A. Research Design
In this study, the researcher used descriptive qualitative method.
Jackson (2008) stated that the descriptive research method is simply observing a behaviour. Observation involves description at its most basic level. Jackson (2008) also added that one advantage of the observational method is the flexibility to change what the researcher is studying. The researcher used this method to find strategies that students used to reduce anxiety in English speaking, and find the correct data in the field.
B. Subject of the Research
The subject of this research were the second grade students of SMA PPM Al-Ikhlash Lampoko with 10 students, to find out the strategies used to reduce anxiety in speaking. The sample criteria for students that has fluency in speaking, in addition to those who have confidence and the ability to speak.
C. Research Instrument
To collect the data, the researcher needs an instrument. Arikunto (2006: 160) states that instrument is the tools used by the researcher when conducting a research method. There are two kinds of instruments will be used, they are as follows:
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1. Observation
The form of observation that researcher used was the observation sheet. The purpose of this observation was to determine the type of anxiety of students in the classroom.
2. Interview
The form of interview that the researchers used was a semi- structured interview, there were 5 questions that has been made previously and if there were still answers that the researcher has not received, the questions would increase. The purpose of the interview was to find out the strategies used by students in reducing anxiety when speaking in front of the class.
D. Data Collection Procedure
The procedure the following steps:
1. Firstly, the researcher observed students’ speaking activity. It focus on students’ activity in conversation. All students’ speaking activity noted in observation sheet. To keep the whole data, the researcher records by using mobile phone camera. Observation conducted for three meetings.
2. The second, the researcher conducted interview to some students. The form of interview is semi structured-interview. It consists of 5 questions, students’ answer recorded.
3. The third, the recording data of interview transcribed into written form.
4. The last, the researcher analyzed and interprete the data.
E. Data Analysis
Steps in data collection are follows:
1. Data Reduction
The fndings that have been obtained are then analyzed, the researcher determines the important items. Then summarize the research data and all data are grouped so that a picture is obtained that is in accordance with the conditions in the field.
2. Data Display
After the data is reduced, the next step is to display the data,the presentation of this data can be done in the form of tables. The data is structure so that it is easy to understand.
3. Data Verification
The data obtained is the result of various previous processes. Result that were previously unclear are now clearly, visible and yielding new findings that had never existed before.
22 CHAPTER IV
FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION A. Research Findings
This research observed as many as 10 second grade students of SMA PPM Al-Ikhlash Lampoko, whose address is at Jl. Majene km 27 Lampoko, Campalagian District, Polewali Mandar District. Researchers get data by observing students directly in the classroom. The researcher used mobile phone camera and used voice recording to interview students and the strategies used to reduce anxiety when speaking in front of the class.
1. The Students’ Strategies to Reduce Anxiety a. Preparation
Extract 01 :
“oh… I always try to practice and reduce shyness and I always remember that…if…because…I always remember a saying that says ”embarrassed to ask astray on the way” so I usually never feel anxious and afraid when speaking in front of the class.” (MFM, Wednesday, 1 December 2021) Extract 02 :
“before coming forward I practice first repeating previous conversation and usually I have to get support from friends and when performing I usually hold my shirt to reduce anxiety” (FG, Wednesday, 1 December 2021)
Based on answered above, it was showed that the students used a preparation strategy because they must prepare themselves before start to speak English, practice and repeat the conversation before coming forward. Reducing the shyness to overcome the anxiety and keep themselves calm because it can reduce their anxiety problem.
b. Relaxation Extract 03 :
“usually before speaking I take a deep breath and continue to reflect on my self” (SA, Wednesday, 1 December 2021)
Extract 04 :
“adjust the speed of speech and not in a hurry” (FN, Wednesday, 1 December 2021)
Based on the answered above, shows that the above students use a relaxation strategy, that is they can’t rush, as much as possible should be calm and take dep breath to relax.
c. Peer Seeking Extract 05 :
“look at boy friends” (AF, Wednesday, 1 December 2021)
Based on the answered above, shows that the above students used a peer seeking strategy, where they had to look to like-minded friends for support.
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d. Positive Thinking Extract 06 :
“ee…strategy e.. sometimes at first I was really anxious when I wanted to go up I was very anxious even ee…whether one or two minutes standing in front of the class was still anxious but sometimes I feel e…I am talking in my heart ehh. .here we also learn e..no ee.. and don’t have to ee…do you demand too perfect because I am still learning and I used to say like e..my friend can do it while I can’t, then I have to be able to ee…and the anxiety is sometimes just a minute or to after it’s gone.” (NUA, Wednesday, 1 December 2021)
Based on the answered above, shows that the above students use positive thinking strategies, namely they as much as possible turn their minds in a positive direction so that the anxiety that arises can be reduce.
e. Gesture/Body Language Extract 07 :
“ehh…if the general strategy emmm…not very often either there is no particular strategy I use but at least I should train myself before… aw before…will be before…talk in front of my friends or I also have a unique habit where I have to ehh…move my hands when talking because otherwise I feel eh…stiff or I immediately forget what I said” (RAS, Wednesday, 1 December 2021)
Extract 08 :
“take a breath, don’t be in a hurry and when you talk you have to move your hands” (NFA, Wednesday, 1 December 2021)
Based on the answered above, shows that the above students use gesture/body language strategies, namely they have to move their hands or body when speaking. The purpose of this strategy is so that they don’t forget what the want to convey.
f. Socially Awkward Extract 09 :
“so far, when I speak in front of the class, I always carry myself as if I am going to eeh…calm myself down as if I think there’s no one in front of me and usually I think all my friends inanimate objects” (HAI, Wednesday, 1 December 2021)
Based on the answered above, shows that the above students use the sosially awkward strategy or assume the people around them are inanimate objects so that they can freely convey what they want to convey without having to be afraid of being wrong or anxious.
g. Holding things Extract 10 :
“before going up to the front of the class read “bismillah” and usually I carry paper and then hold it behind” (M, Wednesday, 1 December 2021)
Based on the answered above, shows that the above students used the holding things strategy, namely they had to carry objects such as paper as a tool to reduce anxiety when appearing in front of the class, they said the paper would be held or kneaded when they lost an idea.
2. Types of Anxiety Problems a. State Anxiety
Extract 01:
“not, sometimes I’m shy but I mean… if I don’t know the vocabulary, when I know it’s not too difficult” (AF, Wednesday, 1 December 2021)
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Extract 02:
“I’m also a little nervous because I am afraid that won’t match thensis and I’m afraid my friends will laugh at me if I am wrong like that” (RAS, Wednesday, 1 December 2021)
Based on answered above, it was showed that the students had a state anxiety because they said they sometimes got shy when they didn’t know the meaning of words, but when they knew it, they could speak English confidently.
b. Specific Anxiety Extract 03:
“yes, its because I am afraid of being wrong”
“what scares me apart from being afraid of being wrong eeh… is being honest, not too confident standing in front of people, shy and more embarrassed when with people you know.” (HAI, Wednesday, 1 December 2021)
Extract 04:
“afraid or anxious because the impression is more of a shock but if that’s e…planned long in advance will be asked to speak up in front of othe class ee...anxious but not really e...but can”
“the thing that makes me ee…anxious or afraid when having a conversation in front of the class is ee…sometimes I feel afraid what I will make mistakes whether its from the pronunciation or from the intonation ee… and ee…sometimes mm..feel ashamed of friends if something goes wrong”
(NUA, Wednesday, 1 December 2021) Extract 05:
“ehm… yes because ee... when I am in front of the class I am afraid of using the wrong pronunciation in the e… vocabulary” (FN, Wednesday, 1 December 2021)
Extract 06:
“I worried ehm… its not just a little fear that the pronunciation will be wrong because many in the class are better able to do that” (NFA, Wednesday, 1 December 2021)
Extract 07:
“afraid and mispronouncing” (M, Wednesday, 1 December 2021)
Based on answered above, it was showed that the students had specific anxiety because the students felt shy, afraid and not confident when standing in front of people.
c. Non Anxiety Extract 08:
“nothing.”
Extract 09:
“nothing”
Extract 10:
“nothing”
Based on answered above, it was showed that the students had not any anxiety.
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B. Discussion
This section presents a discussion of the research results. There are two quetions asked in this research. This study focused on the strategies used by students in reducing anxiety when speaking in front of the class and analyzing the types of anxiety in second grade students of SMA PPM Al-Ikhlash Lampoko.
1. The Strategies used by Students’ in Reducing Anxiety Problems in Conversation
In the opinion of Kondo and Ying-Ling , there are 5 strategies to reduce anxiety namely, preparation, relaxation, peer seeking, positive thinking, resignation and the researcher found 3 new strategies namely, gesture/body language, inanimate objects, holding things then according to Ellis (1994) there are 3 types of anxiety namely, state anxiety, trait anxiety,and specific anaxiety.
a. Preparation
One of the strategies used by students in reducing anxiety when speaking is preparation. From 10 students, 2 of them used a preparation strategy. Students who use preparation strategies said they have to do preparation first, have to practice before speaking in front of the class.
According to Zeidner (1998: 66, cited in Kondo and Ying-Ling 2004: 263), preparation is necessary before learning and speaking English in class.
Preparation is the most important aspect of the teaching and learning process, particularly when it comes to speaking English.
b. Relaxation
One of the strategies used by students in reducing anxiety when speaking is relaxation. From 10 students, 2 of them used relaxation strategies. Students who used the relaxation strategy said they should not be in a hurry to withdraw in 2 to 3 before speaking or appearing in front of the class.
Grasha (1987, cited in Ravica 2016: 2) suggests that deep in-and-out breathing for three to five minutes is an effective way to reduce tension. If one is well prepared but still experiences anxiety and fear, relaxation, which consists of tactics aimed at reducing anxiety symptoms, is recommended. When speaking English, students should take a deep breath or relax. This strategy aims to reduce students' fear of speaking English in class.
c. Peer Seeking
One of the strategies used by students in reducing anxiety when speaking is peer seeking. From 10 students, 1 of them used a peer seeking strategy. Students who used the peer seeking strategy said they should look to their peers or friends who have the same anxiety.
According to Kondo and Ying-Ling (2004: 262), Peer Seeking is defined by students' willingness to seek out other students who appear to be having difficulty understanding the class and/or controlling their anxiety. The realization that others are experiencing the same problem may serve as a source of emotional regulation through social comparison for the anxious student. In other words, students feel better when they find someone else who is going through the same thing they are. When both students feel the same way about a problem, their
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anxiety decreases compared to when they did not find the other person. That is common in English classes when students believe that peer seeking is more comfortable.
d. Positive Thinking
One of the strategies used by students in reducing anxiety when speaking is positive thinking. From 10 students, 1 of them used positive thinking strategies.
Students who use positive thinking strategies said they have to think positively and eliminate negative thoughts to reduce anxiety. They have to think that they can be like any other friends.
In this case, positive thinking was used as a psychological factor to help cope with language anxiety and overcome a fear of being anxious in class.
According to Horwitz et al. (1986, cited in Ravica 2016: 5), language anxiety shared some common mental characteristics, such as fear of being ridiculed in class, being too shy to communicate with others, and being concerned about under-performing in comparison to other learners.
e. Resignation
One of the strategies used by students in reducing anxiety when speaking is resignation. From 10 students, there is no used this strategies.
Resignation is defined by students' unwillingness to do anything to alleviate their language anxiety" (e.g. giving up, sleeping in class). Students reporting examples of resignation appear to be attempting to minimize the impact of anxiety by refusing to confront the issue" (Kondo and Ying-Ling 2004: 262). It means that
some students give up when they try to speak English and choose to have anxiety in themselves. They are afraid of more stress, so they do not want to try and retry after failing.
f. Gesture/Body Language
One of the strategies used by students in reducing anxiety when speaking is gesture/body language. From 10 students, 2 of them used gesture/body language strategies. Students who use gesture/body language strategies said they should move their hands of feet to reduce anxiety while speaking.
g. Socially Awkward
One of the strategies used by students in reducing anxiety when speaking is socially Awkward. From 10 students, 1 of them used socially awkward strategies.
Students felt socially awkward or anxious because they are afraid to make a mistake when speaking, as a result these socially awkward people avoid crowded environments.
h. Holding Things
One of the strategies used by students in reducing anxiety when speaking is holding things. From 10 students, 1 of them used socially awkward strategies.
Students who use gesture/body language strategies said they sould hold something like pen, book, or paper to reduce anxiety when speaking.
2. The Types used by Students’ in Reducing Anxiety Problems in Conversation a. State Anxiety
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From 10 students, 2 of them are included in the type of state anxiety.
State anxiety can be defined as a transitory emotional state consisting of feelings of apprehension, nervousness, and physiological sequale such as an increased heart rate or respiration.
b. Specific Anxiety
From 10 students, 5 students are included in specific anxiety.
Situation specific anxiety is triggered by a particular type of situation or event, such as public speaking. Anxiety is a prevailing psychological reactions which occurs across multiple situations, like employment interviews and tests, but also when learning.
c. Non Anxiety
From 10 students, 3 students said that they don’t feel anxiety when having a conversation. They feel are used to having conversation without feelings anxious or afraid.
Nur Aeni (2020), An Analysis Students’ Strategies in Overcoming Anxiety in Speaking English (A Descriptive Research of The Third Semester English Department at Muhammadiyah University of Makassar). On her research, the interview was distributed to 21 students from class BG3B, based on her result of interview there were 4 students who had not anxiousand and 17 students had anxious to give questioner. She found that the students preferred to relaxation strategy to overcome their anxiety in speaking english. The percentage of relaxation were 97,5%. The second strategy was preparation there were 93,01%. The third
strategy was positive thinking there were 75,2%. The fourth strategy was peer seeking there were 63,5% and the lowest strategy was resignation there were 34,3%.
While this research focused on strategies in reducing anxiety and types of anxiety problems in students’ English speaking. According to the interview the researcher took 10 students as subject. Based on the result of interview for the strategies, the researcher found seventh strategies, those are preparation, relaxation, peer seeking, positive thinking, gesture/body language, socially awkard, holding things. There were 2 students had preparation, 2 students had relaxation, 1 student had peer seeking, 1 student had positive thinking, 2 students had gesture, 1 student had socially awkward, and 1 student had holding things. While for the types of anxiety problems the researcher found three strategies, those are state anxiety, specific anxiety, and non anxiety. There were 2 students had state anxiety, 5 students had specific anxiety, and 3 students had non anxiety.
34 CHAPTER V
CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTIONS
This chapter present the conclusion and suggestion of the research. The conclusion summarizes the research result based on the research problem. So, in this chapter, summarizes the strategies used by students’ in reducing anxiety problems when speaking and classify students into types of anxiety in the second grade of SMA PPM Al-Ikhlash Lampoko.
A. Conclusion
1. The Strategies used by Students’ in Reducing Anxiety Problems in Conversation
Based on the results of the study, the researcher concluded that second grade students of SMA PPM Al-Ikhlash Lampoko, some of the students still have excessive anxiety they were still afraid and lack confidence when appearing in front of the class, some of them were still shy and afraid of being wrong and some of the students were quite good at controlling their anxiety.
Some students who have strategies to reduce anxiety, they could control it so that is not too excessive and because of their habit of always practicing and using English so that they get used to it and more confident and students can perform without having to feel anxious.
2. The Types used by Students’ in Reducing Anxiety Problems in Conversation There were some kinds of anxiety could be concluded that the students had unconfident, fear of mistake, shyness, worry, panic when having signs of anxiety, the symptoms are out of breath, short breath that hinder them from practicing their speaking in English.
B. Suggestion
1. It is suggestion for students, to realize that mastering English is not easy. This study proves that speaking anxiety is not easy to get rid of but can be controlled so that it does not interfere when speaking and is not seen by other.
Students should always practice every day and increase vocabulary.
2. It is suggested for teacher, should be able to understand students’
characteristic to analyze their problem related to anxiety before finding the way to reduce it. Different characteristic of students needs different treatment to deal with. Teachers should give the opportunities to the students to tell the difficulties they have as well. In addition, teachers have a responsibility to build convenient classroom environment for students to speak comfortably with less pressure to reduce the anxiety.
3. It is suggested for next researcher, the researcher hopes that this research can be an inspiration for other researchers in following up students’ strategies in reducing anxiety in speaking English.