Speaking anxiety of university students and their strategies to overcome anxiety

Abstract

When a student gets into University, they have to quickly adapt to using English because academic tasks are conducted in English. From communicating with the teacher inside the classroom to doing several oral presentations, students need to use English. Speaking in English could be a matter of anxiety as it is a foreign language for Bangladeshi students. Thus freshman students with speaking anxiety can go through various academic challenges. It is necessary to learn in which situations students encountered speaking anxiety. Moreover, students can be seen speaking in English confidently over time. Therefore, it is also crucial to find strategies to overcome speaking anxiety. In light of this, the purpose of this study is to explore students’ experience of speaking anxiety and their journeys to get rid of it. A qualitative method had been used for this study so that the experience of students can be explored in depth. Ten students from the tertiary level were interviewed individually to explore their English-speaking experience. The interview transcripts were then analyzed to find out major themes. From the thematic analysis, it was found that students felt speaking anxiety when they had to do oral presentations and communicate using English in the classroom setting. In addition, speaking anxiety occurred due to fear of being judged by classmates, afraid of being negatively evaluated, comparing their proficiency level to others, and lacking the confidence to speak up. Lastly, it was also found that students use strategies such as practising in front of the mirror, with peers, and taking help from online media. This research can help EFL teachers to understand their students better to reduce speaking anxiety and improve anxiety-free classroom settings.