INTRODUCTION
English speaking class is offered for students to practice speaking in order to communicate better. The more students practice their speaking, the more they become fluent in using English and motivated in learning it. Basically, Fariadian et al. (2014) claimed that speaking can be a more important and difficult skill to learn than the other English skills (reading, writing and listening).
According to Nunan (1995), developing speaking skills are one of the most beneficial aspects for learning a second or a foreign language. Furthermore, Nunan believed that the success of learning a language is measured based on the ability to converse. Therefore, people who can communicate using certain languages fluently can be considered as speakers of the language.
In EFL contexts, many students have difficulty in speaking English because the language is not widely used in daily lives. Therefore, the students need to take speaking classes to practice.
However, many students may still face difficulties in speaking a foreign language. Bailey, Daley, Onwuegbuzie (1999) argued that the existence of foreign language anxiety can impact negatively on the students’ learning, especially in speaking. Focusing on the factors that trigger students’
anxiety, one of the main reasons for the anxiety is because of the English speaking classroom procedures that usually require students to present orally in front of the class or to take part in group discussions. Worde (2003) argued that speaking activities can cause negative classroom experience, an inability to understand communication and fear of the lecturers and negative evaluation, which are one of the main factors that trigger learning anxiety. As the prominent philosophers Horwitz and Young (1991) explained that anxiety occurs when students learn a foreign language and they need to speak up. In other words, EFL students may feel inadequate in
achieving their target success, which in turn makes them nervous and unable to communicate well in foreign languages.
Most of the studies discuss students' anxiety in offline speaking class (Rumiyati & Seftika, 2018). Since the pandemic situation, a question of whether students also experience anxiety in online classrooms has been raised. As has been known, online learning is considered to be one of the best solutions for teaching and learning activities during the pandemic situation. However, students may still experience several factors that trigger their learning anxiety in online learning.
Fitriani (2020) stated that for teachers, online learning is quite effective for assignments, although students feel more anxious because of the difficulty to understand the material from online learning. This study aims to describe the following question: What factors trigger students’
speaking anxiety in online speaking class? It is expected that students can share what makes them anxious in learning or in online speaking classes. The significance of this study is hoped to give insights to teachers about factors that can cause students’ learning anxiety.
LITERATURE REVIEW
This chapter will discuss the challenges in learning speaking English, the definition of online speaking learning, and anxiety in an online speaking classroom.
The Challenges in Learning Speaking English
According to Al-Roud (2016), speaking is one of the most important skills in the language to build communication between people effectively. Speaking skills are very concerned on how
people use language to encourage meaningful communication with each other. This was also conveyed by Rivzi (2005) who stated that speaking is an interactive communicative process that involves speakers and listeners. In this case, Bahadorfar, Maryam & Reza Omidvar (2014) concluded that speaking is a crucial part of second language learning and teaching; it is one of the four language skills that must be mastered in learning a foreign language.
There are several aspects in speaking that are important in language class, which include comprehension, grammar, pronunciation, vocabulary and fluency. According to Cohen et al.
(2005), comprehension refers to the fact that participants fully understand the context. In speaking, the speaker must understand what they are conveying to the listeners, so that the listeners can easily catch the information. Second, Nelson (2001) stated that grammar is the study of how words are constructed to form sentences. In speaking, grammar is very necessary for students to convey the correct meaning of sentences in order to avoid misunderstanding by listeners. Third, Fraser (2001) explained that pronunciation includes all those aspects of speech that make for an easily intelligible flow of speech, including segmental articulation, rhythm, intonation and phrasing. It can be concluded that if students have good pronunciation, then they can communicate effectively. Then, according to Turk (2003), vocabulary (choosing appropriate diction in particular) is one of the most important things in a language, especially in expressing ideas. In speaking, the vocabulary used must be relevant to everyday conversation, so that the listener can easily understand what the speaker is saying. Last is fluency, Schmidt (1992) describes fluency as an automatic procedural skill (as cited in Carlson, Sullivan, & Schneider, 1989). According to him, L2 fluency is a performance phenomenon which depends on procedural knowledge or knowledge on how to do something, rather than declarative knowledge or knowledge about something (as cited in Faerch & Kasper, 1984). In speaking, fluency can indicate students' understanding as well
as knowing how to speak English properly.
There are several studies that have investigated the learning challenges of speaking English that students experience. A related study was carried out by Paakki (2013), who conducted research in Finland and Japan on the difficulty of speaking in English. The study aimed to find challenges in speaking English. In her study, Paaki showed that speaking English is difficult for some Finnish and Japanese students. This is supported by the existence of the first finding, the challenges of speaking are remembering words, understanding syntax (grammar and vocabulary) and etc. The second finding, Japanese learners also have some speaking challenges that are a bit similar to learners from Finland, such as a lack of vocabulary and fear of errors in grammar and pronunciation.
Another related study was conducted by Singh (2013) on the practice of Academic Speaking in Malaysia. The research conducted by Singh used a questionnaire adapted from a sample of 131 international post-graduate students. The results showed that the five main challenges in Academic Speaking were communicating ideas fluently, speaking accurately (grammar), communicating ideas confidently, speaking clearly (pronunciation) and actively participating in discussions.
Definition of Online Learning
Online learning is education that takes place over the internet and learning platforms. Ade Kusuma in Anhusadar (2020) described that online learning is a learning process which utilizes information technology, utilizing the internet as a method of information delivery, interaction and facilitation. Many online platforms can be used, such as Zoom, Google Classroom, Google Meet, Moodle, etc. This is the same as described by Bach et al (2007) that online learning is related with
the medium of communication created by technology, rather than the products of technology themselves, such as the networking of computer-based communication. Isaksen and Ramberg (2005) explained that online learning is a digital learning approach provided by educational institutions for students to use for a long time.
The Challenges in Online Speaking Learning
Online speaking learning is a method of learning to speak using the internet to communicate and share information. Online speaking classes are able to build students' confidence in speaking English because students do not need to meet face to face with their friends and teachers, so anxiety is reduced. According to Dieni and Widiarsih (2022), some of the students felt more confident in practicing speaking online because they did not meet their friends and lecturers in person, but their confidence in speaking English was still poor. In contributing to online speaking class, students will be silent if not called by the lecturer. Englishtina et al (2021) state that student contributions and student conditions affect students' speaking mastery.
Anxiety in Online Speaking Classroom
Anxiety in learning is a feeling of worry, nervous and apprehension experienced by a student. Wiramiharja (2004) mentioned that anxiety is commonly generated from fear and worries.
Similarly, Williams and Andrade (2009) expanded the definition by saying that anxiety is a complex construct that deals with students’ psychology regarding their feelings, self-esteem and self-confidence. In this case, language anxiety is very influential for the success or failure of students’ in the learning process in foreign language classes. More specifically, Na (2007) claimed that “anxiety has been regarded as one of the most important affective factors that influence second language acquisition”. In conclusion, language anxiety is a feeling of fear and worry that can make
students feel uncomfortable and nervous when they want to speak.
There is one study that has been conducted in EFL context to investigate the factors that cause students' anxiety in speaking class. In Pakistan (a case study in University of Sargodha), a related study was undertaken by Riffat, et al (2010) entitled “An Investigation of Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety and Its Relationship with Students’ Achievement”. Riffat found that language anxiety and achievement are negatively related to each other. Speaking in front of other people was rated as the biggest cause of anxiety followed by worries about grammatical errors, pronunciation and being unable to speak spontaneously. In conclusion, students' speaking anxiety are caused by many factors, such as fear of making mistakes, fear of getting evaluations from teachers and peers, lack of vocabulary and lack of pronunciation. Overall, there is a correlation between language anxiety and achievement in speaking English where they negatively influence each other.
There are three factors that cause students’ anxiety in online speaking class. First, the factor that influences students' anxiety in English classrooms is a competitive classroom environment. Students usually think that their peers are better at mastering the language than they are. According to Tseng (2012), interactions with someone who has higher language competence may cause anxiety. From the interactions, anxious students may feel that they face several problems in the process of developing their communicative competence. This can be due to the competitive classroom environment.
Second, the factor that triggers students’ anxiety is lack of confidence. Students usually feel insecure because they feel they are lacking in their ability to use foreign languages. Nunan (1999) says that students who lack confidence about themselves and their English skills necessarily suffer from communication apprehension. Sometimes, insecurity can also be due to unfamiliarity with the content of the topic at hand. To conclude, lack of self-confidence will make students feel
nervous when speaking in a foreign language.
Third, lack of vocabulary also triggers students’ anxiety in English classrooms. When speaking, students often feel anxious, such as arranging the appropriate words to say. These findings had been revealed by Kayaoglu and Sağlamel (2013), they mentioned that lack of vocabulary can possibly create anxiety as well. When the learners are not able to use appropriate words or forget some particular words, it makes them anxious.
THE STUDY
Method
The study used quantitative and qualitative research to find out what factors trigger students’ speaking anxiety in online speaking class. By using a quantitative method, researchers tried to produce clear data about the factors that influence student anxiety in online speaking classes. By using qualitative methods, researchers can see and understand more deeply the patterns and characteristics of interactions in online speaking courses. Creswell (2003) states, quantitative research “employ strategies of inquiry such as experimental and surveys, and collect data on predetermined instruments that yield statistical data”. In quantitative research, researchers can produce objective data that can be communicated clearly through statistics and numbers. Based on Queiros, Faria, Almeida (2017), qualitative research is a study for deepening the understanding of a particular problem. In qualitative research, the objective is to produce in-depth and illustrative research in order to understand the various dimensions of the problem under analysis.
Context of the Study
The study was conducted in the English Language Education Program (ELEP) at a private
university in Indonesia, focusing on Academic Speaking classes. The Academic Speaking course offers speaking in various formal academic contexts. With this course, students were expected to be able to participate in discussions and interviews, consult with the teachers and deliver presentations, including but not limited to virtual presentations. Academic Speaking involves in- class language practices that would guide the students’ in the process of academic speaking as well as to develop students’ critical thinking abilities through classroom discussions. The assignments and projects were done in pairs, in groups and individually, with feedback from their peers and the lecturers. Academic speaking classes had been conducted online and used Zoom breakout rooms features to allow small groups practices.
Participants
The research focused on students of batch 2020 who had taken online Academic Speaking courses in the first semester of 2021/2022. In this study, purposive sampling was used to select the research participants. According to Arikunto (2010), purposive sampling is the process of selecting samples by taking subjects that are not based on levels or regions, but are taken based on certain objectives. A total of 33 students, with 11 male and 22 female students, who were taking Academic Speaking online courses were chosen to participate in this research.. The participants were chosen in accordance with the purpose of the researched question. In addition, the researcher wanted to know the possibility of varied answers about what students usually worry about in online Academic Speaking classes and what factors trigger students’ speaking anxiety in online Academic Speaking classes. It was hoped that the participants were able to articulate their opinions and shared experiences related to the researched question.
Data Collection Instruments
In this study, the data was collected through a questionnaire and a semi-structured interview.
The first instrument was collected using closed-ended questions through Google Forms, which included yes/no questions and Likert scale items in English. Leedy and Ormrod (2005) emphasize that a close-ended question in the questionnaire provides limited choices to answer and uses simple, clear and unambiguous language. Each item of the questionnaire was adapted from Chowdhury’s questionnaire items (Chowdhury, 2014). Chowdhury's questionnaire contains language speaking anxiety in general which the researcher adapted with research questions about the factors that trigger students' speaking anxiety in online academic speaking classes. The participants were asked to choose the factors that were responsible for their anxiety of speaking English in the online speaking class by putting a mark on each item. Each item had 4 points from Always, Usually, Rarely, and Never.
For the second instrument, the data was collected from semi-structured interviews to support the questionnaire data through Whatsapp voice notes. Alshenqeeti (2014) explained that semi- structured interviews were more flexible. This meant, it provided more opportunities for participants to answer questions elaborately. According to Rabionet (2011), semi-structured interviews could be used to determine several areas or topics that the researcher wanted to ask. This interview could also help researchers to find out more specific information from the participants. The interviews were conducted in Indonesian in order to ensure that the participants fully understood the meaning of each question and could convey clear and elaborated responses to each question.
Table 1. Questionnaire for Collecting Data
No. Statements Adapted from
1 Do you feel anxious when you have to take online Academic Speaking classes?
Chowdhury (2014) 2 Do you feel anxious when you take part in the learning process in an online
Academic speaking class?
3 I feel anxious about speaking English in my online Academic Speaking classes because my knowledge of English grammar is inadequate.
4 I feel anxious about speaking English in my online Academic Speaking classes because my knowledge of English vocabulary is inadequate.
5 I feel anxious when I don’t speak English fluently in my online Academic Speaking classes.
6 I feel anxious when my pronunciation is not good in my online Academic Speaking class.
7 I have feelings of anxiety if I fail in an online speaking assignment (e.g.
presentations).
8 I perspire just before starting an online speaking assignment (e.g. presentations).
9 I feel anxious when I do an online speaking assignment with my Academic Speaking teacher.
10 Realizing that I only have a limited time in an online Academic Speaking assignment makes me anxious.
11 I believe making mistakes or errors while speaking will make me look funny or inferior to others.
12 I feel anxious in online Academic Speaking class because I believe that my peers are more fluent in speaking English than me.
13 I feel anxious about speaking English in online Academic Speaking classes when I talk to someone whose English is better than me.
14 I feel anxious when I don’t understand what my Academic Speaking teacher is saying (e.g. due to a connection problem)
15 I feel anxious when my teacher interrupts me while speaking in English to correct my errors instantly.
16 I feel anxious during discussion sessions because I get stuck and forget the words.
17 I feel anxious if I can’t continue my conversation in English about a topic because of my lack of knowledge about the topic.
Data Collection Procedures
Before distributing the questionnaires to students of the 2020 batch, it was piloted first. Around 20% students of the 2019 batch were asked as pilot participants because the students had also experienced learning in the online Academic Speaking class. First, close-ended questionnaires were distributed and then a pilot participant was selected for an interview. The interview was conducted in around 15-20 minutes with the aim of ensuring that the questions from the interview were appropriate and ready to be distributed to real participants After conducting a piloting study, several questions were revised under the guidance of the supervisor. Therefore, questions in the questionnaires and interviews that were unclear and might confuse the participants could be corrected immediately. After the questions were thoroughly revised, the questionnaires were distributed using Google Forms to students of the 2020 batch which were taking online Academic Speaking classes, the questions were 17 items in total. Then, seven out of 33 students were selected for semi-structured interviews. The interviews were conducted around 15 to 20 minutes via Whatsapp - Voice Note to get more data about their learning anxiety in online Academic Speaking classes. During the interview, the researcher started to gather detailed information by saving data from voice notes and taking notes based on the real participants’ permissions.
Data Analysis Procedures
The data from questionnaires and interviews were analyzed in two ways. For the quantitative, it used statistical analysis. For the qualitative narrative analysis method with several steps, such as classifying the questionnaire data based on whose participants’ responses show a high level of anxiety. Semi-structured interviews were conducted and it involved seven people to
talk and provide answers about the problems they faced and strategies they applied to overcome their anxiety in online Academic Speaking classes. As a result, diverse answers were acquired from participants as data. Lastly, analysis of the data was conducted by grouping the similar answers and writing down the answers that were only relevant to the research question. Furthermore, the researchers reported the results of these data using the pie chart and the table form.
FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION
This section provides results from the research question about the factors that trigger students’ anxiety in an Online Academic Speaking classes. These findings were analyzed from questionnaires and interview answers. After getting the data, they are divided into two categories.
The first theme will discuss students’ feelings when they need to take and follow the learning process in an online Academic Speaking class. Furthermore, the discussion will be followed with the second theme about what kind of factors trigger students' anxiety in an online Academic Speaking classes.
Students’ Feelings when They Need to Take and Follow the Learning Process in an Online Academic Speaking Class
This section showed the results of the analysis of the questionnaire based on 33 responses and interviews from seven responses to explore students' feelings in an online Academic Speaking class. Here, two closed-ended questions were provided, which are: “Do you feel anxious when you have to take an online Academic Speaking class?” and “Do you feel anxious when you take part in the learning process in an online Academic Speaking class?”. The findings were as presented in
Figure 1 and Figure 2.
Figure 1. Percentage of Students’ Feelings when They Need to Take an Online Academic Speaking Class
Figure 1 showed that 57.6% of the participants agreed that they felt anxious when they had to take an online Academic Speaking class. In other words, it was found that most of the participants felt anxious when they had to take an online Academic Speaking class. On the other hand, it showed that 42.4% of the participants showed their disagreements, which means that almost half of students did not feel anxious when they had to take an online Academic Speaking class. However, it was undeniable that most of the participants felt anxious. Similar to the questionnaire data, the interview result also showed similar results. All the seven interviewed participants said that they feel anxious. To show the reasons that affected students’ anxiety when they have to take online Academic Speaking classes, Table 2 below showed the interview results.
Table 2. Table of Reasons that Affect Students’ Anxiety when They have to Take Online Academic Speaking Classes
Reasons Number of Participants
A new thing 3
Connection internet problem 5
Online assignment 1
Rarely use of English 3
Learning process 1
As shown in Table 2, internet connection problems were the most frequent reason that affected the participants’ anxiety (71.43%). Below, Participant 5 illustrated the concern for internet connection problems.
…… Saya khawatir jika suara atau pesan yang saya sampaikan tidak tersampaikan dengan jelas kepada audience karena kendala koneksi internet. (Participant 5)
…… I am worried that my voice or message will not be conveyed clearly to the audience due to internet connection problems. (Participant 5) (Translated by the researcher)
According to the answer from Participant 5, it can be seen that internet connection problems were something that could make her feelings of anxiety arise and she was worried that her voice she could not be heard by others or the message she wanted to convey was not conveyed clearly.
Meanwhile, 1 out of 7 participants felt mixed feelings with the online Academic Speaking class. Participant 7 conveyed her feelings below.
Perasaan saya senang dan menemukan hal baru seperti berbicara di depan teman-teman dan dosen secara online. Saya sempat merasakan cemas jika adanya masalah koneksi internet. (Participant 7)
I feel happy to discover new things like speaking in front of friends and lecturers online. I used to feel anxious if there was an internet connection problem. (Particpant 7) (Translated by the researcher)
According to the answer from Participant 7, her statement is rather unique because she was worried about internet connection problems when she had to take an online academic speaking class, but she was also happy because she could have a new experience of speaking in front of friends and lecturers online.
Figure 2. Percentage of Students’ Feelings when They Take Part in the Learning Process in an Online Academic Speaking Class
For the participants’ learning process, it was found that 63.6% or 21 participants answered
"yes", which indicated that most of the participants still feel anxious after participating in the learning process in online Academic Speaking classes. On the other hand, it showed that 36.4% or 12 participants ticked “no”. This meant, less than half of the students gradually felt less anxious while participating in the Academic Speaking learning process.
Similar to the questionnaire data, the interview showed similar results. All seven interviewees said they still felt anxious.To show the students’ feelings when they take part in the learning process in an online Academic Speaking class, Table 3 below illustrated the results.
Table 3. Table of Students’ Feelings when They Take part in the Learning Process in an Online Academic Speaking Class
Feelings Number of participants Reasons for the feelings
Less anxious 3 - Many friends help in studying.
- Many friends help with study (through group work) and chat with friends in English.
- Frequent use of English to communicate with friends on campus.
Still anxious 4 - Fear of not meeting the expectations of the lecturer and afraid that the presented material cannot be understood.
- Afraid whether the English is fluent or not.
- Not fluent enough in English.
- Fear of not understanding the lecturer's questions and the explanations.
From Table 3, it was shown that three out of seven students stated that the influence of friends could reduce their feelings of anxiety in the online Academic Speaking class. According to the interviewees, a friend can help them in the learning process and speaking in English with a friend can reduce their anxiety. Participant 2 confirmed the statements.
Semakin hari rasa cemas saya berkurang karena banyak teman membantu untuk belajar, seperti kerja kelompok. Saya juga mengobrol dengan teman menggunakan bahasa inggris itu yang membuat saya jadi lumayan confident. (Participant 2)
As days pass, I feel less anxious because many friends help me to study, such as through group work. I also chatted with friends using English, which makes me pretty confident. (Participant 2) (Translated by the researcher)
According to the answers from Participant 2, he felt that his anxiety was reduced after taking part in the learning process in an online Academic Speaking class. This happened because he felt less anxious while doing some assignments with his friends that helped him in learning English and when he chatted with his friends in English he felt more confident.
Meanwhile, four of seven students stated that they were still anxious when taking lessons in online Academic Speaking classes. According to the interview results, two of four students were afraid that they would not be able to understand the material explained by the lecturer. This was revealed by Participant 3, as shown below.
…. Takut tidak sesuai dengan ekspektasi dosen karena menurut saya setiap dosen punya ekspektasi buat kelas yang diajar. Oleh karena itu, saya takut selama pembelajaran materi yang dijelaskan tidak bisa saya mengerti. (Participant 3)
…. Fear of not meeting the expectations of the lecturer because in my opinion, every lecturer has expectations for the class. Therefore, I am afraid that during the lesson, the material that is being explained will not be understood by me. (Participant 3) (Translated by the researcher)
Based on the answer from Participant 3, it could be seen that interactions with lecturers was a factor that caused her to feel anxious. This was because she found it difficult to understand the material explained by the lecturers. Next, three out of four students were afraid that they would not be able to speak English fluently enough.
Masih timbul rasa kecemasan pada diri saya saat berbicara dengan dosen karena di kelas siswa wajib menggunakan bahasa Inggris dan saya takut tidak cukup fasih. (Participant 5)
I still felt anxious when I talked to the lecturer. Because in class, students are required to use English, and I am afraid that I will not be fluent enough. (Participant 5) (Translated by the researcher)
Based on the Participant 5, she still felt anxious when talking to lecturers because she was afraid that she was not fluent in English, especially in her class where she must use English.
From the results, it could be concluded that participants had anxiety in the online Academic Speaking classes. Students still experience anxiety when studying in speaking class even though it is done online. Kaisar and Chowdhury (2020), through in-depth interviews, found that nine out of twelve students agreed that the online learning environment triggered their anxiety. This was possible because they were afraid of not getting the best results when learning a language in a speaking class. After students took part in the learning process in the class, there were some students who still felt anxious, one of the reasons is because they felt they were not fluent in English. These findings supported the findings of Thornbury (2005) which claimed that a student who was not fluent in speaking English could suffer from stress. It could not be denied that students who were not fluent could feel anxious when they did not understand the explanation of the material or were
asked to speak in English. However, there were some students whose anxiety began to decrease, as previous findings stated that friends’ help (through group work) was able to reduce anxiety. This statement was in line with Khusnia’s statement (2017) which claimed that group work and study groups appear to reduce speaking anxiety for some students.
Factors that Trigger Students' Anxiety in an Online Academic Speaking Classes.
There are five factors that trigger students’ anxiety in an online academic speaking class.
The data analysis that will be discussed is “the lack of competence in linguistic items”, “fear of performance in completing assessments”, “Participants’ Feelings when Talking to Someone who is More Fluent in English”, “fear of making mistakes in front of the teacher” and “the lack of understanding of a topic”.
The Lack of Competence in Linguistic Items
In the discussion about the lack of competence in linguistic items, Table 4 below demonstrated the results.
Table 4. The Lack of Competence in Linguistic Items
No Statements Always Usually Rarely Never
3 I feel anxious when my knowledge of English grammar is inadequate.
6.1% 51.5% 42.4% 0
4 I feel anxious when my knowledge of English vocabulary is inadequate.
12.1% 42.4% 45.5% 0
5 I feel anxious when I don't speak English fluently. 27.3% 39.4% 27.3% 6%
6 I feel anxious when my pronunciation is not good. 9.1% 42.4% 33.3% 15.2%
The questionnaire results revealed that participants felt concerned when their knowledge of English
grammar was inadequate (57.6%). Participants also thought that they were still lacking in vocabulary knowledge (54.5%). Furthermore, students also felt anxious about their English fluency (66.7%) and bad pronunciation (51.5%), and this lack of linguistic ability became their anxiety problems in learning in online Academic Speaking classes.
When explored further through the interviews about what linguistic items made the participants anxious, Table 5 revealed the answers as below.
Table 5. The Lack of Competence in Linguistic Items
Linguistic Items Number of Participants
Grammar 4
Vocabulary 2
Fluency 5
Pronunciation 5
After the analysis, the results of the interview revealed that fluency and pronunciation was the most influencing factor for students’ anxiety. Five out of seven participants said that fluency and language pronunciation did affect their anxiety in studying in the online Academic Speaking classes. One of the statements from the participants was as such.
Pronunciation dan kefasihan adalah yang paling mempengaruhi kecemasan saya karena tidak terbiasa dan saya pikir itu sulit untuk menggunakan pengucapan bahasa Inggris. (Participant 5)
Pronunciation and fluency are what affect my anxiety the most because I am not used to it and I think it is difficult to use proper English pronunciation. (Participant 5) (Translated by the researcher)
According to the answer from Participant 5, it was revealed that she was anxious because she was not used to it and found English pronunciation difficult. She also felt she was not fluent in English, which contributed to her anxiousness.
As a result of this interview, the strongest findings about the linguistic competencies that mostly influence students' speaking anxiety in online classes were grammar, pronunciation and fluency. According to Abrar et al. (2018), grammar was a major concern for the students when they spoke in English because they were fearful of making a mistake while speaking. However, different from Abrar et al.'s findings, the findings from the questionnaires and interviews showed that fluency and pronunciation were the more influential factors for students' anxiety rather than grammar. Results of Lindy (2006) indicated that speaking anxiety adversely affects oral fluency performance of English language. Furthermore, Mukminatien (1999) found that students majoring in English had many mistakes when speaking, one of which was errors in pronunciation, for example, inaccurate stress words and voice intonation. Despite the students experiencing a non traditional mode of speaking class, they still found that pronunciation, fluency, and grammar mostly infulenced their speaking anxiety.
Fear of Performance in Completing Assessments
In the theme of fear of performance in completing assessments, Table 6 below showed the results.
Table 6. Fear of Performance in Completing Assessments
No Statements Always Usually Rarely Never
7 I feel anxious if I fail in the online speaking assignment
30.3% 42.4% 15.2% 12.1%
8 I perspire just before starting an online speaking assignment
3.1% 30.3% 54.5% 12.1%
9 I feel anxious when I do an online speaking assignment with my teacher.
12.1% 33.3% 36.4% 18.2%
10 Realizing that I only have a limited time in an online Academic Speaking assignment makes me anxious.
12.1% 48.5% 21.2% 18.2%
The findings revealed that the participants felt anxious if they failed in the online speaking assignment (72.7%), but it was found that the participants were rarely and never nervous to the extent of sweating before starting the online speaking task (66.6%). They did not feel anxious when doing the online speaking tasks with their teachers (54.6%). Furthermore, it was also found that 60.6% of the participants were anxious when they only had a little time to do their online academic speaking assignments.
When further explored about what assessment tasks could make the participants anxious, Table 7 revealed the findings as below.
Table 7. Fear of Performance in Completing Assessments Tasks Number of
Participants
Reasons
Presentation 6 - The material presented is not easily understood by the audience, and the speakers feel unconfident.
- Unconfident to speak in front of an audience.
- Feel unconfident, afraid of presentation errors, such as sharing the wrong screen, worried about internet connection, etc.
- Unconfident, worried because the internet is down.
- Need to convey the material well and smoothly.
- Have to study the material, pay attention to proper grammar &
vocabulary and set up mobile data backup.
Interview assignment
1 - Interview topics are difficult to understand, which can make participants confused about answering interview questions in English.
After being analyzed, the results of the interview data stated that students felt more anxious when they had to complete an online presentation. Four out of seven participants stated that they felt anxious because of the presentation task and it made them felt insecure or unconfident. The statements given were as follows,
Presentasi adalah tugas yang paling mempengaruhi kecemasan karena cemas materi yang saya sampaikan tidak mudah dimengerti oleh audience dan itu menimbulkan rasa tidak percaya diri. Tidak ada masalah koneksi.
(Participant 1)
Presentation is the task that affects my anxiety the most because I am worried that the prepared material is difficult to understand. However, I have no internet connection problems. (Participant 1) (Translated by the researcher)
Presentasi adalah tugas yang paling mempengaruhi kecemasan karena tidak percaya diri bicara di hadapan audience. (Participant 2)
Presentation is the task that affects my anxiety the most because I feel unconfident to speak in front of an audience.
(Participant 2) (Translated by researcher)
Presentasi adalah tugas yang paling mempengaruhi kecemasan karena berbentuk webinar dan gabungan dari semua kelas academic speaking jadi membuat saya kurang percaya diri. (Participant 4)
Presentation is the task that affects the most anxiety because it is in the form of a webinar and a combination of all academic speaking classes so it makes me less confident. (Participant 4) (Translated by researcher)
From the excerpts above, it was revealed that the participants had doubts about their speaking ability when doing the presentation task. On the other hand, referring to Table 6, the participants agreed that they felt anxious if they failed in doing the online speaking task (72.7%). This is a challenge that participants find when they don't feel confident, they will fail in doing online presentation assignments.
In addition, two out of seven participants stated that the internet connection problems were one of the things that influenced their anxiety in doing online presentation assignments.
……adanya kesalahan presentasi secara online yaitu salah share screen dan koneksi internet bermasalah.
(Participant 3)
……there is an online presentation error, namely the wrong screen share and internet connection problems.
(Participant 3) (Translated by researcher)
……Perasaan cemas meningkat terutama sebelum presentasi sempat mengalami padam listrik dan internet mati.
(Participant 4)
……Feelings of anxiety increased, especially prior to the presentation. I had experienced a power outage and the internet went out previously. (Participant 4) (Translated by researcher)
From the discussion above, it could be determined that another thing which made the participants felt anxious if they fail to do their online speaking task is the internet connection problems. The results of the interview also revealed that it was not only presentation assignments that caused anxiety for
students. One out of seven participants stated that she experienced anxiety when she had to do an interview assessment task. This category included statements, such as
Interview assignment adalah tugas yang paling mempengaruhi kecemasan saya karena dilakukan secara online.
Selain itu, dari segi topik interview sebetulnya sulit dipahami bagi saya. Terkadang bingung juga harus menjawab apa untuk pertanyaan interview dengan bahasa Inggris.(Participant 6)
Interview assignments are the tasks that affect my anxiety the most because they are done online. In addition, in terms of the interview topic, it was actually difficult for me to understand. Sometimes I’m also confused about how to answer interview questions in English. (Participant 6) (Translated by the researcher)
Based on the answers from Participant 6, she said that the online interview assignments caused her to feel anxious. She felt confused to answer interview questions in English where the interview topic she received was also difficult to understand.
These findings showed that most of the anxiety they experienced was during presentations.
Students felt anxious because they lacked confidence in doing online presentations and they were afraid if they were not able to convey the materials perfectly. Based on Kurniawati and Putri (2021), giving presentations would be a trouble for a few college students who lacked self–confidence.
Speaking anxiety gave an essential problem on speaking as performance. Online presentations also cause anxiety in students, such as fear of online presentation errors and internet connection problems.
Morgan (2020) stated that the difference in access to technology that each student possessed had made it difficult for some students to follow the lesson smoothly. This created significant anxiety for them and made them less likely to perform well in speaking.
Participants’ Feelings when Talking to Someone who is More Fluent in English
In the theme of Participants’ Feelings when Talking to Someone who is More Fluent in English, Table 8 below showed the results.
Table 8. Participants’ Feelings when Talking to Someone who is More Fluent in English
No Statements Always Usually Rarely Never
11 I believe making mistakes or errors while speaking will make me look funny or inferior to others.
9.1% 30.3% 33.3% 27.3%
12 I feel anxious in online Academic Speaking class because I believe that my peers are more fluent in speaking in English than me.
18.2% 39.4% 24.2% 18.2%
13 I feel anxious about speaking English in online Academic Speaking classes when I talk to someone whose English is better than me.
18.2% 42.4% 24.2% 15.2%
In this case, the questionnaire items showed that 60.6% of the participants did not really thought that they looked funny or inferior while making a speech error. Meanwhile, the participants believed that their peers were more fluent in speaking in English, thus making them felt anxious (57.6%). It was also found that 60.9% of the participants felt anxious when talking to someone whose English was better than theirs.
When explored further how the participants’ feelings when talking to someone who is more fluent in English, Table 9 shows as below.
Table 9. Participants’ Feelings when Talking to Someone who is More Fluent in English
Participants' feelings Number of Participants Reasons
Anxious 3 - Not confident, feeling intimidated.
- Not confident, unable to match the abilities of peers.
- Not confident and jealous.
Anxious, but began to reduce
2 - Not confident, less anxious because many friends help to learn English.
- Not confident, less anxious because studying with friends who are more fluent in English, friends also help.
Not anxious 2 - Feel confident, learn to speak with friends
who are fluent in English.
- Motivated to continue learning to speak when talking to friends who speak English fluently.
After being analyzed, the results of the interview data stated that three out of 7 participants believed that talking to friends who were more proficient in English did play a role in influencing their anxiety for speaking in online Academic Speaking classes and created a feeling of insecurity.
Saya merasa cemas dan tidak percaya diri karena saya merasa seperti terintimidasi jika bicara dengan teman yang lebih mahir berbahasa Inggris. (Participant 1)
I feel anxious and insecure because I feel intimidated when I talk to friends who are more proficient in English.
(Participant 1) (Translated by the researcher)
Perasaan saya cemas dan merasa tidak percaya diri karena tidak mampu mengimbangi kemampuan dari teman yang lebih lancar berbahasa Inggris daripada saya. (Participant 5)
I feel anxious and feel insecure because I can't keep up with the abilities of my friends who speak English more fluently than me. (Participant 5) (Translated by the researcher)
According to Participant 1's statement, her self-confidence was threatened if she talked to friends who were more proficient in English, which then caused her to feel anxious. Then, the statement from Participant 5 showed that he felt his speaking ability was not able to match the ability of his peers who were more fluent, causing anxiety and lack of confidence.
However, two out of seven participants had felt anxious, but their feelings of anxiety were reduced because they learned English from their peers who were more fluent. One of the following statements were as follows.
Perasaan saya sedikit cemas dan tidak percaya diri muncul. Saya ragu dengan kemampuan speaking saya sendiri, namun rasa cemas mulai berkurang karena saya belajar pronunciation dan grammar pada teman yang lebih fasih berbahasa Inggris. Saya akan memperbaiki pronunciation saya seperti mendengar pronunciation dari teman yang lebih fasih, kadang teman membantu memperbaiki pronunciation saya juga.
(Participant 4)
I felt a little anxious and insecure. I had doubts about my own speaking ability, but my anxiety began to lessen because I learned pronunciation and grammar from friends who were more fluent in English. I will improve
my pronunciation by hearing my friend’s pronunciation who is more fluent. Sometimes my friends help me improve my pronunciation too. (Participant 4) (Translated by the researcher)
According to a statement from participant 4, he felt anxious and insecure, and even doubted his speaking ability. However, the anxiety was reduced after he tried to learn to speak English by paying attention to the pronunciation of his friend who was more fluent and there was a friend who helped him.
The interview data also stated that two out of seven participants did not feel anxious when talking to their friends who were more fluent in English. One of the following statements were as such.
Tidak mempengaruhi kecemasan saya karena berbicara dengan teman yang lancar berbahasa Inggris dapat memotivasi saya untuk terus belajar bicara bahasa Inggris dengan lancar. (Participant 7)
It doesn't affect my anxiety because talking to a friend who speaks fluent English can motivate me to continue learning to speak English fluently. (Participant 7) (Translated by the researcher)
According to a statement from participant 7, she thought that talking to a friend who was more fluent in English would make her motivated to continue learning English until she was fluent rather than feeling anxious or insecure.
Some students did not deny that anxiety and feelings of insecurity were also factors that created anxiety in speaking in class. Students would feel intimidated and less confident because of the lack of good communication skills. In response to this, Tsui (as cited by Nunan, 1999)) said that students who lacked confidence about themselves and their English necessarily suffered from communication apprehension. Students might think they were not able to match the ability of their peers who were more fluent in English and made them afraid that they will look less competent in class.
However, some students could motivate themselves by being confident and were able to talk with friends who were fluent in English. Supportive peers and a friendly learning atmosphere can also be factors that make students confident to speak English fluently. Because of this, students had to stop comparing themselves to others.
Fear of Making Mistakes in front of the Teacher
In the theme of fear of making mistakes in front of the teacher, Table 10 below showed the results.
Table 10. Fear of Making Mistakes in Front of the Teacher
No Statements Always Usually Rarely Never
14 I feel anxious when I don't understand what my Academic Speaking teacher is saying
6% 39.4% 39.4% 15.2%
15 I feel anxious when my teacher interrupts me while speaking in English to correct my errors directly.
9% 18.2% 45.5% 27.3%
The questionnaire results revealed that the participants did not feel anxious when they did not understand the explanations given by their Academic Speaking teacher (54.6%). In addition, it was found that 72.8% of the participants were not really anxious when the teacher interrupted their speech in English to correct their errors.
When further explored about what reasons make participants anxious to make mistakes in front of the teacher, Table 11 illustrated as below.
Table 11. Fear of Making Mistakes in front of the Teacher
Participants' feelings Reasons Number of Participants
Anxious Not understanding the lecturer's explanation 3
Internet connection problems 3
Not confident 2
Not speaking fluently 3
Not Anxious Gives motivation, clearly conveys the material 1
After being analyzed, the results of the interview stated that the teachers’ explanations and internet connection problems did have a role in influencing students’ anxiety. The reason that was often mentioned was that three out of seven participants stated that they did not understand the explanation from the lecturer in the online class. Below, Participant 1 described her anxiety because her teachers’ explanation was too fast for her, and Participant 2’s anxiety because of the difficulty in understanding the teachers’ choice of words.
Iya, jadi menurut aku guru itu berperan karena ini kan Academy speaking class di mana gurunya full speaking in Inggris. Kadang itu gurunya berbicaranya cepat jadi aku itu kadang suka cemas kalau dia ngomongnya cepet aku enggak nangkep apa yang dia jelaskan gitu. (Participant 1)
Yes, I think the teacher plays a role because this is an Academic Speaking class where the teacher is speaking fully in English. Sometimes, the teacher talks fast, so I feel anxious if the teacher talks fast and I can’t understand what the teacher explained. (Participant 1) (Translated by the researcher)
Terkadang juga ada kecemasan tersendiri kalau dosennya itu pakai vocabulary yang mungkin saya kurang paham gitu jadi percakapannya agak terbata-bata karena saya harus mikirin mau ngomong apa gitu kak. (Participant 2)
Sometimes, I feel anxious when the lecturer uses vocabulary that I may not really understand, so I stutter in the conversation because I need to think what the lecturer’s said. (Participant 2) (Translated by the researcher)
Moreover, three out of seven participants also stated that they felt anxious when they had internet connection problems. Participant 1 and Participant 6 described their anxiety because of the problems as follows
Saya merasa cemas karena takut tidak bisa memahami apa yang dijelaskan dosen, seperti adanya masalah koneksi internet yaitu sinyal sering hilang dan koneksi macet. (Participant 1)
I feel anxious because I am afraid that I will not be able to understand what the lecturer explains because of several reasons, such as internet connection problems where the signal is often lost and the connection is lagging.
(Participant 1) (Translated by the researcher)
Cukup berperan mempengaruhi kecemasan saya karena saya takut tidak mampu memahami apa penjelasan dosen karena masalah koneksi atau sinyal internet saya yang hilang. (Participant 6)
It plays a role in influencing my anxiety because I am afraid that I will not be able to understand what the lecturer has explained because of internet connection problems or my lost internet signals. (Participant 6) (Translated by the researcher)
From the discussion above, it could be determined that participants felt anxious if they did not understand the explanation that had been given by the lecturer and because of bad internet connection problems. One of the things that affected their anxiety was internet connection problems. The statement given from the interview was quite different from the results from the questionnaire, which found that as many as 54.6% of the participants did not experience much anxiety and were able to understand the teacher's explanation in the online Academic Speaking class.
Then, another reason that was often mentioned was three out of seven participants stated that they were worried when speaking in English, they did not sound fluent. One of the statements was as below.
Saya sering merasa cemas jika saat berbicara bahasa Inggris. Rasanya Ingin berbicara dengan fasih namun saya khawatir apa yang sedang saya bicarakan sulit dipahami oleh dosen. (Participant 7)
I often feel anxious when speaking in English. I feel like I want to speak fluently but I'm worried that what I'm talking about is difficult for the lecturer to understand. (Participant 7) (Translated y the Researcher)
According to a statement from Participant 7, she stated that her anxiety often arose when she had to speak in English. She was not fluent and wanted to look fluent because she was afraid that what she was talking about was difficult for the lecturer to understand.
Meanwhile, one of seven participants stated that she did not feel that the teacher had a role in influencing her anxiety. The statement was as follows,
Menurut saya dosen mampu memotivasi siswa dalam belajar bicara bahasa Inggris. Dosen yang mengajar di kelas online sangat jelas dalam menyampaikan materi sehingga tidak mempengaruhi kecemasan saya.
(Participant 5)
I think lecturers are able to motivate students in learning to speak English. Lecturers who teach in online classes are very clear in delivering the material so it doesn't affect my anxiety. (Participant 5) (Translated by the researcher)
According to a statement from Participant 5, she stated that the lecturer's way of teaching in her online class did not affect her anxiety because the lecturer delivered the material very clearly.
Moreover, the lecturer could motivate students in her class to study hard about speaking English.
The anxiety experienced by students was more likely due to the inability of students to understand the explanations of the lecturers in online classes. Feelings of insecurity because they could not speak fluently were also a factor that made students anxious when speaking English.
Speaking teachers should provide clear explanation for students before they prepare the tasks because the tasks given are very important for students to meet grades, such as providing detailed explanations about what topics will be given for interview assessments and providing detailed explanations about the material to be presented in the presentations assignments. According to Al- Nakhalah (2013), lack of confidence usually happened when students wondered whether their talk had been understood or not by their audience. The students were afraid that the lecturer would not understand their explanation and would point out their shortcomings in English.
The Lack of Understanding of a Topic
In the theme of the lack of understanding of the speaking topic, Table 12 below showed the results.
Table 12. The Lack of Understanding of a Topic
No Statements Always Usually Rarely Never
16 I feel anxious during discussion sessions because I get stuck or forget the words.
9% 48.5% 27.3% 15.2%
17 I feel anxious if I can't continue my conversation in English about a topic because of my lack of knowledge about the topic.
15.2% 42.4% 33.3% 9.1%
Another influential factor stated by the students was lack of understanding of a topic. The results of the questionnaire revealed that as many as 57.5% of the participants felt anxious during the discussion session because they were stuck in expressing the words. It was also found that 57.6% of the participants felt anxious because of a lack of knowledge about a topic so that they could not continue the conversation in English.
When explored further about what reasons made participants anxious due to lack of understanding of a topic, Table 13 explained the reasons as below.
Table 13. The lack of understanding of a topic
Participants' feelings Reasons Number of Participants
Not really anxious Can understand the material. 1
Anxious Cannot understand the topic 5
Not confident 3
Do not understand presentation using "pecha kucha"
1
Connection internet problems 1
After being analyzed, the results of the interview mentioned that five out of seven participants felt that the topic explained by the lecturer was difficult to understand while studying in the online Academic Speaking class. The statement given was as follows,
Pernah merasa cemas saat melakukan group discussion dan topik yang diberikan cukup sulit untuk dimengerti.
Selama berdiskusi menggunakan bahasa Inggris walau kurang memahami topik. (Participant 4)
I have ever felt anxious when doing group discussions, and the topics given were quite difficult to understand.
During the discussion, I used English even though I did not understand the topic. (Participant 4) (Translated by Researcher)
According to a statement from Participant 4, he stated that his anxiety was triggered during a group discussion. He felt that the topic given was quite difficult to understand, but he continued to discuss in English even though he did not understand the topic being discussed.
In addition, there were three out of seven participants who stated that apart from the difficulty to understand the topic, they were also not confident with their English skills. The statement given was as follows,
Cemas karena saya sulit memahami suatu topik yang diberikan dosen dan kurang rasa percaya diri juga dengan bahasa Inggris saya. Jika tidak memahami topik saya akan bertanya dan konsultasi dengan teman yang lebih paham. (Participant 6)
I'm worried because it's difficult for me to understand a topic given by the lecturer and I don't feel confident in my English either. If I don't understand the topic, I will ask and consult with friends who understand more.
(Participant 6) (Translated by Researcher)
Merasa cemas karena saya belum memahami materi atau topik yang diberikan oleh dosen dan juga tentang kemampuan bahasa Inggris saya sehingga merasa tidak percaya diri. Soalnya kalau tidak paham topik atau materi yang diberikan, saya harus mengulangi lagi mempelajari materi tersebut. (Participant 7)
I feel anxious because I do not understand the material or topic given by the lecturer and also about my English skills, so I don't feel confident. The problem is that if I don't understand the topic or material given, I have to repeat the study again. (Participant 7) (Translated by Researcher)
From the discussion above, it could be determined that participants felt that anxiety was triggered by a lack of understanding of a topic given by the teacher and also a lack of ability in English, which made participants feel not confident.
Meanwhile, one of seven participants stated that she understood the materials and topics given so it did not really trigger her anxiety while studying in an online Academic Speaking class. The statement was as follows.
Tidak begitu cemas karena cukup dapat memahami materi. Selalu berusaha bisa berbicara dengan bahasa Inggris sesuai topik yang dibahas. (Participant 1)
Not really anxious because I can quite understand the material. I always try to be able to speak English according to the topics discussed. (Participant 1) (Translated by Researcher)
Anxiety experienced by students’ could be seen that it was caused by the inability of students’
to understand the speaking topics given by lecturers in online Academic Speaking classes. Students’
might have difficulty generating ideas if they had difficulty in understanding unfamiliar topics, especially if their English skills were still lacking. Tuan and Mai (2015), as well as Kasbi and Shirvan (2017), identified lack of topical knowledge as the cause of high speaking anxiety that made students’
speak very little or not at all, as they could not think of anything to say. In the end, they would become reluctant to participate in the speaking class. Teachers need to ensure the students familiar with the speaking topics before preparing the tasks. Students need to make sufficient preparations where in an online Academic Speaking classes have challenging academic topics for students such as presentations that must be well structured, logical, and well marked with clear visuals. Therefore, as suggested by Al Nouh et al. (2015), students should be allowed to choose their own topics, as familiar topics would help them to understand better and this would reduce anxiety.
CONCLUSION
This study aimed to investigate the factors that trigger students’ speaking anxiety in online speaking classes focusing on Academic Speaking classes at ELEP-UKSW. To obtain qualitative data, closed-ended questionnaires and semi-structured interviews were used to investigate the factors that triggered students’ anxiety in online speaking classes. The used quantitative research to produce objective data that can be communicated clearly through statistic and numbers.
