Abstract:
Fear to speak in front of other students in the class or an audience is the most common
fear faced by many second or foreign language learners in English as a Second
Language (ESL) or English as a foreign Language (EFL) classes. The same scenario
exists in Sri Lanka too where the ESL instructors constantly find it a problem to
conduct speaking classes since students do not contribute to the classroom discourse
or cooperate with them in speaking activities. It was believed that inadequate language
proficiency was the problem for poor speaking ability but later studies revealed that
anxiety is one of the hindering factors to prevent students from speaking in classes.
The reasons for anxiety vary based on the context and setting. Hence, identifying the
causes of speaking anxiety of ESL learners may help ESL teachers develop the
communication skills of their students.
This study, which is a pilot study on speaking anxiety of ESL students, specifically
investigates the speaking anxiety faced by students in the ESL undergraduate classes
of the South Eastern University of Sri Lanka (SEUSL). Second year students of one of
the faculties were used as the respondents for this study. A questionnaire survey was
used, followed by focus group discussions with the students. It is revealed that more
than 90% of the students experience a form of anxiety in the ESL classes. This anxiety
is more pronounced during oral tests and in-class presentations. This paper elaborates
the causes of anxiety and suggests measures to rectify the situation.
