL classrooms, the majority of EFL students struggle with it. The present study aims at investigating the existence of the phenomenon in an EFL classroom and the major effect of it on speaking skills. In addition, it shed light on the main sources of speaking anxiety that learners face in classrooms as well as the main strategies that help anxious students overcome their struggle from both the teacher's students’ perspective. In order to achieve these objectives and answer the research questions, this study is based on a mixed-method research design manifested through a classroom observation, and an online questionnaire distributed to eighty (80) Third year EFL students at the Department of Letters and English Language at Belhadj Bouchaib University. The obtained results were quantitatively and qualitatively analyzed. The study's findings revealed that most students experienced anxiety attacks in classroom when performing in front of an audience, such as giving presentations. The data also revealed that speaking anxiety had a negative impact on the learning achievement of EFL students, particularly in oral performance. The questionnaire results also revealed that speaking anxiety can be reduced by employing a set of strategies and that the teacher's role in helping students to reduce anxiety is also effective. Finally, according to the findings of the study, we made suggestions and recommendations for EFL teachers and students on how to deal with speaking anxiety and improve their speaking abilities.