EFL University Students' Anxiety in English Speaking and Writing

• Main Authors: LAI, TSUIE-SHAN, 賴翠珊
• Other Authors: CHEN, YI-JHEN
• Format: Others
• Language: en_US
• Published: 2019
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/6848b2

碩士 === 南臺科技大學 === 應用英語系 === 107 === Abstract This study aimed to investigate students’ speaking anxiety and writing anxiety, gender difference in speaking and writing anxiety, and the relationship between speaking and writing anxiety. Participants were 258 college students in the department of applied English at one technological university. This study adopted a quantitative research method including a speaking anxiety survey and a writing anxiety survey. Data were analyzed by SPSS, including descriptive statistics, t-test, and correlation. The results of this study were summarized as follows. First, the top three speaking anxiety students had were keeping thinking that the other students were better at English, feeling that other students speak English better, and getting so nervous that they forgot things they knew in English speaking classes. To put it briefly, students’ speaking anxiety mainly came from fear of negative evaluation. Second, the top three writing anxiety students had were feeling nervous when writing English compositions under time constraint, being afraid of being laughed by other students, and worrying about getting a poor grade in English writing classes. Judged from the result, cognitive anxiety was the main source in writing anxiety. Third, gender difference by t-test on speaking anxiety showed that there was no significant difference in speaking. The results indicated the same as writing anxiety. Thus, there was no significant difference in speaking and writing anxiety between male and female students. Finally, as for the correlation of speaking anxiety and writing anxiety, the correlation coefficient was in the medium range. Students’ speaking anxiety and writing anxiety were moderately correlated. Pedagogical implications were as follows. Teachers should create a friendly and non-threatening environment for learners in the English classroom. In addition, the use of group activities and supportive feedbacks or guidance may decrease students’ anxiety. Moreover, it is important for learners to gain self-confidence and to have a willingness to make mistakes from learning a language.