Universiti Utara Malaysia

College Of Arts And Sciences

Szrz 6014
Research Methodology

MEASURING THE LEVEL OF SPEECH ANXIETY AMONG WEAK STUDENTS IN UMK

Prepared for
Dr. Noor hashima binti abd. Aziz

Prepared by
Syakirah binti shafien
816428

CHAPTER 1

1.0 Introduction

In learning institution nowadays, everyone tries to maintain and achieve good grades
in order to pursue his or her studies to a higher level or to get a good job in their future.
Excellent academically does not promise anyone to have a good career. It also comes with
other skills that will complete the criteria for a job application. One of them is someone
should have competence in speaking in public. This criterion is very important because the
lack of this will definitely show that we are only good on papers, not on our own self
presentation. In order for the students to have good speaking skills, they have been exposed
to speak in front of the public in their classroom. They need to do some presentations that
will be given marks by their lecturers, or deliver their speech in public to gain other students
attention in the students council campaign, for example.

In class, there will be a presentation slot where the students need to present their
task in front of the class. They need to speak correctly, fluently, and confidently so that the
audiences will listen to them till the end of the presentation. However, it can be seen that
there are a lot of students who are nervous and afraid when they are presenting their work.
Some of them are reluctant to volunteer when the lecturer asks them to go and present in
front of the class in an impromptu situation. There are several factors that are being said to
be the cause why there is anxiety when comes to speaking in public whether in
presentations or in other situations.

Public Speaking is a common source of stress for everyone. Many would like to avoid
this situation completely, but that is difficult to accomplish. Myers (1999) found that giving a
speech could make almost anyone feel anxious. Many people, especially those who are shy
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or easily embarrassed, feel anxious in almost any situation in which they might be evaluated.
Even experienced speakers have some anxiety when speaking in front of a group of people;
this is basically a normal feeling.

Rollo May proposed that anxiety is the apprehension given off by a threat to some
value that the individual holds important to his or her existence as a person (Engler, 1999).
Myers (1999) suggested the implications for social anxiety are straightforward. Many feel
anxious when they are motivated to impress others but doubt their ability to do so. Some feel
most anxious when dealing with powerful, high-status people; people whose impressions
matter; when one is self-conscious and their attention is focused on themselves and how
they are coming across; and in an evaluative context, as when making a first impression.

Hughes (1999) showed that the fear of speaking in public is considered the number
one fear of all fears; with death ranking only number seven. The main reasons people feel
anxious in this situation appear to be: a) An Unfamiliar Situation: because most people
speak formal only rarely to an audience the novelty of the situation is a cause of
apprehension, b) Lack of Confidence: this stems often from a feeling that others are better
speakers than ourselves, or that they know more about the topic in question, c) Sense of
Isolation: the speaker is alone, the center of attraction, and vulnerable, d) Self
Consciousness: this means our accents, grammar, voice and image, and e) Fear of looking
foolish: one worries they will forget what they are saying (Hughes, 1999). People who have
this fear can experience all kinds of symptoms: sweaty palms accelerated heart rate,
memory loss and even difficulty in breathing (Laskowski, 2000).

People with a strong sense of performance anxiety tend to fear public speaking with
a passion. This could be one of the worst situations they could get in. Most worry of messing
up their speech or simply falling on the way to the podium to give the speech.

So, the concern of this study will investigate is such problems occur when we are
giving a speech especially among weak students. In addition, this study will focus on what
are their levels of anxiety, high level, moderate or in low level of anxiety.

1.1 Statement of the problem

English, being an important medium of communication at both intra-national and

international levels, takes the status of a second language in the country. They have 4
important components to be mastered; listening, reading, writing and speaking.

Among those four skills, it is speaking that is usually of the greatest difficulty to
students. According to Young (1992), both teachers and students consider speaking skill as
the most stressful. It is the skill that is most frequently used by students to compare
themselves with their peers, teachers as well as native speakers (Kitano, 2001). In one of
the findings of an action research which had been carried out, regarding the students
performance in Speaking Skills for Malaysian University English Test (MUET) Speaking
(800/2), revealed that 50% of the candidates were marginal speakers and another 50% were
limited users of the language. These limited speakers of English were reported as not taking
the initiative to participate in group discussions (Amizura Hanadi & Zaiton Abdul Majid,
2003).

Lacking of speaking skill is always being related to speech anxiety. In addition,

anxiety is one of the topics that have captured language-learning researchers attention
since they attempted to explain individual differences in language learning (Youngsang,
2001, p. 6). Language teachers and researchers have been interested in the phenomenon of
foreign language anxiety for a number of years (Zhang; 2001; Gregersen and Horwitz, 2002,
p.562).

As we know, the ultimate goal of language teaching is to enable learners to

communicate in the target language they learn. For those who can meet this goal are
regarded as high achievers or successful language learners. However, not every language
learner can reach this goal. This might be because there are many factors involved in
language learning. One of those factors is an anxiety construct in the affective domain,
considered as an important affective role in second/foreign language acquisition and could
be presumed as a cause of language failure (Brown, 1994, p. 141).

Scovel (1991)

maintains that learner anxiety is not a single but rather a complex, multidimensional
phenomenon, which involves many other variables such as the subject studied or tested at
school, the learners level of intelligence, the difficulty of the learning skill under investigation,
and the degree of familiarity the learners have with the learning task. Thus, the issue of
learner anxiety needs to be addressed from a variety of perspectives and approaches
(Young, 1992).

Plus, we always question why students are afraid to speak in front of the class. What
is the main reason why they are afraid to present? Is it because of their personal problems
or is it because of their surroundings? Is there any limitation to their anxiety? According to
Tanveer (2007), feelings of anxiety, apprehension and nervousness are commonly
expressed by second/second language learners in learning to speak a second/second
language. These feelings are considered to exert a potentially negative and detrimental
effect on communication in the target language.

With the demand of mastering English as a global language in the global market,
many of the local graduates are faced with the prospect of unemployment as they failed to
secure jobs because of their lack of competence in the English language, evident particularly
during interviews (Chan & Tan, 2006:5). This inevitably points to the low performance of
these students in communicating in English orally. Even in the working field, presentation
skills play an important role in order for the occupant to be successful. According to Aziz
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(1998), many managers lack in presentation skills due to focusing on written words and
neglecting spoken communication skills. A study conducted by Aziz Corporation showed that
presentation skills were more important for career success than intelligence or financial
proficiency.

Through the extensive review of related literature and available research works on
language anxiety, we have found that past researchers are still unable to establish a clear or
definite picture of how anxiety affects language learning and performance of language
learners as it has provided mixed and inconsistent results due to the existence of numerous
variables that might affect language learning.However, most researchers have come up with
an observation that anxiety plays an important role either directly or indirectly in influencing
language learning and acquisition (MacIntyre, 1995; MacIntyre and Gardner, 1991;
Young,1990). To fill the gap, the present investigation aims to measure whether the level of
speech anxiety in Malaysias tertiary level exist as being investigated by other universities
outside Malaysia that have English classes.

1.2 Research questions

This study aims to measure the level of anxiety and their existence among the weak
students in UMK. Therefore, the following are the research questions to be solved:

1. Is speech anxiety present with the weak students during English class?
2. What are the levels of speech anxiety among the weak students?

1.3 Objectives of the study

In this study, the objectives are to investigate whether speech anxiety presents with
the weak students in UMK and what is the level of the speech anxiety among them.
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1.4 Significance of the study

The issue of speech anxiety or anxiety in learning English especially in the speaking
field has been studied in recent years because of the importance of it in mastering a second
language. This study will become an interest to language educators and students because it
can give negative impacts to them if the problems of speaking anxiety still exist. It can affect
not only in the speaking performance, but also it can influence the students attitude and
perception towards learning English generally. The investigation of the level of speech
anxiety in class presentations will hopefully broaden peoples mind into the issue of speaking
anxiety and will help language teachers in making the classroom environment convenient
and less stressful. This study will become an interest to language educators and students
because it can give negative impacts to them if the problems of speaking anxiety still exist. It
can affect not only in the speaking performance, but also it can influence the students
attitude and perception towards learning English generally.

1.5 Limitations of the study

The scope of the study was limited to undergraduate students in Universiti Malaysia
Kelantan and does not represent other universities. Thus, the sample might not be relevant
to other universities because the level of anxiety may be different and the findings may also
differ. The subjects are non-native speakers of English, namely, Malaysians, Malaysian
Chinese, and Malaysian Indians. English is their second language.

1.6 Definition of terms

1.6.1 Speech anxiety

Speech anxiety is the fear of public speaking or the speech anxiety (Hancock et al.,
2010) and comes from the Greek Glssa, meaning tongue, and Phobos, fear or dread.
Onwuegbuzie et al. 2000, define speech anxiety as a form of situation-specific anxiety.
That is, it is neither a trait anxiety, which generally refers to a person's tendency to be
anxious, nor a state anxiety, which is experienced at a particular moment in time, for
example, having to speak in a foreign language in front of classmates, (p. 87)

1.6.2 Anxiety

Horwitz, Horwitz, and Cope (1986: 125) define anxiety as the subjective feeling of
tension, apprehension, nervousness, and worry associated with an arousal of the autonomic
nervous system.

CHAPTER 2

LITERATURE REVIEW

2.0 Introduction to the chapter

This chapter explains the theories and literature reviews related from the previous
researches. The major subtopics which are reviewed in this chapter include definitions,
theoretical framework, past studies and the summary of it.

2.1 Definitions

In the consideration of psychological aspects, anxiety refers to the uncomfortable

feeling of language learners resulting in their learning outcome or achievement; therefore, it
is important to comprehend what anxiety is and how it is related to language learning.
Anxiety is considered a problem when symptoms interfere with a person's ability to sleep or
otherwise function. Some scholars have defined anxiety as follows:

a) Horwitz, Horwitz, and Cope (1986: 125) define anxiety as the subjective feeling of
tension, apprehension, nervousness, and worry associated with an arousal of the autonomic
nervous system.
b) Bootzin and Richard (1991: 541) propose that anxiety is a feeling of dread,
apprehension, or fear that is often accompanied by increased heart rate, perspiration,
muscle tension, and rapid breathing.

c) Sdorow (1998: 485) suggests that anxiety is a feeling of apprehension

accompanied by sympathetic nervous system arousal, which produces increases in
sweating, heart rate, and breathing rate.
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d) In Dina M. Al.Sibais study of speech anxiety, according Haskin et al. (2003),

anxiety is a feeling of uneasiness, aggravation, self-doubt, lack of confidence, or fear;
intricately entwined with self-esteem issues and natural ego-preserving worries (cited in
M.Sibai, 2005).

Based on the definitions of anxiety proposed by the scholars and their differing
definitions, it is obvious that they share a common characteristic that being a feeling of
apprehension involving and affecting both the physical condition and the nervous system. A
question that might arise is how this construct is related to second language learning. By all
means, second language learning should be considered a complex task and as such it can
lead us to doubt our own abilities and develop anxiety. In addition, according to Dina M, Al
Sibai, in citing Horwitz et al., Elkhafaifi (2005, p. 207) gives more precise definition of L2
anxiety: he defined anxiety as a distinct complex of self-perceptions, beliefs, feelings, and
behaviours related to classroom language learning arising from the uniqueness of the
language learning process(Elkhafifi,2005).

In this research, the type of anxiety of special interest to us will be speaking anxiety
in the process of learning English as a second language. Speaking or speech anxiety, based
on Sigmund Freud, the founder of psychoanalysis, believed that the anxiety, like many other
psychological issues, is a result of events in early development. He believed that humans
are born helpless and naked, expressing fear instantly through crying and screaming. Freud
believed that we feel that same sense of exposure when speaking in front of large groups
and that we revert to infantile behaviours and fear responses (Lee Mason,2002).

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2.1.1 Three broad perspectives of anxiety

In measuring the level of the speech anxiety among the weak students, we should ha
a clearer understanding of the three broad perspectives on the nature of anxiety. What follow
are the perspectives which can be classified as trait, situation-specific, and state anxiety in
more details.

2.1.1.1 Trait Anxiety

First, we have trait anxiety. According to Speilberger (1983), trait anxiety is often
viewed as personality which leads to anxiety across various situations or a probability of
becoming anxious in any situation. Trait anxiety is a feature of an individuals personality
and therefore is both stable over time and applicable to a wide range of situations
(MacIntyre, 1999, p. 28). A person with high levels of trait anxiety is generally nervous;
he/she lacks emotional stability while a person with low trait anxiety is emotionally stable,
usually calm and relaxed. Since the trait anxiety is a permanent apprehension personality,
the trait anxiety can be manifested in language students who are perfectionists. It seems that
they have to thoroughly know all they study and do not perform their language skills until
they are certain about their knowledge. This can cause them to have an unstable and
nervous personality.

2.1.1.2 Situation-Specific Anxiety

Like the trait anxiety, the situation-specific anxiety is a feature of an individuals

personality experienced in a specific situation over time. However, how situation-specific
anxiety differs from trait is that the former is applied to a single context or situation only while
the latter tends to manifest under any situations. Moreover, the situation-specific anxiety is
stable over time but not necessarily consistent across situations. If one adopts Speilbergers
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(1983) conceptualisation, the situation-specific anxiety represents the probability of

becoming anxious in a particular type of situation. Examples of the situation-specific anxiety
are: stage fright, test anxiety, math anxiety and language anxiety.

2.1.1.3 State Anxiety

State anxiety is somewhat different from trait and situation-specific anxieties. State
anxiety refers to the moment-to-moment experience of anxiety; it is the temporary emotional
state of feeling nervous that can fluctuate over time and vary in terms of intensity. In other
words, it is the apprehension which takes place at a particular moment. MacIntyre (1999)
suggests the usefulness of discussing trait and situation-specific anxieties. It is used to
predict a persons personality who will most likely experience the state anxiety. This allows
the prediction of the negative consequences of anxiety arousal such as unpleasant
emotions, worry, and physical symptoms. Applied to language learning, we can see that
learners with a high level of language anxiety will experience state anxiety frequently
whereas those with a low level of language anxiety will not experience state anxiety very
often in the second language context (MacIntyre, 1991). As the state anxiety has an effect
on emotions, cognition and behaviour, those with high levels of the state anxiety could have
a more sensitive automatic nervous system; are more sensitive to what other people are
thinking about them; or try to avoid or escape from an unpleasant situation.

In this study, the situation-specific anxiety was investigated since previous research
has shown that language anxiety is the specific type of anxiety most closely associated with
second language performance (Horwitz, Horwitz, and Cope, 1986; MacIntyre and Gardner,
1991).

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2.2 Theoretical Framework

As far as theories on language anxieties are concerned, three of them seem to be

most frequently mentioned in similar researches. First of them is Horwitz et al. (1986)
Original Three-Part Model of Language Anxiety, which suggests that a parallel should be
drawn between language anxiety on the one hand and communication apprehension, test
anxiety and fear of negative evaluation on the other. Another theory is Tobias (1986) Model
of the Effects of Anxiety on Learning from Instruction. According to the model, interference
may occur at three stages of language learning: input, processing, and output. During the
input stage, anxiety may cause attention deficits and poor initial processing of information. At
the processing stage anxiety acts as a distraction and makes learners unable to learn new
things. At the output stage anxiety is represented by learners nervousness or fear
experienced when they are required to demonstrate their ability to use the previously learned
material (Tasee, 2009). Finally, Eysenck (1979) offered a reconceptualisation of anxiety.
According to him, anxiety deals with learner attention and a level of task difficulty that
learners perform. He believes that anxious learners attention is divided between taskrelated cognition and self-related cognition (Tasee, 2009).

The present research is based on Horwitz et al. (1986) Original Three-Part Model of
Language Anxiety due to its suitability for the classroom. As mentioned above, this theory
deals with three related performance anxieties: communication apprehension, test anxiety
and fear of negative evaluation, which are supposed to "provide useful conceptual building
blocks for a description of second language anxiety (Horwitz, 1986: 128).

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2.3 Past Studies

Linguists have been interested in the topic of second language speaking anxiety for
over fifty years but the results of the studies have not been consistent. That is, they were
mixed, confusing and unable to establish a clear picture of how anxiety affects language
learning and performance (Horwitz and Young, 1991). However, it is worth exploring the
initial research studies about speaking anxiety in language learning carried out in the past. A
lot of research has been conducted mostly with several mutual aims: to verify whether there
is second language speaking anxiety among the participants; to check if this anxiety has any
connections with participants grades in the second language course and to suggest
possible measures that teachers might use in order to alleviate their students speaking
anxiety. Most of these participants were university students and the author of this research
has not been able to find any relevant research conducted in UMK. Some of these studies
have applied FLCAS scale, which have over the years proved themselves as highly reliable
and which were used in the present research as well.

First, we have Tasee (2009) who studied a relationship between the existence of the
speaking anxiety that the third year students majoring in English at Rajabhat Universities
have experienced in their foreign language classrooms and the aspect which is most likely to
cause speaking anxiety for the students. The study involved 963 Rajabhat University
students majoring in English in the three programmes, such as, the English Education,
Humanities, and Business English and 27 Rajabhat University lecturers which taught
English. The study used two scales: FLCAS and PRCA-24 in collecting the data. For the
findings, it revealed that the students anxiety about speaking English, on the whole, was at
the moderate degree. Among the three aspects of language anxiety, for example,
communicative apprehension, test anxiety, and fear of negative evaluation, it was found that
the subjects of the present investigation reported the fear of negative evaluation as the main
cause of speaking anxiety. Regarding the teacher manifestation, the findings revealed that
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the tactics which most of the teachers reported using to reduce their students speaking
anxiety were mental-related and knowledge-based accordingly.

Next, we have Pite, D. (1996) entitled The influence of anxiety upon achievement in
EFL by Japanese students. He studied anxiety in the college Japanese classroom. The
specific purpose of the study was to investigate the relationships between language anxiety
and achievement in oral English performance. 67 Japanese high school students who took
English as a foreign language were participated in the study, with FLCAS as the instrument
used in collecting the data. The researcher concluded that there was no correlation between
anxiety and oral English performance.

Cheng,Y., Horwitz, E., and Schallert, D. (1999) investigated the difference of

language anxiety in writing and speaking components. The purpose of the study was to
investigate the links between second language classroom anxiety and second language
writing anxiety and their associations with second language speaking and writing
achievement. 433 Taiwanese English majors at four universities in Taiwan were randomly
selected to participate in the research. They were given a Foreign Language Classroom
Anxiety Scale (FLCAS) and Second Language Writing Anxiety Test (SLWAT) for the data
collection. In the end, the researcher found out that Second language classroom anxiety is a
more general type of anxiety about learning a second language with a strong speaking
anxiety element whereas second language writing anxiety is a language-skill-specific
anxiety. In addition, low self-confidence seems to be an important component of both writing
and speaking anxieties.

Then, we have Gregersen, T., and Horwitz, E. (2002) in language learning and
perfectionism: Anxious and non-anxious language learners reactions to their own oral
performance. The purpose of the study is to investigate is the relationship between foreign
language anxiety and perfectionism in relation to perfectionism. They were using eight
15

second-year university students in Chile as the participants. The instrument used was
FLCAS and they found out that Anxious and non-anxious students differed in their personal
performance standards, procrastination, fear of evaluation, and concern over errors.

The fifth past study was conducted by by Aida (1994) which investigated how
language anxiety is related to Japanese language learning. The author used Horwitz,
Horwitz, and Cope's theoretical model of foreign language anxiety as a research framework.
The study was designed to answer the following questions: Do students of Japanese feel
anxious in their classrooms and what are the sources of their anxiety? Are there gender
differences in language anxiety? Does anxiety interfere with their learning of Japanese? In
the fall of 1992, students who were enrolled in second-year Japanese I at the University of
Texas at Austin were asked to participate in this study. Ninety-six students (fifty-six males
and forty females) completed both a FLCAS and background questionnaire designed for this
study. In responding to the statements on the FLCAS, subjects were asked to consider their
experiences in the previous year's first-year Japanese course.

Therefore, students' FLCAS scores reflected their anxiety in the first-year Japanese
classroom. For each subject, an anxiety score was derived by summing his or her ratings of
the thirty-three items. The background questionnaire included questions on the student's
age, sex, ethnicity, academic major and status, native language, reasons why he or she was
taking a Japanese course, whether or not he or she had been to Japan and for how long,
whether or not he or she was pleased with the final course grade given for the secondsemester Japanese class, and whether or not he or she had other family members who
spoke Japanese. On the first day of the next semester, students who had passed secondyear Japanese I and were enrolled in second-year Japanese II were asked to complete the
FLCAS again. Fifty-four students (thirty-one males and twenty-three females) responded.

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The high correlation between the results of the first and second research suggests that the
FLCAS may tap a person's persistent trait anxiety in the foreign language classroom and not
a temporary condition of state anxiety that is triggered by a specific moment or situation.

The results showed that there was anxiety among the students of Japanese and that
there was no significant gender difference found in language anxiety. As for the sources of
foreign language anxiety, the study provided evidence that speech anxiety and fear of
negative evaluation are indeed important components of foreign language anxiety but it did
not support Horwitz et al.'s claim that test anxiety is the third component of foreign language
anxiety. In the subsequent analysis, the relationship between foreign language anxiety and
students' performance was investigated and it indicated that the higher the students' levels
of anxiety, the more likely they were to receive low grades. The results of this study suggest
that the FLCAS is a reliable tool regardless of whether the language is a European Western
language.

There was also a study conducted by Liu, (2006) entitled anxiety in Chinese ESL
students at different proficiency levels. The purpose of the study was to investigate the level
of anxiety in undergraduate non-English majors in oral English classrooms at different
proficiency level. 547 (430 males and 117 females) first-year undergraduate non-English
majors enrolled in the English listening and speaking course at three different band 1 levels
in a key comprehensive university in Beijing, China were the participants. He used the
combination of FLCAS, observations, reflective journals and interviews in conducting the
research. He found out that:
A considerable number of students at each level felt anxious when speaking English in class:
- The more proficient students tended to be less anxious,

17

- The students felt the most anxious when they responded to the teacher or were singled out
to speak English in class. They felt the least anxious during pair work, and
- With increasing exposure to oral English, the students felt less and less anxious about
using the target language in speech communication.

Another past study that seems reliable to be used in this research is

2.4 Summary

This chapter discusses the theoretical framework used in the study. There were a lot
of past studies in speech anxiety throughout the years as speech anxiety is one of the most
preferable topics chosen in conducting a research.

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CHAPTER 3

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

3.0 Introduction

In order to achieve the research aim set, a survey study seemed to be the most
appropriate choice. According to Robson (1993), survey study is appropriate with the who,
what, where, how many, and how much type of research questions. It is used for collecting
data in standardized forms from groups of people and data are usually collected by means
of questionnaires or interviews. The other two types of research that Robson suggests,
namely the experimental and case study, did not seem appropriate for the present research
because in an experimental study the control of variables and events is necessary and
hypothesis testing is always involved, whereas a case study is used for developing detailed,
intensive knowledge about a single case or of a small number of related cases. Some of the
purposes of the present investigation were to find out the existence of speaking anxiety and
what the language teachers did in order to help the students lessen anxiety. Therefore, of
the three types of research suggested, we opted for the survey study which could serve the
research purpose in the best way.

As far as types of instruments are concerned, researchers have employed various

tools in measuring language learners anxiety: interviews, questionnaires, anxiety rating
scales, diaries, and learner recall. Among these instruments, a questionnaire measuring
anxiety (specifically FLCAS) were the most commonly used research techniques for data
collection, while diary and learner recall were used much less frequently.

In the present investigation, the instrument used was FLCAS. Some advantages of
questionnaires include that they are almost completely non-threatening when administered
19

using paper and pencil under conditions of confidentiality (Oxford and Burry-Stock, 1995).
Further, this kind of instrument allows the researcher to collect a great amount of data. In
addition, if a questionnaire is well constructed, data processing can also be fast and
relatively straightforward, especially when using modern computer software.

Nevertheless, there are some drawbacks with this kind of questionnaire. They may
occur because of respondents lack of honesty or response seriousness, time-constrictions
and interpretation (Robson, 1993). In the present study, the researcher will try to overcome
these possible drawbacks by giving students as much time as they needed to complete the
questionnaires, and by assuring the participants that the questionnaire was completely
anonymous and inviting them to provide their most honest answers.

3.1 Research design

A survey design was used to direct this study. According to Creswell (2003),
quantitative research methods focus on surveys and experimental modes of inquiry (p. 153).
Survey research collects data and information from a selected population through the
participants' responses to questions. This design of research provides numeric description of
trends, attitudes, or opinions of the studied population (Creswell, p. 153). In the context of
this study, the trends described are those related to learners speech anxiety. In line with the
research design, the FLCAS instrument is used in measuring the level of speech anxiety
was employed to collect data.

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3.1 Sampling

In this study, the random sampling is used to select the participants. As there are
more than 300 students who are weak students, we will randomly select only 50 participants
to be involved in the study. They are among those who got the lowest marks for their
speaking part in their MUET. The study involved a number of university students of lower
intermediate levels. In this university, students MUET (Malaysian University English Test)
score was used to determine their English level prior to their joining the English class. Those
who obtained band 1 and 2 were put in English 1 classes. So, from these classes, 50
students who had the lowest mark in speaking part will be chosen to be participated in the
study.

3.3 Data collection

The questionnaire that will be distributed to students in this research contained a

combination of questions from a widely used scale FLCAS. According to Horwitz (1986:
559), research on the relationship between anxiety and language achievement had been
held back by the lack of a reliable and valid measure of anxiety specific to language learning.
It was further stated that although teachers and students generally felt that anxiety was an
obstacle to overcome in learning a foreign language, the empirical literature at that time
failed to adequately define foreign language anxiety and to demonstrate a clear-cut
relationship between anxiety and language achievement or performance. Thus, it was
suggested that one likely explanation for the inconclusive results of previous studies was
that existing measures of anxiety did not test an individuals response to the specific
stimulus of language learning. Horwitz et al. (1986) developed the Foreign Language
Classroom Anxiety Scale (FLCAS) in order to provide researchers with a standard
instrument for such purpose (Horwitz, 1986b: 559). The scale measures how a language
21

learner usually feels in foreign language lessons, as evidenced by negative performance

expectancies and social comparisons, psycho-physiological symptoms, and avoidance
behaviours (Horwitz, 1986b: 559). It is a 33-item self-report instrument scored on the basis
of a 5-point Likert-type scale, from strongly agree to strongly disagree. Students respond
to statements regarding their reactions to foreign language classes. Possible scores on the
FLCAS range from 33 to 165: the higher the score, the higher the anxiety level. Also, it
needs to be stated that since the present investigation focused on exploring learners
English speaking anxiety rather than other foreign languages, we will be replacing a foreign
language, a foreign class or a foreign language teacher with English language,
English language class and English language teacher which were considered as more
suitable and specific in the context of the present investigation.

Then, these questionnaires are distributed to the students. For all questionnaire
items, the participants are asked to choose a number on a five-point Likert scale (from 1 to
5). The use of Likert scales will make it possible not only to determine the existence or
absence of anxiety but also to measure the level of anxiety by the students.

The questionnaire distribute to students is meant to determine the degree of

speaking anxiety among students learning English as a second language. This questionnaire
aimed to answer the first and the second research questions, that is, to determine whether
speaking anxiety was present with students during English language classes, and to what
degree.

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3.4 Pilot study

A pilot study is an initial run-through of the procedures to be used in an investigation;

it involves selecting a few people and trying out the study on them. It is possible to save
time, and in some cases, money, by identifying any flaws in the procedures designed by the
researcher. In this study, we will do the pilot study in UMK but the participants will be the
second year students. They also will be chosen based on their previous MUET results and
20 participants are involved.

The reason why we are choosing the second year students from the same university,
as they came from the same faculty, they may have the same learning experience, have the
same background in their achievement, and at the same we would like to save some money
and time, compared to if we are doing the pilot study in other institution. We also can check
the validity and the reliability of the upcoming results based on the pilot study. Moreover, by
conducting a pilot study, it can help the researcher to spot any ambiguities (i.e. unusual
things) or confusion in the information given to participants or problems with the task
devised.

3.5 Data analysis

The analysis of the data obtained through the questionnaires included the following.
First, the relationship between the expressed level of anxiety was analysed. These analyses
aimed to show whether students felt more or less anxious as they grew older and more
experienced in studying English after taking MUET before entering the university. As they
have been in English classes for nearly one semester, we will see whether this is going to
influence them or not. In this research, the data was analyzed quantitatively. The data were
quantitatively analyzed

(using

SPSS)

by
23

calculating

the

means

of

participants

responses.The data was reported in the way of elaboration of the words and also in a form
of numbers and table. SPSS version 17 was used to tabulate the data and to count the
percentages to get the frequencies, the min, and mode and to see whether the data
collections are valid or not.

The answers gathered from the questionnaires are analysed accordingly. For the
questionnaire, all the questions are analysed and gathered in the form of tables and bar
chart. SPSS version 17 was used in analyzing the data. Since the data analysis is one of the
most important procedures of research, researchers need software package designed for
statistical purpose in order to achieve accurate and precise result from basic to advanced
step. There are numbers of statistical software package, but one of the most popular
packages to SPSS package. SPSS helps to show results in details and it also shows
whether the data we gathered are valid or not.

3.6 Validity and reliability

In terms of validity, according to Joppe (2000), he provides the following explanation

of what validity is in quantitative research: Validity determines whether the research truly
measures that which it was intended to measure or how truthful the research results are. In
other words, does the research instrument allow you to hit "the bull's eye" of your research
object? Meanwhile, the instrument used in the study (FLCAS) was being widely used in
studying the speech anxiety in many researchers. So, for the validity, this instrument is
considered valid to use in measuring the level of speech anxiety.

For realibility, Joppe (2000) defines reliability as the extent to which results are
consistent over time and an accurate representation of the total population under study is
referred to as reliability and if the results of a study can be reproduced under a similar
methodology, then the research instrument is considered to be reliable. In the past studies,
24

some of the studies have applied FLCAS scale, which have over the years proved itself as
highly reliable and which will be used in the present study as well.
.
3.7 Ethical and legal consideration

When the research is being conducted, we will ensure that it will get permission from
the Deans of the faculty and from the students affair in allowing the students to become the
participants. For confidentiality, it refers to the researcher not disclosing the identity of the
participants or indicating from whom the data were obtained. In the study, the 50
participants identities will not be exposed to the public. Finally, we will try to be fair and
being honest when obtaining the data as well as analyzing the data afterwards.

3.8 Summary

In this chapter, a survey design being used. Data will be collected through
questionnaires. Data will be analyzed using SPSS to see whether it will answer the research
questions. All validity, reliability and legal consideration will be taken into account to make
sure that this research is reliable and can be used as a reference for future research.

25

Overall summary

This research proposal discusses on conducting a study to see whether speech

anxiety is present with the weak students and the level of their speech anxiety in UMK. To
achieve the research objectives, the related literature, including past research on language
anxiety and research methodology which contributes to the present investigation has been
studied. This can be seen in Chapter 2 which includes a literature review on the work of
different researchers such as Tasee (2009), Pite (1996), Cheng, Horwitz, and Schallert
(1999), Onwuegbuzie, Bailey, and Daley (1999), Gregerson and Horwitz (2002), Aida (1994)
and Liu (2006).The participants will be 50 students who are chosen based on their MUETs
results. A survey design is used (FLCAS as the instrument) in gathering the data. Then, the
data will be analyzed quantitatively to see if the result will answer the first and the second
research questions.

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