Investigating the Causes of EFL Students’ Anxiety in Learning Speaking The Case of Second Year Students of English at Mila University Centre

Abstract

Speaking is a productive skill that plays a significantly important role in learning English as a foreign language. Yet, foreign language learners frequently struggle with various difficulties when learning to speak, including speaking anxiety. Speaking an xiety is a psychological phenomenon which occurs in every educational setting. In English as a foreign language class, speaking English is the most affected skill by this type of anxiety . In the light of that, the present research aims to investigate the c auses of speaking anxiety in learning speaking as a foreign language and the possible solutions that can reduce it . Two questionnaires are designed for the purpose of achieving th ese aim s . One questionnaire is administered to ten teachers who teach O ral E xpression or have experience in teaching it to second year university learner s. The other questionnaire is distributed to a sample of eighty second year university students of English at Mila University Centre The results obtained from both teachers and students’ questionnaires reveal that speaking anxiety in foreign language learning arises from multiple causes. These causes can be categorized as external, which are taken from teachers, classmates, and the cla ssroom such as the chosen topic, making grammatical mistakes, being corrected and facing negative feedback. in addition to internal, which are derived from personal traits such as shyness, self consciousness, low self esteem, or lack of confidence The un covered data recommend some solutions that teachers and learners need to work on to lower these hindrances that impede effective English speaking. Teachers are recommended to identify the different aspect of their role in reducing anxiety, adapt activities , motivate students, and provide affective feedback. L earners must identify different aspects related to confidence building, embracing mistakes, and controlling anxiety. Key