Student Foreign Language Anxiety in English Speaking Activities: Causes, Effects, and Coping Strategies (A Case Study at SMP Negeri 1 Majenang).

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STUDENT FOREIGN LANGUAGE ANXIETY IN ENGLISH SPEAKING ACTIVITIES: CAUSES, EFFECTS, AND COPING STRATEGIES

(A Case Study at SMP Negeri 1 Majenang)

A THESIS

By:

SEPTITA SERISTYANA

S891408040

Written as a Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for Graduate Education

Degree of English Language Teaching

GRADUATE PROGRAM OF ENGLISH EDUCATION DEPARTMENT FACULTY OF TEACHER TRAINING AND EDUCATION

SEBELAS MARET UNIVERSITY SURAKARTA

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v ABSTRACT

Septita Seristyana. S891408040. 2017. Student Foreign Language Anxiety in English Speaking Activities: Causes, Effects, and Coping Strategies (A Case Study at SMP Negeri 1 Majenang). First Consultant: Dr. Abdul Asib, M.Pd.; Second Consultant: Prof. Dr. Sri Samiati Tarjana. Thesis. English Education Department, Graduate School of Teacher Training and Education Faculty, Sebelas Maret University, Surakarta.

This study was conducted by proposing the following objectives: (1) to find out the level and manifestations of student foreign language anxiety in English speaking activities; (2) to investigate the causes of student foreign language anxiety in English speaking activities; (3) to investigate the effects of student foreign language anxiety in English speaking activities on students’ performance and speaking achievement; and (4) to find out the coping strategies for reducing anxiety in English speaking activities based on teacher and student perspective.

This study was carried out at SMP Negeri 1 Majenang from April to May 2017. It employed a case study as the research method. The seventh grade students and an English teacher were involved as the participants. The data were collected through questionnaire, interview, observation, and documentation. The findings show that most of the students, i.e. 24 students (70.59%) experience moderate anxiety. Meanwhile, 7 students are categorized as low anxious students and 3 students are identified as highly anxious. The manifestations of their anxiety are indicated by behavior, physiological and psychological signs, and poor performance. There are several causes of student speaking anxiety which include personal and interpersonal factors, learner beliefs about language learning, instructor beliefs about language teaching, instructor-learner interaction, classroom procedure, and language testing. It was also found that anxiety affects

students’ speaking performance, such as blank and messed-up mind, become

forgetful, produce speaking errors, speak only a few words, speak haltingly, hard to speak, and speak chaotically. In addition, anxiety negatively influenced

students’ speaking achievement. Furthermore, this study revealed students’ and

teacher’s strategies for coping with speaking anxiety. The former include preparation, relaxation, positive thinking, and peer seeking, while the latter relate to teacher behavior or attitude and classroom procedure.

In conclusion, anxiety is manifested in different ways among students. Every individual has reasons why they feel nervous, apprehensive, frustrated and fearful in EFL speaking activities. These feelings can lead to negative effects. Therefore, both teachers and students are required to strive for alleviating anxiety for the significant development of student speaking skill in particular and the success of language learning in general.

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vi MOTTO

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DEDICATION

This thesis is proudly dedicated to:

All of my beloved family: parents, sisters and brother, husband and son

My good-hearted friends

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viii

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

In the name of Allah, the Beneficent and the Merciful.

I would like to acknowledge my countless gratitude to Allah for His great blessing in writing this thesis, so it finally can be accomplished. I would also like to express my sincere gratitude to the people who have contributed to the completion of this thesis. They are:

1. The Dean of Teacher Training and Education Faculty of Sebelas Maret University for the permission to write the thesis.

2. The Head of English Education Department of Graduate Program for his approval and support for writing the thesis.

3. Dr. Abdul Asib, M. Pd., the first consultant, for his guidance, advice, and patience during the writing process of this thesis.

4. Prof. Dr. Sri Samiati Tarjana, the second consultant, for her guidance, advice, and patience during the writing process of this thesis.

5. The principal of SMP Negeri 1 Majenang for the permission to conduct this research.

6. The English teacher of class VII G, Mrs. SR for her help and cooperation during the research.

7. The students of class VII G of SMP Negeri 1 Majenang in the academic year of 2015/2016.

8. My beloved family, friends, and all parties who have helped and supported me in writing this thesis.

Finally, I realize that still there must be any shortcoming in this thesis. Therefore, constructive suggestions are welcomed for the improvement of the next research.

Surakarta, January 2017

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TABLE OF CONTENT

COVER ... i

APPROVAL ... ii

LEGITIMATION ... iii

PRONOUNCEMENT ... iv

ABSTRACT ... v

MOTTO ... vi

DEDICATION ... vii

ACKNOWLEDGMENT ... viii

TABLE OF CONTENT ... ix

LIST OF ABBREVIATION ... xi

LIST OF TABLES ... xii

LIST OF APPENDICES ... xiii

CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION A. Background of the Study ... 1

B. Problem Statement ... 4

C. Objectives of the Study ... 4

D. Significance of the Study ... 5

CHAPTER II. LITERATURE REVIEW A. Definition of Foreign Language Anxiety ... 6

B. The Nature of Language Anxiety ... 7

C. Causes of Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety ... 11

D. Effects of Foreign Language Anxiety ... 15

E. Manifestation of Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety ... 18

F. Coping Strategies for Foreign Language Anxiety ... 21

G. Speaking ... 25

1. Definition of Speaking ... 25

2. Mental/Social Processing in Speaking ... 26

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H. Review of Relevant Research ... 28

CHAPTER III. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY A. Research Method ... 35

B. Setting of the Study ... 36

C. Data Source ... 36

D. Data Collection ... 37

E. Trustworthiness ... 40

F. Data Analysis ... 41

CHAPTER IV. FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION A. Research Findings ... 46

1. Level and Manifestation of Student Speaking Anxiety ... 46

2. Causes of Student anxiety in English Speaking Activities ... 50

3. Effects of Student Anxiety in English Speaking Activities on Students’ Performance and Speaking Achievement ... 58

4. Coping Strategies for Student Anxiety in English Speaking Activities ... 64

B. Discussion ... 68

1. Level and Manifestation of Student Speaking Anxiety ... 68

2. Causes of Student Anxiety in English Speaking Activities ... 71

3. Effects of Student Anxiety in English Speaking Activities on Students’ Performance and Speaking Achievement ... 76

4. Coping Strategies for Student Anxiety in English Speaking Activities ... 78

CHAPTER V. CONCLUSION, IMPLICATIONS, AND SUGGESTIONS A. Conclusion ... 83

B. Implications ... 85

C. Suggestions ... 86

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LIST OF ABBREVIATION

FLA : Foreign Language Anxiety

FLCAS : Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale PSCAS : Public Speaking Class Anxiety Scale

L2 : Second Language

EFL : English as a Foreign Language

S : Student

I : Interview

FN : Field Note

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LIST OF TABLES

Page

Table 3.1 Summary of Research Data Collection ... 41 Table 4.1 Summary of Research Findings ... 44 Table 4.2 The Level of Student Speaking Anxiety ... 47 Table 4.3 Percentages and Frequencies of Participants’ English Speaking Anxiety ... 48

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LIST OF APPENDICES

Page

Appendix 1: PSCAS Questionnaire ... 94

Appendix 2: Semi-structured Interview Guide ... 96

Appendix 3: Interview Script 1 ... 101

Appendix 10: Field Note of Day 1 ... 133