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VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI

UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGESAND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES
FACULTY OF POST – GRADUTAE STUDIES

BÙI THỊ MAI

A MIXED METHOD STUDY ON STUDENTS’ SPEAKING ANXIETY :

A SURVEY ON 11TH FORM STUDENTS
AT THANH OAI A HIGH SCHOOL

( NGHIÊN CỨU KHẢO SÁT VỀ MỨC ĐỘ LO SỢ KHI HỌC NÓI

TIẾNG ANH BẰNG PHƯƠNG PHÁP NGHIÊN CỨU HỖN HỢP TRÊN
HỌC SINH LỚP 11 TRƯỜNG THPT THANH OAI A)

M.A. Minor Program Thesis

Field : Engplish Teaching Methodology

Code : 60140111

Hanoi, 2016

IETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI

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UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES

FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES

BÙI THỊ MAI

A MIXED METHOD STUDY ON STUDENTS’ SPEAKING ANXIETY :

A SURVEY ON 11TH FORM STUDENTS
AT THANH OAI A HIGH SCHOOL

( NGHIÊN CỨU KHẢO SÁT VỀ MỨC ĐỘ LO SỢ KHI HỌC NÓI

TIẾNG ANH BẰNG PHƯƠNG PHÁP NGHIÊN CỨU HỖN HỢP TRÊN
HỌC SINH LỚP 11 TRƯỜNG THPT THANH OAI A)

M.A. Minor Program Thesis

Field : English Teaching Methodology

Code : 60140111
Supervisor : Assoc. Prof.Dr. Lê Văn Canh

Hanoi, 2016
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CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY OF STUDY PROJECT REPORT

I declare that this thesis: “A mixed method study on students’ speaking anxiety:
A survey on 11th form students at Thanh Oai A high school ” is my own work
and effort and has not been submitted anywhere for any award. Moreover, the
contributions of my colleagues and students are involved. Other sources of
information have been used and acknowledged.

Hanoi, November 2016

Bui Thi Mai

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I wish to show my sincere appreciation to the following people who

supported me to complete this study.
I wish to express my warmest gratitude to my respectful supervisor,
Assoc.Pro. Dr Lê Văn Canh , who instructed me how to do this research and
provided me with a lot of professional advice on the thesis writing. I am really
grateful to his generosity, kindness, and encouragement. Without his support, I
could have never been able to finish this study
I also would like to express my greatfulness to the participants of this study-
the 11th form students and the teachers at Thanh Oai A high school for their whole-
hearted participation.
I feel a deep gratitude to my family. My thankfulness goes to my parents
who have patiently supported me to complete the research, and to my husband and
my children who have stood by me as a big supporter.

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ABSTRACT

Many studies in second language acquisition have examined language anxiety, but
few have explored its sources, especially in speaking skill. Therefore, this study was
designed to investigate potential sources of speaking anxiety viewed from and
manifested in 11th form students at Thanh Oai A high school . Through the use of
questionnaire and narrative frames as research instruments and some sources of
language anxiety as theoretical guideline for data collection and analysis, major
findings were drawn. First, the speaking anxiety tendency of the students surveyed
was obvious. Second, some sources leading to students’ speaking anxiety were
found. They include these factors as learners’ communication apprehension, test
anxiety and fear of negative evaluation. Based on the learner’s and teachers’
recommendations in questionnaire and narrative frames, the research proposes some
coping strategies to ameliorate negative effects of this kind of anxiety. It is hoped
that this research will help Vietnamese learners and teachers have a better
understanding of the nature of foreign language acquisition anxiety in general and
speaking anxiety in particular to improve the teaching and learning of English.

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LIST OF TABLES

Table 1: The results of the questionnaire about anxiety of speaking experienced by

the 11th form students in Thanh Oai A high school.
Table 2: Level of communication anxiety experienced by the 11th form students in
Thanh Oai A high school.
Table 3: Level of fear of negative evaluation experienced by by the 11th form
students in Thanh Oai A high school.
Table 4: Students’ feelings about speaking English in the classroom (N= 36)

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LIST OF CHARTS

Chart 1: The results of the questionnaire about anxiety of speaking experienced by

the 11th form students in Thanh Oai A high school.
Chart 2: the results for students’ responses about the item 1.
Chart 3: the results for students’ responses about the item 2.
Chart 4: the results for students’ responses about the item 3.
Chart 5: the results for students’ responses about the item 4.
Chart 6: the results for students’ responses about the item 5.
Chart 7: the results for students’ responses about the item 6.
Chart 8: the results for students’ responses about the item 7.
Chart 9: the results for students’ responses about the item 8.
Chart 10: the results for students’ responses about the item 9.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
DECLARATION……………………………………………………………………… i
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS……………………………………………………….….. ii
ABSTRACT…………………………………………………………………..…….... iii
LIST OF TABLES………………………………………………………….……...…..iv
LIST OF CHARTS…………………………………………………………….……….v
PART A: INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................... 1
1. Rationale....................................................................................................... 1
2.Aims and objectives of the study................................................................... 1
3. Research questions....................................................................................... 2
4.Scope of the study ......................................................................................... 2
5.Methods of the study...................................................................................... 2
6.Design of the study ....................................................................................... 2
PART B: DEVELOPMENT ........................................................................................ 4
CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW...................................................................... 4
1.1. Overview of speaking ............................................................................... 4
1.1.1. Definition speaking ..................................................................... 4
1.1.2. The role of speaking in language teaching and learning .............. 4
1.1.3. Principles of teaching speaking ................................................... 5
1.2. Foreign language learning anxiety ......................................................... 6
1.2.1 Definition of foreign language learning anxiety .......................... 6
1.2.2 Components of foreign language learning anxiety ........................ 8
1.2.2.1 Communication apprehension ........................................ 8
1.2.2.2 Test anxiety ................................................................... 9
1.2.2.3 Fear of negative evaluation ............................................ 9
1.3. Speaking anxiety research ....................................................................... 10
1.4. Sources of foreign language anxiety and speaking anxiety ....................... 12
CHAPTER 2- METHODOLOGY ............................................................................. 17

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2.1 Overview of current teaching and learning speaking at Thanh Oai A

high school ................................................................................................. 17
2.2The informants ............................................................................................ 18
2.3. The instruments ....................................................................................... 18
2.4. Procedures ............................................................................................... 19
2.5. Techniques of data analysis...................................................................... 19
2.6. Data analysis and findings......................................................................... 20
2.6.1. Level of speaking anxiety experienced by 11th form students
at Thanh Oai A high school ................................................... 20
2.6.1.1. Communication anxiety: ............................................... 21
2.6.1.2. Fear of negative evaluation: .......................................... 26
2.6.2 Narrative data ............................................................................ 30
CHAPTER 3: SUGGESTED IMPROVEMENTS .................................................... 33
3.1. Solutions related to the contents of the lessons ........................................ 33
3.2. Solutions related to learners’ communication apprehension ..................... 33
3.3. Solutions related to learners’ fear of negative feedback ........................... 35
PART C: CONCLUSION.......................................................................................... 37
1. Concluding remarks ................................................................................... 37
2. Limitations of the study .............................................................................. 39
3. Suggestions for further study ..................................................................... 39
REFERENCES .......................................................................................................... 41
APPENDICES............................................................................................................. I
APPENDIX A .............................................................................................................. I
APPENDIX B ............................................................................................................ II

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PART A- INTRODUCTION
1. Rationale:
English has become a useful and indispensable means for Vietnam’s integration
of our country into the world community. Learning English becomes a great
necessity for Vietnamese people. Especially, learning speaking gains a great stature
as the need of communication is paid much more attention. But getting students to
respond in classes is a problem that most ESL teachers face. The problem of that is
particularly acute with non major English students, who are generally considered to
be more reserved and reticent than the majored ones. The nervousness and anxiety
frequently seem to become particularly aggravated when students are required to
speak in front of their teacher and their classmates. MacIntyre and Gardner (1991),
for example, assert that "anxiety poses several potential problems for the students of
a foreign language because it can interfere with the acquisition, retention, and
production of the new language" (p. 86).
As a teacher of English at Thanh Oai A high school, from my own observation
and experience, I myself have noticed that my students often experience foreign
language anxiety especially in speaking skill. They are afraid of speaking in front of
the class, even when the teacher asks them to practice English in pairs or in groups;
many of them keep silent or have discussion in Vietnamese. While the students are
more confident with written tests, they always feel reluctant when being asked to
speak English and try to give answers as short as possible. Some students even
refuse to give any answers when assigned. Some of them admit that they cannot
find words to say and they always feel nervous and anxious when speaking English
with teachers.
In an attempt to reduce my students’ speaking anxiety so they can feel more
comfortable learning to speak English, I decided to conduct a study on the topic:
“A mixed method study on students’ speaking anxiety: A survey on 11 th form
students at Thanh Oai A high school”
2. Aims and objectives of the study:

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The first aim of this study was to review the literature about foreign language
learning anxiety so that I can learn more about what has been known and what has
not been regarding the topic of speaking anxiety. This knowledge will help me to
design the appropriate intervention in my class with my students. Towards that goal,
this study was conducted to achieve the following specific objectives :
- to identify the levels of speaking anxiety and factors leading to that anxiety
among the 11th form students at Thanh Oai A high school
- to think of necessary measures on the basis of the results of objective 1 to help
the students to reduce their English speaking anxiety.
3. Research questions
In order to achieve the above-presented aims and objectives, the study was
designed to answer two following research questions:
1. What do the 11 graders at the researched school self-report on their levels of
anxiety in learning to speak English in the classroom?
2. What are the causes of their speaking anxiety?
4. Scope of the study:
The study limits itself to the survey of a group of high school students, i.e.,
graders, at Thanh Oai A high school. The type of anxiety that is investigated is the
anxiety that students experience in the English-speaking lessons taught at their
school within the current English language curriculum for high school students.
5. Methods of the study:
Since the purpose of the study is to gain understanding about the students’
level of English-speaking anxiety and the causes of that anxiety, the study is a
survey study. Two data collection instruments were used. These are the students’
questionnaires and narrative frames.
6. Design of the study:
The study consists of three parts:

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Part A: Introduction: This part offers a brief introduction to the rationale

for choosing the topic, the aims and objectives, the scope, the methods and the
organization of the study.
Part B: Development
The part consists of three chapters, as follows:
+ Chapter 1: Literature Review
This chapter reviews the literature on language learning anxiety in order to
provide the theoretical background and the conceptual framework for the study.
+ Chapter 2 - Methodology – provides information about the methods of
data collection that were employed in the study and the research procedure that the
study followed. This is followed by the presentation of the findings and the
discussion of those findings.
+ Chapter 3 – Suggested improvements for teaching and learning speaking
skill– focuses on anxieties facing students in learning speaking skill and suggested
techniques and activities for the teachers to improve their teaching, suggested
solutions for students to reduce and cope with anxieties facing them in speaking
classes.
Part C: Conclusion
This part offers an overview of the major findings as well as the limitations
of the study, the implications and suggestions for further research in this matter.

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PART B: DEVELOPMENT
CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW
The main aim of this chapter is to review the literature on second language
anxiety in general and speaking anxiety in particular. The chapter starts with a
literature review on anxiety. This is followed by an overview of speaking. The end
of the chapter is a discussion of speaking anxiety.
1.1 Overview of speaking
1.1.1 Definition of speaking
Florez (1999) defines speaking was “ an interactive process of constructing
meaning that involves producing and receiving and processing information.” (cited
in Balley, 2005:2). It is “often spontaneous, open-ended and evolving”, but it is not
completely unpredictable. In other words, “speaking consists of producing
systematic verbal utterances to convey meaning.” (Balley, 2005:2)
Bygate (1997) states that speaking was a skill which deserved attention every
bit as much as literacy skill. It is often thought of as a “popular” form of expression
that uses the unprestigious “colloquial” register. Speaking is in many ways an
undervalued skill. Perhaps this is because we can almost speak, and so take the skill
to much for granted. In his own view, Mackey (1965) defines “Oral expressions
involves not only the use of the right sounds in the patterns of rhythm and
intonation, but also the choice of words and inflections in the right order to convey
the right meaning.” (cited in Bygate, 1997: 5). According to him, for the students
who want to be good at speaking, he/ she has to choose the right forms, put them in
correct order, sound it like native speaker and even produce the right meanings.
Therefore, speaking skills generally have to be learnt and practiced carefully before
giving a presentation.
1.1.2 The role of speaking in language teaching and learning
Speaking plays an utmost important role among the four language skills
since it helps to identify who knows or does not know a language. Pattison (1992)

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confirms that when people know or learn a language, they mean being able to speak
the language.
In language teaching and learning, speaking is a medium through which
much language is learnt, and which is particularly useful for learning. The ability to
communicate in a second language clearly and efficiently contributes to the success
of the learners in school and success later in every phase of life (Kayi, 2006).
More than this, speaking is regarded as the first step to confirm who knows
or does not know a language. Ur, P (1996) shows that people who knows a language
are referred to as “speaker” of that language as if speaking included all other kinds
of knowing.
To many language learners “ mastering the art of speaking is the single most
important aspect of learning a second language or foreign language, and success is
measured in terms of ability to carry out a conversation in the language”. (Nunan,
1991: 39). It can be inferred from Nunan’s view point that speaking is a very
important skill among the four basic ones. Therefore, having dealt with the
importance of oral skills in language teaching and learning is essential that language
teachers should pay more attention to teaching speaking skills. In order to carry out
many of the most basic transactions, it is necessary for learners to speak with
confidence.
1.1.3. Principles of teaching speaking
In order to have a successful speaking lessons, teachers and learners should
pay attention to its principles suggested in EST methodology II (To Thu Huong, et
at., 2008).
First of all, by learning to speak following given models students can imitate
the way native speakers use the languages and their intonation. Besides, when
people want to keep their conversation, they have to listen to others, receive what
partners say to produce new sentences, so it is also reception

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