Analyzing The Freshman' Speaking Anxiety in Academic Speaking Class

Abstract

Abstract: Despite the importance of speaking skills in academic settings, students, particularly in learning a foreign language, experience significant anxiety during speaking activities. Horwitz et al. (1986) showed three main factors of anxiety there were communication apprehension factor, test anxiety factor, and fear of negative evaluation factor. This study aimed to identify the most symptom of speaking anxiety experienced by the freshman’ students, to identify the factor contributing to speaking anxiety experienced by the freshman’ students, and to explore some strategies usually used by the freshman’ students to overcome their anxiety. This study was used descriptive qualitative method. Participants in this research were second semester students in regular class consisted of 28 students, but in this research only 6 students were taken who selected using a purposive sampling method. The researcher used questionnaires and interviews to collect the data. The researcher analyzed the data using thematic analysis, starting from familiarizing with the data, generating initial codes, searching for themes, reviewing themes, defining and naming themes, and producing the report. The findings indicate that the most prominent symptoms are physical, such as a rapid heartbeat, sweaty or cold hands, and a trembling voice. The factor contributing to speaking anxiety experienced by the freshman’ students is test anxiety. The strategies to overcome speaking anxiety are preparation, positive thinking, and relaxation. These strategies indicate a relatively good level of self-awareness and emotional regulation among the freshman’ students, even though they are still in the early stages of adapting to academic demands.