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Hamdard Islamicus, Vol. 43 No.2 (2020), 415-431
https://hamdardfoundation.org/hamdard Islamicus/
ISSN 0250-7196 415
IMPACT OF GENDER ON FOREIGN LANGUAGE ANXIETY AMONG
ADVANCED LEARNERS OF ENGLISH IN PAKISTAN
Tanveer Fatima1, Dr. Hafiz Muhammad Qasim2, Dr. Masroor Sibtain3, Shah
Muhammad4
ABSTRACT
Speaking a foreign language creates anxiety in foreign language learners. The study aimed to investigate
the impact of gender on Foreign Language Anxiety (FLA) and speaking proficiency of advanced level
students. The participants of the study were 150 students (90 female students of Government Girls
College Model Town Dera Ghazi Khan, and 60 male students of Government Boys Degree and
Intermediate Colleges, Dera Ghazi Khan). The data were collected through the FLCAS (Foreign
Language Classroom Anxiety Scale) with a 33 item questionnaire developed by Horwitz and Cope
(1986), which was translated into Urdu. Another instrument was the interview which was based on 10
questions.. The data were analyzed using Frequency Analytical Techniques such as independent sample
t-test & chi-square test along with SPSS. The results indicated that both male and female participants
faced Foreign Language Anxiety but female participants displayed more anxiety levels than male
participants in the area of research. The study concluded that the level of speaking anxiety differs in
terms of gender. It also revealed that the learners’ speaking anxiety level did not vary according to their
proficiency levels.
Keywords: foreign language, anxiety, gender, learners
Introduction
Anxiety is an individual state when somebody feels, uneasiness, self-doubt, apprehension,
frustration, or worry. Spielberger (1983) defines anxiety as the subjective feeling of tension,
apprehension, nervousness, and worry related to the arousal of the nervous system.
Language anxiety is the feeling of fear and apprehension which is associated with foreign
language learning. It is related to speaking, listening, and learning, but listening and speaking
are concerned as the most anxiety-provoking activities. It is a fact that language anxiety has
often been studied with its relationship to foreign language learning.
___________________________________
1. M. Phil Schoalar, Dept of applied linguistics, Government College University, Faisalabad
2. Assistant professor, Dept of applied linguistics, government college University Faisalabad
3. Assistant professor of English, Govt College of science, Multan
4. M.Phil. Scholar, NCBA & E, Multan
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Anxiety has negative effects on cognitive processing, input processing, and output (Macintyre
& Gardner, 1989, 1991, 2012; Bailey, Onwuegbuzie & Daley, 2000). Speaking a foreign
language is anxiety creating factors for foreign language learners. Many studies have indicated
that language anxiety harms language learning skills, especially in speaking a foreign language.
A lot of studies have been conducted so far about the relationship between language anxiety
and learning. The present study tried to find out the impact of gender on foreign language
anxiety among language learners. It was carried out i) to identify the impact of gender on
foreign language anxiety, ii) to identify the level of anxiety between gender, iii) and to identify
the possible factors responsible for foreign language anxiety between genders at advance level.
Research Questions
The research was designed to address the following research questions:
1. Is there any significant relationship between gender and foreign language anxiety
among the advanced learners of English in D. G. Khan?
2. Are parents’ education and mother tongue responsible for foreign language anxiety
among the advanced learners of English?
3. Is the age factor responsible for high or low foreign language anxiety?
Literature Review
Foreign language anxiety and its relation to different aspects of language learning were
identified. It is a well-established area of research. The literature review on foreign language
anxiety is confusing and contradictory. Nature, physical surface, factors, types, the
development of language anxiety, and the effect of foreign language anxiety on speaking
proficiency were reviewed through different studies of the research area.
Awan et al. (2009) examined anxiety in English undergraduate class regarding the type
of situations that create anxiety. 65 males and 85 females were selected for the study from 25
departments. The researcher used a questionnaire of FLCAS, which is an abbreviated version
of 17 items to know the anxiety of the participants and an inventory. It was used to decide
different anxiety creating situations. The study concluded that the students whose parents are
illiterate or less educated are more anxious than those students whose parents are educated. The
major finding of the study was that achievement and language anxiety was negatively related
to each other.
Hwang and Huang (2010) found the relationship between foreign language anxiety and
motivation in Chinese universities regarding the EFL context. The participants were 980 (617
males and 363 females) from various disciplines at three universities in China from age 13 to
21. The students completed a survey consisting of 36 items of FLCAS. Standard deviation, the
mean, mode, and score range were calculated to examine the anxiety of the students in English
Hamdard Islamicus, Vol. 43 No.2 (2020), 415-431
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language classrooms and to what extent they were motivated to learn English. The study
indicated that the respondents generally did not experience anxiety in English classrooms. The
fact is that Chinese EFL learners know the importance of English in recent years and are
moderately motivated to learn English for various reasons. It was concluded that in a typical
EFL context, the findings can be generalized to other similar EFL contexts in the country.
Kao and Craigie (2011) investigated the effect of foreign language anxiety on
Taiwanese University students’ English achievement. The participants of the study were 101
undergraduate English students from the Department of Applied English, Shih- Chien
University in Taiwan. Two instruments were used for data collection, FLCAS, and self-
reported data based on their academic results of the English courses. FLCAS was used to
measure participants’ English language anxiety. The results of the present study indicated that
the Group A students (whose English achievement fall in the top 1/3 of all participants)
experienced lower levels of anxiety than Group B (whose English achievement fall in the
middle 1/3 of all participants) and Group C students (whose English achievement fall in the
bottom of all participants). The study gives an insight into foreign language teachers, educators,
and researchers to understand students and help them to decrease their anxiety in the classroom.
Trang, Moni & Baldauf (2012) pointed out foreign language anxiety from a different
perspective. They analyzed whether FLA affects students’ determination to study a foreign
language or not. Participants of the study were 49 non-English students at the age of 18-20
from the different faculties at a university in Vietnam. Data were collected through
autobiographies and interviews and the participants were divided into 3 groups. The findings
suggested that students should know the importance of English learning early in their schooling.
So, future research should be in the field of motivation in managing foreign language learning
anxiety. Wasim and Jabeen (2013) examined the anxiety and motivation patterns of Pakistani
college undergraduates of English and to learn about the correlation between these two effective
filters. The participants of the research were 170 undergraduates of the COMSATS Institute of
Information Technology, Lahore. The independent t-test indicated that males and females were
not significantly different in total anxiety scores. The instrumental motivation was significantly
higher than integrative motivation. The study recommended the curriculum developers to
include material and methodology to motivate learners instrumentally.
Freudian and Azizi (2014) attempted to present the ideas for and against gender as an
influential factor in facilitating the process of second language learning. They were of the view
that males and females have different levels of anxiety which hinders their second language
speaking. The research was conducted on 80 students. Three instruments were used to get
qualitative and quantitative data, the English final achievement exam, FLCAS, and background
questionnaire test. The findings showed a significant relationship between gender and anxiety.
The results showed that male participants experience more levels of anxiety than female
participants. Gopang et al. (2015) investigated intercultural sensitivity and foreign language
Hamdard Islamicus, Vol. 43 No.2 (2020), 415-431
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anxiety of undergraduate students at Lasbela University, Baluchistan. They applied both
quantitative and qualitative techniques to foreign language anxiety and intercultural sensitivity.
The participants were 46 undergraduates at Lesbela University, Baluchistan. The FLACS
questionnaire consisting of 33 items was related to check the anxiety level of anxiety. The study
concluded that there is a relationship between intercultural sensitivity and foreign language
anxiety.
Different dimensions of foreign language anxiety have been explored in different areas
of the world among different languages. The present research was designed to investigate
possible factors behind language anxiety and gender in Dera Ghazi Khan, Punjab, Pakistan.
D.G Khan is one of the most populated districts in Pakistan. It is the district where people speak
different languages. That is why it is hoped that the current study would yield interesting
results.
Materials and Methods Research Design and Instrument
The present research aimed to investigate the correlation between students’ foreign language
anxiety and gender while speaking in a foreign language classroom. The current study is
concerned with the variables of students’ level of anxiety to speak English, their gender
difference, their age, and their parents’ education. The study employed a mixed-method to meet
its needs. Two research instruments were used for the collection of data. Foreign Language
Classroom Anxiety Scale (FLCAS), developed by Horwitz et al. (1986) was used to know the
level of foreign language anxiety between gender and age groups. The adopted instrument had
two parts: the first part had demographic information about the students and the second part
had 33 items. The scale was translated into Urdu by the study to prevent misunderstanding on
the part of the participants. This is a sheet of questionnaires consisted of 33 item questions. The
responses were given on a 5-point Likert scale, where 1 indicated strong disagreement and 5 –
strong agreement with a statement (1=strongly disagree, 2=disagree, 3=neither agree nor
disagree, 4=agree and 5=strongly agree). It indicated the degree frequency of respondents. The
second instrument to collect the data was an interview. The students were interviewed to know
their foreign language speaking proficiency. The study developed an interview based on the 10
questions to assess the speaking ability of the students. Vocabulary, pronunciation, accuracy,
and fluency were checked through content analysis.
Population and Sample
A population is a group of interest to which results of the study are to be generalized (Kumar,
2019). An important characteristic of an inferential statistic is the process of going from the
part to the whole. In this research, the population was all the students from the first year
(Intermediate level-11th year) to fourth year (Graduation level-B.A) of D. G. Khan. In this
study, the students were selected from the first year to the fourth year; age ranged from 17 to
Hamdard Islamicus, Vol. 43 No.2 (2020), 415-431
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ISSN 0250-7196 419
24 years of Government Girls College Model Town D. G. Khan and Government Boys College
Block 17 D. G. Khan. A total of 150 students were taken as a sample for the current study by
using a random sampling technique. The sample consisted of 60 male and 90 female students.
Data Analysis Procedure
This study used the Statistic Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) to analyze the data
quantitatively. First, to analyze the frequency distribution of the participants’ answers for each
item of the foreign language anxiety scale (FLCAS), descriptive statistics were computed for
each item. Analytical techniques were applied such as the Independent Sample t-test and
ChiSquare Test. The t-test was used to test the difference between male and female foreign
language anxiety levels and the Chi-Square Test was used to test the hypothesis that foreign
language anxiety levels are independent of Education, Mother tongue, Age, and Education level
of parents. For this purpose, the anxiety levels were commuted and distributed in three
categories (low, medium, high) and Chi-Square Test was applied by constructing a
constituency table developed by using Siddiqui (2006). The interview transcripts were analyzed
according to the Constant Comparative Method, which is used to categorize the information
obtained from qualitative data (Aydin, 1999).
Results and Discussion
Results and Analysis of FLCAS
As described above, data were extracted from the participants in the form of a questionnaire
which consisted of 33 items. Items were analyzed by using SPSS. The results of the
questionnaire are divided into four main categories: a) Demographic information; b)
Communication apprehension; c) Test anxiety; d) and Fear of negative evaluation.
Table 1
Demographic Information
Items
Female
Male
F
%age
F
%age
Respondents’ Age
16-17 32 35.6 34 56.7
18-19
46
51.1
15
25
20 & Above
12
13.3
11
18.3
Total
90
100
60
100
Respondents’ Education Level
Inter 37
41.1
33
55
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Graduation 53
58.9
27
45
Total 90
100
60
100
Respondents’ Mother Tongue
Balochi
03
3.3
08
13.3
Khetrani
01
1.1
00
00
Pashto
01
1.1
00
00
Punjabi
03
3.3
00
00
Saraiki
48
53.3
22
36.7
Urdu
34
37.8
30
50
Balochi
03
3.3
08
13.3
Total
90
100
60
100
Note: F= Frequency, %age= Percentage
Table 1 consists of demographic information which is divided into three main parts. It shows
that different participants belonged to different age groups. It indicates that 55.1% of female
respondents’ age ranged from 18 to 19 years, 35.6% females’ age from 18 to 19 years, and
13.3% female were above 20 years. On the other hand, 56.7% of male’ age ranged from 16 to
17 years followed by 25% male’ age ranged from 18 to 19 years and finally 18.3% male’ age
range above 20 years. Part two of the table contains the respondents’ education level. It reveals
that 58.9% of female respondents were studying in gradation and 41.1% were the students of
inter-class. While on the male side, 55% were in inter and 45% belonged to graduation level.
Part 3 of table 1 shows a very realistic picture of the respondents’ mother tongue. It shows that
on the female side 3.3% mother tongue is Balochi, 1.1% of participants' mother tongue is
Khetrani, 1.1% is Pashto, 3.3% speak Panjabi as their mother tongue, 53.3 % speak Saraiki as
mother tongue37.8 % are Urdu speaking, and 3.3 5 are Balochi. On the other hand, 13.3% of
males are Balochi speaking, no one has Khetrani, Pashto, and Punjabi as their mother tongue,
36.7% of participants speak Saraiki as their mother tongue, 50% speak Urdu and 13.3% speak
Balochi as their mother tongue.
Table 2
Communication Apprehension
Questions
F
M
Female
Male
T
P
Mean ± SE
Mean ± SE
Q # 1 90 60 3.19 ± 0.135 3.33 ± 0.179 -0.655 0.5130
Q # 4 90 60 2.93 ± 0.136 2.73 ± 0.187 0.886 0.3770
Q # 9 90 60 3.63 ± 0.131 3.12 ± 0.186 2.343 0.0200*
Q # 14 90 60 2.97 ± 0.15 3.13 ± 0.155 -0.746 0.4570
Q # 15 90 60 3.38 ± 0.124 2.98 ± 0.172 1.906 0.0590
Q # 18 90 60 3.32 ± 0.13 2.58 ± 0.202 3.222 0.0020**
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Q # 24 90 60 3.74 ± 0.111 3.25 ± 0.15 2.702 0.0080**
Q # 27 90 60 2.99 ± 0.128 2.97 ± 0.179 0.104 0.9180
Q # 29 90 60 3.7 ± 0.105 3.1 ± 0.159 3.28 0.0010**
Q # 30 90 60 3.67 ± 0.109 2.97 ± 0.146 3.897 0.0000**
Q # 32 90 60 3.11 ± 0.131 3.68 ± 0.164 -2.743 0.0070**
Note: F=Female, M=Male, T= T-test value, P=Percentage
Table 2 reveals that the behaviour of female respondents for all statements related to
problems of communication apprehension ranged between ‘disagree’ to ‘agreed’ also the
inclination of male respondents was ‘disagree’ to ‘agree’. Involvement in communication
apprehension ranked 1st with mean 3.74 by female respondents in item # 30, but item # 32
ranked 1st with mean 3.68 as reported by male respondents. The t-test values showed a
significant difference between female and male respondents in many items. There were 11
items in communication apprehension to know male and female anxiety levels. The over-all
view shows that the average response for females according to Communication Apprehension
was high than that of male Average response to Communication Apprehension. So anxiety
level was high among females than males.
Table 3
Test Anxiety
Questions
F
M
Female
Male
T
P
Mean ± SE
Mean ± SE
Q # 3
90
60
2.74 ± 0.151
2.25 ± 0.169
2.14
0.0340*
Q # 5
90
60
3.52 ± 0.138
3.2 ± 0.187
1.416
0.1590
Q # 6
90
60
3.09 ± 0.127
2.93 ± 0.184
0.72
0.4730
Q # 8
90
60
3.7 ± 0.125
3.3 ± 0.178
1.895
0.0600
Q # 10
90
60
3.99 ± 0.117
4.02 ± 0.133
-0.155
0.8770
Q # 11
90
60
3.71 ± 0.114
2.92 ± 0.167
4.069
0.0000**
Q # 12
90
60
3.09 ± 0.142
2.33 ± 0.18
3.316
0.0010**
Q # 16
90
60
3.1 ± 0.148
2.6 ± 0.165
2.211
0.0290*
Q # 17
90
60
2.79 ± 0.133
2.85 ± 0.062
-0.359
0.7200
Q # 20
90
60
3.54 ± 0.138
2.65 ± 0.178
4.018
0.0000**
Q # 21
90
60
3.04 ± 0.127
2.62 ± 0.163
2.086
0.0390*
Q # 25
90
60
3.29 ± 0.134
2.93 ± 0.161
1.689
0.0930
Q # 26
90
60
2.9 ± 0.135
2.62 ± 0.168
1.318
0.1900
Q # 28
90
60
3.73 ± 0.12
3.52 ± 0.183
1.033
0.3030
Note: F=Female, M=Male, T= T-test value, P=Percentage
Hamdard Islamicus, Vol. 43 No.2 (2020), 415-431
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ISSN 0250-7196 422
Table 3 reveals that the behaviour of female respondents for all statements related to problems
of Test anxiety ranged between ‘disagree’ to ‘agreed’ also the inclination of male respondents
was ‘disagree’ to ‘agree’. Involvement in Test anxiety ranked 1st with mean 3.52 by male
respondents in item # 28, but item # 8 ranked 1st with mean 4.02 as reported by male
respondents. On the female side, Test Anxiety ranked 1st with mean 3.99 in item 10. The t-test
values showed a significant difference between female and male respondents in many items.
There were 14 items in Test Anxiety. They all show that the average response for females
according to Test Anxiety was higher than that of males.
Table 4
Fear of negative evaluation
Questions
F
M
Female
Male
T
P
Mean ± SE
Mean ± SE
Q # 2
90
60
3.26 ± 0.13
3.08 ± 0.191
0.774
0.4400
Q # 7
90
60
3.32 ± 0.134
2.87 ± 0.165
2.144
0.0340*
Q # 13
90
60
3.31 ± 0.134
2.68 ± 0.153
3.046
0.0030**
Q # 19
90
60
2.88 ± 0.13
3.17 ± 0.187
-1.308
0.1930
Q # 23
90
60
3.48 ± 0.139
3.45 ± 0.172
0.126
0.9000
Q # 31
90
60
3.57 ± 0.136
2.83 ± 0.183
3.279
0.0010**
Q # 33
90
60
3.52 ± 0.13
3.3 ± 0.162
1.076
0.2830
Note: F=Female, M=Male, T= T-test value, P=Percentage
Table 4 reveals that the behaviour of female respondents for all statements related to
problems of fear of negative evaluation ranged between ‘disagree’ to ‘agreed’ also the
inclination of male respondents was ‘disagree’ to ‘agree’. Involvement in fear of negative
evaluation ranked 1st with mean 3.57 by female respondents in item # 31, but item # 33 ranked
1st with mean 3.3 as reported by male respondents. The t-test values showed a significant
difference between female and male respondents in many items. Results indicate that Fear of
Negative Evaluation is higher among females than males.
Relationship between FLA and Class
In the following table, the relationship between the FLA and class is presented. FLA is
divided into three levels; low, medium, and high level.
Hamdard Islamicus, Vol. 43 No.2 (2020), 415-431
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Anxiety
Total
Table 5
Relationship between anxiety and class Respondents
Class
Low
Medium
High
Inter Class
25
34
11
70
Graduation Class
18
43
19
80
Total
43
77
30
150
Pearson Chi-Square = 3.674NS p = 0.159
Table 5 indicates p= 0.159 which means that there is no significant relationship between
class and foreign language anxiety. The anxiety level is high at the inter-level (25, 34, 11) and
low at the graduate level (18, 43, 19) which indicated that in the target area, students tended to
overcome their foreign language anxiety level as promoting from inter to graduate they feel
less anxious in their foreign language class.
Relationship between FLA and Age
In Table 6, the results of the relationship between foreign language anxiety and
participants’ age are presented.
Table 6
Relationship between FLA and age
Respondents Age
Anxiety
Total
Low
Medium
High
16-17
27
30
09
66
18-19
12
33
16
61
20-Above
04
14
05
23
Total
43
77
30
150
Pearson Chi-Square = 9.690* p = 0.046, Gamma = 0.322, p = 0.004
Table 6 indicates p= 0.004 which means that there is no significant relationship between
age and foreign language anxiety. The anxiety level is high among the participants’ age ranged
(16-17), as (27, 30, 9), the anxiety level is medium among the students between 18-19 years as
(12, 33, 16) and low as (4, 14, 5) among the students whose age was above 20. This is also
identifying that with the passage the students develop foreign language proficiency. That is
why the anxiety level of the younger students was high while elder students experienced low
anxiety.
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Relationship between FLA and Mother Tongue
Table 7 shows the results of the relationship between foreign language anxiety and the
participants’ mother tongue. It tries to find out the role of the mother tongue in FLA.
Table 7
Relationship between FLA and mother tongue
Mother Tongue
Anxiety
Total
Low
Medium
High
Balochi
02
08
01
11
Khetrani
01
00
00
01
Pashto
00
01
00
01
Punjabi
01
02
00
03
Saraiki
18
39
13
70
Urdu
21
27
16
64
Total
43
77
30
150
Pearson Chi-Square = 9.026 NS, p = 0.530
The results in table 7 indicate p=0.530 which is identifying that there is no significant
relationship between foreign language anxiety and mother tongue. The anxiety level is high
among the students whose mother tongue is Khetrani, Pashto, Punjabi and Khetrani (1, 1, 3,
and 11), it is found medium among the students having Urdu as their mother tongue (64) and
anxiety level is low among Saraiki speaking students as (70). In the target area, most students
are Saraiki speaking and Saraiki language has 45 Alphabets and it may be possible that the
speakers of this language are more fluent to speak any foreign language with low anxiety.
Relationship between FLA and Gender
The relationship between FLA and gender is presented in the table below. It tries to
evaluate the role of gender in FLA.
Table 8
Relationship between FLA and Gender
Gender
Anxiety
Total
Low
Medium
High
Female
19
45
26
90
Male
24
32
04
60
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Total
43
77
30
150
Pearson Chi-Square = 13.447**, p = 0.001, Gamma = -0.492, p = 0.000
This table indicates that anxiety level at the female side is 19 as low, 45 as a medium,
and 26 as high. On the other hand, on the male side the difference is quite clear, 24 as low, 32
as medium and 4 as high which indicated that higher score in language Anxiety means high
Anxiety level which is on the female side and the Anxiety score on the male side is low which
indicated the low Anxiety level.
Results and Analysis of the Interview
The interview transcripts were analyzed according to the Constant Comparative Method
(CCM), which is used to categorize the information obtained from qualitative data (Aydin,
2010). The responses to the questions reveal several common points about foreign language
anxiety. A few examples are discussed below:
Interviewee A (Female):
Researcher: What made you nervous about speaking English?
Interviewee A: When I speak English, I get nervous and forget what I have to say about
the topic. In this way, I cannot speak.
Researcher: What are the major causes of your anxiety?
Interviewee A: Pronunciation and speaking incorrectly these are my problems. I am
afraid of my mistakes.
Interviewee B (Male):
Researcher: What made you nervous about speaking English?
Interviewee B: When I speak English the problem with me is that I have no words to
use in my speaking. I am not able to say what I want to say.
Researcher: Do you feel difficulty in speaking?
Interviewee B: Yes, I feel difficulty in speaking. My main difficulty is fluency.
Almost similar answers were collected from the learners. The participants pointed out
that lack of vocabulary and pronunciation were their major factors of FLA. The study at this
specific stage points out that these are the problems while a learner has to face while speaking
a foreign language. It is important to note that the pronunciation, lack of vocabulary, and
fluency are the other major problems along with fear of speaking. Pronunciation and
vocabulary are linguistic problems that a learner faces while speaking a foreign language.
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Regarding the 2nd question, the male participant answered that he feels difficulty in
speaking English and fluency was his major issue. There is no doubt that English is not an easy
language. Another participant answered:
Interviewee C (Male): English is difficult for me though I am learning it from the sixth
class even at that time I am not able to understand it fully.
Interviewee D (Female): English is difficult for me and most of my class fellows.
Sometimes I do not like English. It takes too much time for me to learn it and it makes
me nervous.
The answers were different, but English was difficult for all, though the participants
were learning it from their six classes. All four students were not comfortable with the subject
for not understanding it completely. A student said that speaking English is anxiety creating for
her. A male student even disliked English. It is indicated that foreign language learning is not
an easy job.
Researcher: In what ways do you find learning English difficult?
Interviewee Answered: Speaking English is difficult for me when I talk in a crowd or a
group of well-educated people. I find difficulties in learning English as no one supports
me to learn English at home.
Researcher: In what ways do you find earning English difficult?
Another Interviewee: I find difficulties in learning English as no one supports me to
learn English at home. I feel many problems while speaking English because my
Grammar is weak and I cannot make correct sentences.
While analyzing these answers it was found that a student considers speaking English
difficult before people, especially before those who are well educated. The students had a fear
that highly educated people have good command over English speaking. So, they were afraid
of speaking before the people who were good at English. A female student had a complaint that
her parents were not well educated to support her in English learning. It is also a fact that
parents’ education plays a great role in improving students’ English language skills. When
students get an environment in which they get to practice and input to learn a language, they
learn it rapidly as identified by Krashen (1981). On the other hand, when the learners have no
input they are not able to speak the target language. Another female student had not enough
knowledge of English grammar. To her grammar was a hindrance while speaking.
It is noteworthy that the knowledge of grammar should be considered as a secondary
element while speaking because with the passage of time learners would improve their
grammar skills. On the other hand, when the learners are snubbed at making grammatically
incorrect sentences initially, they would be discouraged to speak in the future. We know that
positive reinforcement is the most important element in learning a language. A female
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respondent was afraid of being laughed at by her peers in the class. This is also a fact related to
foreign language anxiety.
Researcher: Which exam is more anxious for you, oral or written?
Interviewee A (Female): I feel more anxiety when I have to give an oral test. I am safe
in writing tests.
Interviewee B (Male): I am more nervous in the oral exam.
Interviewee C (Female): I feel more nervous when my English teacher asks me to give
an oral test.
Interviewee D (Male): When I come to know that I have to give an oral test, I do not
want to attend the class.
It is important to note that all the four students, male and female feel more anxious in
their oral exam rather than in the written exam. That is a fear of Communication Apprehension
which is the cause and effect of foreign language anxiety. When the learners are apprehended
they are hesitant to speak before the public. It is a kind of public speaking anxiety. One of the
male learners believed that speaking before the public makes him anxious enough that he avoids
participating in in-class activities.
The responses to whether they want to improve their English speaking skill and what
were the factors which encourage them to improve their speaking skill were as follows:
Interviewee A (Female): Yes, I want to improve my English skill and success is the
main factor that encourages me to speak English. I think that when I would be able to
speak English I shall look prominent among the crowd.
Interviewee B (Male): Yes, although I cannot speak English properly yet I want to
improve it and my parents also encourage me to speak English.
Interviewee C (Female): Yes, I want to speak English fluently as it is the need of the
time, but I have no opportunity to speak English in my surroundings.
Interviewee C (Male): Yes, I want to improve my English speaking skill and the people
who speak English well can get chances of good jobs.
All four interviewees wanted to improve their English speaking skills. The encouraging
and motivational factors behind their learning English were different. A female respondent
wanted to improve English speaking skills to look prominent among the crowd. which means
that speaking English would give her fame and honour. The second respondent wanted to
improve his speaking skill as he was motivated by her parents who were encouraging him to
speak English. A male respondent was of the view that he wanted improvement in his English
speaking skill as he was in the need of a good job in the future. That is instrumental motivation
which encourages a learner to learn a skill. Another female student was eager to be fluent in
speaking skill as she was aware of the need of the time. The responses indicated that despite
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English speaking anxiety the learners wanted to learn speaking skills due to different
motivational factors.
When the respondents were asked to comment on their teachers’ attitudes towards their
oral mistakes and their feeling towards the correction of their mistakes, all of the participants
agreed that their English teacher was tolerant of their oral mistakes. The responses to this
question were as follows:
Interviewee A (Female): The attitude of my English teacher is encouraging. She
behaves like a friend when I make any mistake.
Interviewee B (Male): My teacher is not angry with me when I make mistakes, but he
corrects it politely and I do not feel worried.
Interviewee C (Female): The attitude of my English teacher is very good; she gives a
smile instead of discoursing me on my mistakes. It makes me less nervous in class.
Interviewee D (Male): My teacher is not so strict about my speaking mistakes, but he
corrects mistakes when I speak English and I feel that I should not speak more.
It is noteworthy that the responses to the teachers’ tolerant attitudes towards oral
mistakes are similar on both sides, the male and female sides. A female student responds that
friendly behaviour of her teacher encouraged her to speak in the class. Another female
respondent felt less anxious in language class when her teacher corrected mistakes with a smile
on her face. One of a male student also felt worried while he was corrected politely by his
English teacher. Overall, it is concluded that several anxiety-provoking factors, some of which
were included in the responses to the FLCAS, were also reported by the participants in the
interviews.
As a result of the analysis of the responses to the FLCAS, oral tests, self-assessment of
speaking abilities, self-comparison to others, and fear of making mistakes were indicated as
common sources of anxiety in the present study. The other anxiety-provoking situations are
crowded classrooms, less practice, and unprepared lesson. However, during the interviews,
pronunciation, vocabulary, parents’ education, and the teacher’s manner was identified as
additional sources of anxiety. We may classify these factors into more general categories. For
example, vocabulary and pronunciation can be classified as linguistic difficulties; oral tests,
teachers’ manner, not having enough practice in class and crowded classrooms may be
categorized as teaching and testing procedures. Self-assessment, self-comparison to others,
unprepared lessons and not knowing the others in the classroom are personal reasons, and fear
of making mistakes can be a fear of negative evaluation. So, it is concluded that the sources of
speaking anxiety are different such as linguistic difficulties, personal reasons, teaching and
testing of students, and fear of negative evaluation.
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Discussion
This research aimed to find out the correlation between gender, students’ foreign
language anxiety, and their speaking anxiety at an advanced level in the target area. The result
indicated a significant difference between male and female anxiety levels. It is concluded that
if the students had high anxiety, it may affect their speaking skills. Students with lower speaking
proficiency have high anxiety. Horwitz and Cope (1986) asserted that speaking in the target
language is the most threatening aspect of foreign language learning. Anxiety causes an
effective filter, which will prevent students from receiving language input than their language
acquisition will fail to make progress (Horwitz and Young, 1991). Oxford (1999) indicated that
anxiety affects language learners’ achievement indirectly through fear and self-doubt and
directly by avoiding participation in language activity. Arnold and Brown (1999) said that
anxiety has down-spiraling effects when it occurs in the classroom. Kondo and Ying (2004)
argued that foreign language anxiety harms learners’ performance. Gregersen (2005) also
maintained that anxious learners do not respond effectively to their own mistakes. In the context
of this research, we conclude that when the students have high anxiety they will have a low
speaking score.
Conclusion
This study revealed that the level of foreign language speaking anxiety of the
participants is moderate and that the level of speaking anxiety differs in terms of gender. It also
revealed that the learners’ speaking anxiety level did not vary according to their proficiency
levels. The sources of speaking anxiety were identified as oral exams, self-assessment of
speaking skills, self-comparison, and fear of negative evaluation. The self-reports of the
students in the interviews indicated that certain linguistic difficulties, the teachers’ manner, and
crowded classrooms were additional sources of speaking anxiety in foreign language anxiety
context. Future researchers may get the motivation to search for a similar study in a different
location. In this way, they can try to solve the problem of language anxiety in a second language
class.
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