Student Anxiety Factors In Speaking Courses

Abstract

This study explores speaking anxiety as one of the most significant affective factors influencing EFL learners' performance in English-speaking classrooms. Guided by the Foreign Language Anxiety (FLA) framework developed by Horwitz et al. (1986), this research investigates students' emotional reactions to speaking tasks. Using a Likert-scale questionnaire containing ten items, the study analyzed students' responses to various speaking scenarios. Findings show that learners experience the greatest anxiety before class begins and during spontaneous speaking situations. These results confirm the importance of recognizing speaking anxiety in designing emotionally responsive language instruction. The paper concludes by emphasizing that teaching strategies must address emotional well-being alongside linguistic proficiency to improve classroom engagement and communication performance.