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STUDENTS’ ANXIETY IN PUBLIC SPEAKING ENGLISH

PROPOSAL SKRIPSI

“Students’ Speaking Anxiety in Public Speaking”

(Survey at Class B English Department 2018 students’)

By

Utari Apriliyani Dumbela

321418050

ENGLISH DEPARTMENT

FACULTY OF LETTERS AND CULTURE

STATE UNIVERSITY OF GORONTALO

2018
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STUDENTS’ ANXIETY IN PUBLIC SPEAKING ENGLISH

CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION

This chapter presents the background of study, research question, objectives of the
research, research significance and research limitation.

A. Background of Study

Speaking comes from English which means to speak, understanding or definition of

speaking is to state that communicative is an exchange between people, knowladge,
information, ideas, opinions, feeling. So, that it must be an idea and follow concepts from
what they will say or can also be called as an act of communication through speaking
generally appear in the phase of interaction and agreement as part of dialogue or rather verbal
exchange.

According to Ladouse (1991) speaking is described as the activity as the ability to

express oneself in the situation, or the activity to report acts, or situation in precise words or
ability to converse or to express a sequence of ideas fluently. Furthermore, Tarigan (1990:8)
said that “Berbicara adalah cara untuk berkomunikasi yang berpengaruh hidup kita sehari-
hari”. It means that speaking as the way of communication influences our individual life
strongly.

This from of anxiety is much more common than you think. In The Challange of
Effective Speaking, Rudolph F. Verderber et al. Report that “as many as 75% of experienced
public speakers feel fearful before presenting a speech,” (Verderber et al. 2012).

Sheldon Metcalfe, authorof Building a Speech, confirms that this fear is

commonplace: “In a 1986 study of about a thousand individuals, researchers discovered that
people identified public speaking as their number-one fear. Public speaking anxiety even
outranked such fears as going to the dentist, heights, mice, and flying,” (Metcalfe 2009). For
some, the fear of public speaking is greater than the fear of death or snakes.

“When speaking English in public or public speaking often cause fear and anxiety of
many individuals, anxiety public speaking can cause serious problems for those who are
experience it” (Jones, Fazio & Vasey, 2012:556). Students’ anxiety to speak English very
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STUDENTS’ ANXIETY IN PUBLIC SPEAKING ENGLISH

important to be solved. It can be influence their speaking skill if they must practice to be
success especially about pronounciation and vocabulary.

“Anxiety can be described as a perceived notion of psychological distress which

occurs due to the expectation of a disconcerting and potentially threatening event. Although
extensive research has focused on the concept of anxiety, it cannot be defined by purely
objective or concrete means” (Rachman, 2004, in Larson, 2007:2)

Anxiety can be classified as trait anxiety, situation-specific anxiety, and state anxiety.
Trait anxiety can be relatively stable in individuality trait; a student who have anxious trait is
possibly feel anxious in a variety of condition. Situation-specific anxiety occurs in specific
type of situation or event such as public speaking, test-taking, or class participation. On the
other hand, state anxiety is occurs temporarily at particular situation. Further, many prevoius
researches have been revealed some factors that cause language anxiety. It can be from
students’ self-perception, social environment (Tseng. 2012:90). Those researches indicatethat
anxiety has an enervating effect on language learning process.

According to Horwitz, Horwitz and Cope (1986) language anxiety is a distinct

complex of self-perceptions, feeling and behaviours related to classroom language learning
process. Macintyre & Gardner (1993:284) define language anxiety as the feeling or tension
and apprehension specifically associated with second language context including speaking,
listening, and learning. Anxiety is a situation where the student feels anxious, shy, and afraid
to make mistake in speaking in front of the class. Anxiety will give negative influence toward
students’ behaviors. The lack of courage in speaking will definitely impede students to get
success in foreign language classroom.

B. Research Question

Based on the background and factor identification, the writer has formulated the
following question in this research :

1. What the level of anxiety are experienced by class B English Department 2018
students in English Public speaking class?
2. How the students’ speaking ability can be described from their anxiety level?
3. What the factor of students’ anxiety to speak English?
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STUDENTS’ ANXIETY IN PUBLIC SPEAKING ENGLISH

C. Objectives of the Research

Based on the research question above, this research has aims to find out the following:

1. To investigate the level of anxiety experienced by class B English Department

2018 students in speaking class of English Department.
2. To find out the students’ speaking ability from the anxiety level of class B English
Department 2018 students’.
3. To find out what the factor influence students’ anxiety in class B English
Department 2018 students’.

D. Research Significance

The result of the study are hoped to give benefits for speaking lecturer, for
researchers, and students’.

1. Speaking Lecturer

The output of this study can be an idea for speaking lecturer to develop their teaching
strategies, to know the factor or causes of the students’ have anxiety to speak English and the
lecturer can help their students’ reduce the anxiety when they performing in front of class.

2. Researchers

Hope will be able to improve his knowladge in writing paper especially about this
material, Students’ Anxiety to Speak English. Morever, this research will help the next
researchers to generate a better study.

3. Students

This paper may become a basic knowladge for foreign language students who were
learning be better their skill about speaking.

E. Research Limitation

Although there are other language skills that have to be studied, the writer limits the
research only focuses on speaking skill (speaking anxiety in English language).

The research will be done in the class B English Department 2018 students, State
University of Gorontalo in academic year of 2019/2020.
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STUDENTS’ ANXIETY IN PUBLIC SPEAKING ENGLISH

CHAPTER II
THE LITERATURE REVIEW

This chapter describes review of related literature to the topic this study, which is based
on relevant theories. It covers the concept of anxiety, types of anxiety, and speaking anxiety
factor.

A. Concept of Anxiety

Anxiety has been a matter of considerable interest in languge education setting for
educators since it is a major obstacle to foreign language learning that the learners need to
overcome (Wu, 2010; Zheng, 2008).

Language learning anxiety may be experienced due to linguistic difficulties foreign

language learners face in learning and using the target language (Hashemi and Abbasi, 2013).

Anxiety can be difined as a mental and physical state characterized by specific emotional,
physical, cognitive and behavioral symptoms. It is an adaptive reaction which mobilizes the
organism and help it defend, attack or avoid an anxiety stimulus. To state the difinte causes of
anxiety can be rather complicated as it is influenced by many factors – biological,
phychological, social or other (Doubek, & Anders, 2013).

In addition, such psychological definitions most commonly refer to a “transitory

emotional state or conditions characteried by feeling of tension and apprehension and
hightened autonomic nervous system activity”(Spielberger, 1972:24). Consequently, anxiety
is a state which can have both negative and positive effects, and which motivates and
facilitates as well as disrupting and inhibiting cognitive actions such as learning.

Meanwhile, Herman in Yasin (2014) defined anxiety as being comprised of a

combination of interacing fundamental effects: neurophysiologic (such as tremors, sweating
hands, flushing, increased heart rate, high blood pressure) behavioral-expressive, and
phenomenological or subjective. He proposed, therefore, that anxiety includes fear reaction
plus two or more basic emotions: distress, anger, (including shyness and guilt), on the
negative side, and interest and excitement representing the positive side. Hence, according to
Brown (1994) anxiety plays an important role in second language acquisition. Anxiety is
associated with feelings of uneasiness, frustration, self-doubt, apprehension, or worry.
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STUDENTS’ ANXIETY IN PUBLIC SPEAKING ENGLISH

B. Types of Anxiety

There are several types of anxiety disorders, these include:

a. Agoraphobia

People who have agoraphobia have a fear of certain places or situations that make them
feel trapped, powerless, or embarrassed. These feelings lead to panic attacks. People with
agoraphobia may try to avoid these places and situations to prevent panic attacks.

b. Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD)

People with GAD experience constant anxiety and worry about activities or events, even
those that are ordinary or routine. The worry is greater than it should be given the reality of
the situation. The worry causes physical symptoms in the body, such as headaches, stomach
upset, or trouble sleeping.

c. Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)

OCD is the continual experience of unwanted or intrusive thoughts and worries that cause
anxiety. A person may know these thoughts are trivial, but they will try to relieve their
anxiety by performing certain rituals or behaviors. This may include hand washing, counting,
or checking on things such as whether or not they’ve locked their house.

d. Panic disorder

Panic disorder causes sudden and repeated bouts of severe anxiety, fear, or terror that
peak in a matter of minutes. This is known as a panic attack. Those experiencing a panic
attack may experience:

 feelings of looming danger

 shortness of breath
 chest pain
 rapid or irregular heartbeat that feels like fluttering or pounding (palpitations)

Panic attacks may cause one to worry about them occurring again or try to avoid
situations in which they’ve previously occurred.

e. Specific phobias

This is a fear of a specific object, event, or situation that results in severe anxiety when
you’re exposed to that thing. It’s accompanied by a powerful desire to avoid it. Phobias, such
as arachnophobia (fear of spiders) or claustrophobia (fear of small spaces), may cause you to
experience panic attacks when exposed to the thing you fear.

C. Speaking Anxiety Factor

Based on the findings trough a final version PSCAS questionnaire

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STUDENTS’ ANXIETY IN PUBLIC SPEAKING ENGLISH

adopted from Yaikhong & Usaha 2012, the result of the questionnaire shows that. From 13
participants that answer 20 questionnaire about students’ anxiety. The data analyst shows that
there are 3 factors that cause students’ anxiety in their presentation at English department
proposal seminar are lack of preparation, lack of confidence and lack of motivation.
1. Lack of preparation is one of the most influence factors toward the students’
anxiety in proposal seminar as much 84.6%, participants agree with the statements 4.5 which
is the question is “I start to panic when I have to speak English in proposal seminar without a
preparation in advance”.
2. Lack of confidence is the second factors that influence the students’ anxiety in
proposal seminar as much 76.9%, participants agree with the statements 4.1 which is the
question is “ I never feel quite sure of my self while I am speaking english in proposal
seminar”.
3. Lack of motivation is the third factors that influence the students’ anxiety in
proposal seminar as much 76.9%, participants 4.14 which is the question is “I enjoy the
experience of speaking english in proposal seminar”. agree with the statements students’
anxiety in proposal seminar.
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STUDENTS’ ANXIETY IN PUBLIC SPEAKING ENGLISH

CHAPTER III
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

A. Research Design
According to Nunan and Bailey (2009:25) “the overall purpose of a survey is to
obtain a snapshot of conditions, attitudes, and/or events of an entire population at a single
point in time by collecting data from a sample drawn from that population”.
Relevant to the purpose and research question above, survey study design will be employed
to capture the details about Reducing Students’ anxiety to speak english. Survey study
involves systematically gathering enough information about a particular person, social
setting, event, to permit the research to effectively understand how the subject operate and
how the subject solve the problem.
B. Population and Sample
As a population, the writer will take Class B English Department 2018 students. To
determine the sample, the researcher will use a questionnaire technique. Because there is
more than one class on campus. Only one class will be given research.
According to Almack (1930) the relationship between science and research is like
results and processes. Research is a process, and science is the result of research. Meanwhile,
according to F.L. Whitney (1960) believes that science and research are a process so that the
results of the process are truth.
C. Techniques of Data Collection
It is impossible to collect the data from respondent without any instrument. There will
be several instruments used by writer to get the data from respondents, i.e, questionaire and
interview. Meanwhile, to discover the causes of students’ anxiety to speak english and the
students anticipate to reduce their anxiety to speak english, the researcher will use a
questionaire and interview. The interview will be conducted to validate data from the
questionaire.
D. Techniques Data Analysis
1. Data Analysis of Questionaire
To investigate the causes of students’ anxiety and the students anticipates or
strategis to anticipate the difficulties, the researcher will give a questionaire. the writer will
use Closed items on Questionaire method. According to Nunan and Bailey (2009:130) “
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STUDENTS’ ANXIETY IN PUBLIC SPEAKING ENGLISH

Closed items on Questionaire which the range of possible responses is determined by the
researcher and the respondent select from or evaluate the option provided.” The data from
questionaire will be analyzed by using Closed Items on Questionaire.
2. Data Analysis of Interview
To obtain data of this study, the writer uses standardized open ended interviews.
According to Turner (2010:756) “Standardized open ended interviews are likely the most
popular form of interviewing utilized in research studies because of the nature of the open
ended questions, allowing the participants to fully express their viewpoints and
experiences”. The data from interview will be analyzed by generalizing of the data.
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STUDENTS’ ANXIETY IN PUBLIC SPEAKING ENGLISH

REFERENCES

Alamak (1930). Research and Thesis Writing. Retrieved from

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Doubek, P,. & Anders, M. (2013). Generalizovana uzkotstna porucha. Praha: Maxdorf.
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Hashemi M, Abbasi M (2013). The Role of The Teacher in Alleviating Anxiety

in Language Classes. Int. Res. J. Appl. Basic Sci.
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Horwitz, E.K,. Horwit,. M.B., & Cope, J. 1986. Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety.
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Larson, H.A 2007. Reducing Test Anxiety Among Third Grade Students
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speak.html

Metcalfe, Sheldon. Building a Speech. Wadsworth Publishing, 2009. Retrieved from

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