A Study Of Foreign Language Speaking Anxiety For Chinese EFL Postgraduates

Many researchers have studied on anxiety extensively, but the studies on foreign language anxiety has only been isolated and distinguished from other forms of anxiety recently since the1970s. Many researchers have been interested in the possibility that language anxiety inhibits language learning. A consistent moderate negative correlation between foreign language anxiety and language performance has been achieved by many studies. Besides the relationship between foreign language anxiety and foreign language performance, major subjects of previous studies mainly focus on sources of foreign language anxiety; differences of anxiety levels among various participants; the relationship between anxiety and different language skills such as listening, speaking, writing and reading; strategies to alleviate the anxiety experienced by students and etc. However, foreign language speaking anxiety of postgraduates is seldom explored. This study aims to conduct a systematic study of speaking anxiety, and exploring the effects of speaking anxiety among Chinese EFL postgraduates.Based on previous studies, this study is designed to clarify the following questions:(1) What is the general situation of foreign language speaking anxiety among Chinese EFL postgraduates?(2) What is the relationship between foreign language speaking anxiety and speaking performance among Chinese EFL postgraduates?(3)What is the difference in the anxiety level and oral test performance between English and non-English majors?(4)What are the main sources of foreign language speaking anxiety experienced by Chinese EFL postgraduates? The participants involved in the study are40postgraduates (20are English majors and20are pharmacology majors) from Shandong University. The author of the study adopts Horwitz’s FLCAS to measure postgraduates’anxiety level and uses IELTS oral assessing standards to test their oral English proficiency. Besides, interviews are conducted with6participants to explore the sources of foreign language speaking anxiety.Through the analysis, conclusions can be drawn that foreign language speaking anxiety is common among Chinese EFL postgraduates including both English and non-English majors. Foreign language anxiety is negatively correlated with the students’ oral test scores. What is more, students’FLCAS scores have a significantly negative relationship with their oral performance on lexical resources, grammar and fluency and coherence. One’s pronunciation is stable and hard to change so the correlation between foreign language anxiety and students’ pronunciation remains negative but low. Through the comparison between English and non-English majors, there is a statistically significant difference in their oral test scores while the difference in FLCAS scores between them is not significant.Combining their FLCAS results and interviews, major sources of the foreign language speaking anxiety can be summarized from the perspectives of students’personal factors, classroom activities, teachers’behavior and social pressure:the ambivalence between diffidence and high self-expectation, lack of practice, class activities such as the oral presentation and role plays, being called on to answer questions, short wait time and incomprehensible input from teachers, the development and requirements of our society, and etc.Since foreign language anxiety can have negative effects on language learning and performance, the implications for English learning and teaching are of great significance. It is strongly recommended that teachers should provide a secure and comfortable learning environment, optimize questioning methods, respond to students’linguistic as well as affective needs, create more chances for students to practice speaking English in and out of class, take social requirements for postgraduates into consideration, and etc. For English learners, they should spend more time in practicing their oral English, have reasonable expectations for one’s oral performance, boost self-confidence, and adopt positive self-talk or psychological suggestions.