Levels and Causes of Speaking Anxiety Among EFL Students in an English Language Education Department
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.15642/ijet2.2025.14.2.229-240Keywords:
foreign language anxiety, speaking anxiety, EFL students, pre-service English teachersAbstract
Speaking anxiety can limit the participation and performance of learners of English as a Foreign Language (EFL), including students who are preparing to become English teachers. This explanatory sequential mixed-methods case study examined the levels and the reported causes of speaking anxiety among second-semester students of the English Language Education Department (ELED) at UIN Sunan Ampel Surabaya. Thirty students enrolled in a speaking course completed the 33-item Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (FLCAS), and five of them were then interviewed in semi-structured interviews. Total FLCAS scores ranged from 69 to 161 (M = 121.2, SD = 24.2). Ten students (33.3%) were in the low band, 13 (43.3%) in the moderate band, and 7 (23.3%) in the high band, so 20 of 30 students (66.7%) reported moderate to high anxiety. Thematic analysis of the interviews produced four themes: limited grammar, vocabulary and pronunciation proficiency; limited opportunities to practise speaking; a socially evaluative classroom with fear of negative evaluation; and test anxiety in oral examinations. Students also described coping strategies such as simplifying their sentences and switching to Indonesian. The findings are consistent with earlier research and suggest that low-stakes speaking practice, supportive feedback, and assessment that balances communication and accuracy may help reduce anxiety. Because the sample is small and drawn from one department, the findings describe this case and are not generalisable.
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