Emergency Remote Teaching and the Effects of Online Debate on L2 Speaking Anxiety: Pre-service English Language Teachers’ Perspectives

Language learners around the world have had to switch to an online remote teaching mode almost overnight due to the unprecedented COVID-19 global pandemic. Hence, they may experience higher levels of L2 speaking anxiety in their language learning process related to their use of new technologies in online learning environments. This research study provides by language educators with some practical suggestions to help their EFL learners reduce their L2 speaking anxiety levels by analyzing the challenges of emergency remote teaching and investigating the effects of online debate on pre-service English language teachers’ L2 speaking anxiety. The study pursued a mixed method research design. Two sources of data collection were used to explore the participants’ L2 speaking anxiety levels and their perceptions of online debating, including a quantitative review of students’ speaking anxiety levels before and after the online debate sessions, and an open-response questionnaire. The research population included 33 EFL freshmen students (15 males and 18 females), between the ages of 18 and 21, in ELT department at a state university in Turkey. Based on the quantitative and qualitative findings, some pedagogical implications are proposed in the end.