Students’ Anxiety in English Speaking Class at A Private Junior High School in East Java, Indonesia

Abstract

One of the difficulties, speaking anxiety, has a significant impact on one’s capacity to speak a foreign language.  Students are often hesitant to use English in class during their speaking performance. In line with this, the study aims to scrutinize the types of students’ anxiety and the factors that affect the student’s anxiety in English speaking class. Therefore, the case study as part of qualitative research design was employed to complete the study. The participants were the eighth graders of a private junior high school in East Java, Indonesia, that consisted of 22 students. The researchers obtained the data through observation, interviews, and documentation. The results show that the students experienced state anxiety, trait anxiety, and specific situation anxiety. Moreover, the factors that affected the students’ anxiety were test anxiety, communication apprehension, and fear of negative evaluation. According to the findings, English for Foreign Language (EFL) teachers should not only identify that anxiety is a fundamental factor in students' failure to learn a new language but also help them cope with their feelings of unease and discomfort.