The Teacher’s Role in Reducing Learners’ Anxiety in Second Language

Production in the Philippines

by
Quennie Mae G. Dianon
RATIONALE

Speaking is one of the fundamental skills of language learning due to its

significant use for communication. It is very important to be able to speak English

because it is the most commonly accepted language in the world. Language is a

system for the expression of meaning. Its primary function is for interaction and

communication. Therefore, speaking becomes one of the most important skills that

people should learn. However, there are still a lot of factors that cause students to face

the difficulties in learning to speak in English and one of which is anxiety.

According to Horwitz, Horwitz, and Cope (1986), speaking is arguably

the skill most affected by language anxiety. Anxiety has been found to interfere with

many types of learning but when it is associated with learning a second or foreign

language it is termed as ‘second/foreign language anxiety’. Horwitz (1986 et al.,)

defined anxiety as “the subjective feeling of tension, apprehension, nervousness, and

worry associated with an arousal of the autonomic nervous system”. According to

Horwitz (1986 et al.,) the feelings of tension or nervousness center on the two basic

task requirements of second language learning: listening and speaking because, in

interaction, both the skills cannot be separated. In addition, he said that some learners

may claim to have a mental block against anxiety when they come to learn to speak a

second or foreign language. It makes students have less confidence, stress, and

nervousness that hinder their learning process. Furthermore, EFL or ESL teachers

play an important role in the amount of anxiety students experienced in language

classes.
 This condition makes the anxiety in speaking English as second language

important to be investigated. The present study intends to know if language anxiety

becomes worst because of the situation the learner is in and what are the effects of

language anxiety to the learners. Furthermore, this study will also give our educators

an idea as to how to address these factors to create a more conducive learning

environment.

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

Affective factors refer to personal – emotional - social behaviors of teachers

and learners and the learning environment generated by their communications (as

cited in Ripple, 1964). Speaking in English in classroom seems difficult for the learner

because there are many affective issues behind it and one of which is anxiety.

Definition of anxiety

The concept of language anxiety was first proposed by Horwitz, Horwitz and

Cope (1986,p.128) in their paper Foreign Classroom Language Anxiety. They defined

language anxiety as “a distinct complex of self-perceptions, beliefs, feelings and

behaviors related to classroom language learning arising from the uniqueness of

language learning experience.” There have been other definitions of anxiety, in order

to clarify the phenomenon even more. MacIntyre (1999) describes anxiety as a

negative emotional reaction and the feeling of worry when learning a second language.

He added that language anxiety is negatively related to language learning. In the other

words, students who feel anxiety will lose their self-confidence. They will have

particular perception that assumes something as a big problem or difficult matter. The

condition can lead them into certain level of frustration.

2|Page
Types of Anxiety

Several attempts to categorize and define language anxiety have been made.

As for the categorization, an early attempt that calls for the recognition of intricate

hierarchy of learner variables prior to measurement of anxiety was made by Scovel

(1978) and these are: trait anxiety, state anxiety and situation-specific anxiety.

Drawing on work in psychology, Scovel (1978) defines trait anxiety as a

permanent predisposition to be anxious. It is the general level of stress which is related

to personality of the individual and character trait. Those who are able to perceive

situations as being threatening are said to have state anxiety, a social type of anxiety

that occurs under certain conditions. It is also called transient anxiety, a response to

a particular anxiety-provoking stimulus such as an important test. It is characterized

by a state of increasing emotions that turn up in response to fear or danger of a

particular situation. Situation-specific anxiety is caused by specific situation or event

such as public speaking, examinations or recitations. It can be said that students‟

anxiety could come from several possible factors. Different factors will cause different

effect of anxiety and it needs different treatment as well to cope with particular kind of

anxiety.

Language anxiety or foreign language anxiety more specifically, is usually

associated with situational anxiety since it is a particular language learning situation

that triggers a learner to grow anxious. Young (1991) stresses the language learning

contexts as the provoking factor for language anxiety and defines language anxiety as

a construct peculiar to language learning situations.

3|Page
Factors that leads to anxiety

In addition to understanding the construct of language anxiety, it is important to

find out what the sources of language anxiety are, or what causes anxious feelings

among language learners in the language classrooms. Regarding this, Alsowat (2016)

says, “it is useful to determine the sources of foreign language anxiety to better

understanding of the nature of anxiety, and to help English instructors find suitable

and effective strategies to reduce anxiety in language classrooms” (p. 198). Young

(1991) mentions that personal and interpersonal issues are considered to be the most

commonly cited and discussed sources of language anxiety in most studies. The study

of Price (1991) is related to these types of language anxiety sources. In her study,

Price (1991) interviewed 10 anxious language learners and clarified the sources of

anxiety from their classroom experiences. The greatest source of anxiety was having

to speak the target language in front of their peers. All the students spoke of their fears

of being laughed at by other students, and making a fool of themselves in public. The

students were worried about making errors in pronunciation in addition to having the

frustration of not being able to communicate effectively. It seems that students with

low perceived ability in a foreign language are the likeliest candidates for language

anxiety. As a factor that may contribute to language anxiety, Horwitz (1986) indicates

the student beliefs of stressing the importance of accuracy in the target language. In

spite of the fact that target language errors are typical and unavoidable in language

learning, a substantial number of students were very concerned with the correctness

of their utterances. Therefore, due to the beliefs of perfectionism in speaking a target

language, the unrealistic expectations of mastering a language may gradually lead to

language anxiety.

4|Page
Role of the Teachers

It seems clear from preceding research findings that reducing student language

anxiety is a significant issue. Therefore, it is important for teachers to recognize the

anxiousness of students and to conduct classes in a less stressful manner given that

there are many situations that could provoke anxiety in language classrooms.

According to Koch and Terrell (1991), “activities in the foreign language class that

create an atmosphere of panic, fear, anger, and other unpleasant feelings, which are

psychologically and physiologically associated with anxiety, can impede language

acquisition”. In order to promote language learning among ESL/EFL learners, the

alleviation of language anxiety is indispensable. Since there are several things that

can be done to help students feel more comfortable using a second language and as

reducing classroom tension and creating a friendly, collaborative atmosphere will help

decrease students’ fear of making errors. Furthermore, Gregersen (2003) emphasized

that foreign language teachers have a key role in reducing student language anxiety.

RESEARCH PROBLEM

This research aims to study the role of teachers in reducing the leaner’s anxiety

in speaking the second language. More specifically it seeks to find answers to the

following questions:

1. Is the learner’s anxiety when it comes to speaking the second language

becomes worst because of the situation he/she is in?

2. What are the effects of language anxiety to students?

3. What is the role of teachers in reducing the learner’s anxiety in speaking the

second language?

FINDINGS/RESULTS/SUGGESTIONS

1. Is the learner’s anxiety when it comes to speaking the second language

becomes worst because of the situation he/she is in?

5|Page
 The social turn in SLA has meant that several concepts, including language

anxiety, have been reinterpreted as socially-constructed. The research into

complex dynamic systems accounts shows that anxiety is influenced by internal

physiological processes, cognition, and emotional states along with the demands

of the situation and the presence of other people, among other things, considered

over multiple timescales. Anxiety has both internal and social dimensions.

Furthermore, Young (1991) stresses that language learning context is the

provoking factor for language anxiety and defines language anxiety as a construct

peculiar to language learning situations. In addition, Oxford (2017) considered this

to be the root of language anxiety. In clinical psychology, situational anxiety is

viewed as an intense and persistent fear of social occasions and performance

situations (Rachman, 2013). People with social anxiety tend to be horrified by

social or performance occasions that might embarrass them.

2. What are the effects of language anxiety to students?

To summarize the study of Young (1991), the factors that cause learners to

develop the anxiety when it comes to speaking the second language can be divided

into three categories - academic, cognitive and social causes. Each category has

its own corresponding effects. In academic, students tend to increase their effort

at learning resulting in lower levels of achievement than expected. In cognitive,

students tend to increase self-related cognition (thoughts of failure, performance

worry, self-deprecating thoughts). Students also require more time to intake

information, and more time to achieve the same result as a student not

experiencing language anxiety. A nervous student risks performing more poorly

than a relaxed one. And social, students tend to reduce their linguistic self-

confidence, a motivating influence for the language learner. Anxious learners do

6|Page
not communicate as often as more relaxed learners and is afraid of making

mistakes. Therefore, students under relaxed personal conditions are benefiting

from the second language class more than the anxious students. During this

period of anxiety, students go through feelings of worry and dread, have trouble

concentrating, sweat, experience heart palpitations, and become forgetful. These

psycho-physiological symptoms hinder the language learning experience. (Horwitz

et al., 1986)

3. What is the role of teachers in reducing the learner’s anxiety in speaking the

second language?

Language anxiety can dramatically influence the process of language learning

and teaching. Therefore, it is necessary that language teachers not only recognize

that anxiety is a major cause of students’ lack of success in the new language but

also assist them to tackle the feelings of unease and discomfort. Consideration of

language learners’ anxiety reactions by a language teacher is deemed highly

important in order to assist them to achieve the intended performance goals in the

target language (Tanveer, 2007).

On the other hand, language learners reported to be less anxious and

stressful in environments that emphasize collaborative activities among the

teachers and the students. Giving a short talk, lecture or presentation in front of the

class has also been reported to be highly anxiety inducing, one which makes the

classroom environment more formal and stressful for the learners. Both student

cooperation and also teacher support were perceived to be effective in alleviating

student feelings of anxiety in the current study. The teacher role in the classroom is

important for high-anxious learners, as Price (1991) states, “they would feel more

comfortable if the instructor were more like a friend helping them to learn and less

7|Page
 like an authority figure making them perform”. Similarly, Young (1991) mentions that

instructors can reduce language anxiety by adopting an attitude that mistakes are

part of the language learning process and that mistakes will be made by everyone.

Teachers should always act as calm and placid, showing a generous attitude

towards student doubts or questions related to classroom activities, and through

this build a positive teacher-student relationship during lessons.

Based on the findings of similar researches in this regard, the following are

helpful suggestions that can be made:

1. The teachers should acknowledge the existence of the feeling of anxiety and

stress among the language learners and should apply quick and effective

strategies. They should be friendly, cooperative and helpful towards students

in English class.

2. Teachers can arrange some warm-up activities to minimize the fear and

anxiety from students’ mind.

3. The teachers can motivate the students by giving them positive feedbacks

and correct their mistakes politely. Furthermore, teachers can appreciate when

they speak English in class.

4. Teachers can give them some interesting group works wherein they can

show cooperation with others and build their confidence.

5. Finally, language teachers need some specific in service training courses on

general psychology including language anxiety in order to deal with the stress

and anxiety in their classes.

CONCLUSION

Almost all research subjects acknowledge that people feel anxious and nervous

while speaking English in front of others. Language anxiety has many factors. Every

8|Page
factor or situation that creates possibilities or enhances the chances of exposing their

deficiencies and language imperfections in front of others is likely to cause language

anxiety for ESL/EFL learners. This situation could be either classroom interaction in

the form of open class forum, group participation or class presentation, or giving a

short talk in any public event is likely to challenge learners’ communicative abilities.

What makes a foreign language classroom a highly anxiety-evoking place is its

evaluative nature: evaluation by the teachers, peers, and by a learners’ own ‘self’,

accompanied by high expectations and beliefs about second language learning.

Knowing all of these, it is imperative that teachers portray a big role in reducing

learners’ anxiety. Second language teachers need to be sensitive to their students’

needs and fears. What language anxiety demands is the careful attitude of the

language teachers in order to understand and to effectively diagnose this phenomenon

in the learners. The teacher’s responsibility is to provide students with comprehensible

output and opportunities to communicate in the target language in authentic situations

with authentic materials. Teachers also need to re-evaluate their teaching beliefs as

to consider learners with anxiety. Teaching and learning process requires the

application of modern approaches that lay emphasis on enhancing learning

opportunities in an environment that is conducive to learning.

9|Page
 References

Alsowat, H. H. (2016). Foreign language anxiety in higher education: A practical

framework for reducing FLA. European Scientific Journal, 12(7), 193-220.
Gregersen T, Horwitz, E.K. (2003). ‘Language Learning and Perfectionism: Anxious
and Non-anxious Language Learners’ Reactions to Their Own Oral
Performance’, The Modern Language Journal, Vol. 86 (4), pp. 562-570.
Hashemi , Masoud . (2010) An investigation of the factors that cause anxiety among
the English students of Islamic Azad University Of Hamadan in learning
speaking skills and its influence on communication ability in the target
language: Solutions and recommendations, Unpublished Research Project
Islamic Azad University , Toyserkan Branch , Iran.
Horwitz, E. K. (1986). Preliminary evidence for the reliability and validity of a foreign
language anxiety scale. TESOL Quarterly, 20(3), 559-562.

Horwitz, E. K., Horwitz, M. B., & Cope, J. (1986). Foreign language classroom anxiety.
The Modern Language Journal, 70, 125–132.

Koch, A., & Terrell, T. (1991). Affective reactions of foreign language students to
natural approach activities and teaching techniques. In E. K. Horwitz & D. J.

MacIntyre P, Gardner, R. C. (1991). ‘Investigating Language Class Anxiety Using the

Focused Essay Technique’, The Modern Language Journal, Vol. 75 (3), pp.
296-304

Oxford, R. L. (2017). Anxious language learners can change their minds: Ideas and
strategies from traditional psychology and positive psychology. In C. Gkonou,
M. Daubney & J-M. Dewaele (Eds.), New insights into language anxiety:
Theory, 112 research and educational implications (pp. 179-199). Bristol, UK:
Multilingual Matters.
Ripple, R. E. (1964). Affective Factors Influence Classroom Learning. Ebscohost, 22
(7), 476532. Retrieved from
http://ascd.com/ASCD/pdf/journals/ed_lead/el_196504_ripple.pdf.
Scovel, T. (1991). The Effect of Affect on Foreign Language Learning: A Review of the
Anxiety Research‟, in Horwitz, E.K., & Young, D. J. (eds.) Language Anxiety:
From Theory and Research to Classroom Implications. Englewood Cliffs, NJ:
Prentice Hall, pp. 15-24.
Tanveer, M. (2007). Investigation of the factors that cause language anxiety for
ESL/EFL learners in learning speaking skills and the influence it casts on
communication in the target language‟. Unpublished Thesis, Faculty of
Education, University of Glasgow.

10 | P a g e