ISSN: 2226-6348
Open access
Language learning anxiety has been known to have adverse effect not only on students' second language learning processes but also on second language performance. This study aims at investigating the level of English Language Anxiety among undergraduates at UiTM Perak, Seri Iskandar Campus and to determine the main source of anxiety among them. The study employed purposeful sampling, and the participants were chosen from three intact groups of 93 undergraduates in total. They were Bachelor of Arts students from the Department of Built Environment Studies and Technology enrolled in English for Specific Purpose (ESP) course which was English for Presentation. The data were collected through the distribution of questionnaires adapted from Horwitz’ (1989) Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (FLCAS) which consists of 33 statements. It was found that the majority, 48 (51.6%) of the respondents have moderate anxiety levels, 24 (25.8%) respondents fall under the category of high anxiety while 21 (22.6%) respondents have low anxiety. The main source of anxiety among the respondents was fear of negative evaluation (mean=3.2), followed by communication apprehension (mean=3.0) and test anxiety (mean=2.8).
Ab Rashid, R., Mohamed, S. B., Rahman, M. F. A., & Shamsuddin, S. N. W. (2017). Developing Speaking Skills Using Virtual Speaking Buddy. IJET, 12(5), 195-201. https://doi.org/10.3991/ijet.v12i05.6955
Abbasi, A. M., Ahmed, S.R., Farooqi, A. & John, S.(2019). Exploring Factors of Speech Anxiety in Second Language Classroom. Advances in Language and Literary Studies, 10 (5), 97-102.http://dx.doi.org/10.7575/aiac.alls.v.10n.5p.97
Aida, Y. (1994). Examination of Horwitz, Horwitz, and Cope’s construct of foreign language anxiety: The case of students of Japanese. Modern Language Journal, 78(2), 155–168 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-4781.1994.tb02026.x
Ali, T. T., & Fei, W. F. (2017). Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety among Iraqi Students
and its Relation with Gender and Achievement. International Journal of Applied Linguistics & English Literature, 6 (1), 305-310. doi:10.7575/aiac.ijalel.v.6n.1p.305
Amengual-Pizarro, M. (2018). Foreign language classroom anxiety among English for Specific
Purposes (ESP) students. International Journal Of English Studies (IJES), 18 (2), 145–159.doi: 10.6018/ijes/2018/2/323311
Arnaiz, P., & Guillen, F. (2012). Foreign language anxiety in a Spanish university setting: Interpersonal differences. Revista de Psicodidáctica, 17(1), 5–26.
Badrasawi, K. J., Solihu, A., & Ahmad, T. S. (2020). Second Language Speaking Anxiety Among Malaysian Postgraduate Students at a Faculty of Education. International Journal of Education & Literacy Studies, 8(2), 54–61. doi:
https://doi.org/10.7575/aiac.ijels.v.8n.2p.54
Balakrishnan, S., Abdullah, N. L., & Khoo, M. S. L. (2020). English Language Learning Anxiety and its Relationship with Language Achievement: A Study on Learners in a Technical University. Journal of Technical Education and Training (JTET),12(3),161-170.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.30880/jtet.2020.12.03.017
Bygate, M. (2009). Teaching the spoken foreign language. In B. Seidlhofer & K. Knapp (Eds.), Teaching the Spoken Foreign Language (pp.401-438). Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter.Clarke, V. & Braun, V. (2013). Teaching thematic analysis: Over-coming challenges and developing strategies for effective learning. The Psychologist, 26(2), 120-123.
Cubukcu, F. (2007). Foreign Language Anxiety. Iranian Journal of Language Studies (IJLS), 1(2), 133-142.
Djafri, F., & Wimbarti, S. (2018). Measuring foreign language anxiety among learners of different foreign languages: in relation to motivation and perception of teacher’s behaviors. Asian-Pacific Journal of Secondand Foreign Language Education, 3(17), 1-15. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40862-018-0058-y
Gupang, I. B., Ansari, S., Kulsoom, U., & Laghari, A. (2017). An Empirical Investigation of Foreign Language Anxiety in Pakistani University. International Journal of English Linguistics ,7(2), 21-31. URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.5539/ijel.v7n2p21
Hewitt, E., & Stephenson, J. (2012). Foreign language anxiety and oral exam performance: Application of Phillips’s MLJ Study. The Modern Language Journal, 96, 170–189.
Horwitz, E., Horwitz, M., & Cope, J. (1986). Foreign language classroom anxiety. The Modern Language Journal, 70, 125-132.
Horwitz, E. (2016). Factor Structure of The Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale: Comment on Park (2014). Psychological Report, 119, 71–76. doi:
10.1177/0033294116653368
Jin, Y., Bot, K. D., & Keijzer, M. (2015). The anxiety-proficiency relationship and the stability of anxiety: The case of Chinese university learners of English and Japanese. Studies in Second Language Learning and Teaching, 5(1), 41-63. doi: 10.14746/ssllt.2015.5.1.3
Karatas, H., Alci, B., BBademcioglu, M., & Ergin, A. (2016). An Investigation into University Students’ Foreign Language Speaking Anxiety. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 232, 382 – 388. doi: 10.1016/j.sbspro.2016.10.053
Liu, H. J. (2012). Understanding EFL undergraduate anxiety in relation to motivation, autonomy, and
language proficiency. Electronic Journal of Foreign Language Teaching, 9(1), 123–139.
Liu, M., & Jackson, J. (2008). An exploration of Chinese EFL learners’ unwillingness to communicate and foreign language anxiety. Modern Language Journal, 92(1), 71–86 https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-4781.2008.00687.x.
MacIntyre, P. D. (1999). Language anxiety: A review of the research for language teachers. In D. J. Young (Ed.), Affect in foreign language and second language learning: A practical guide to creating a low-anxiety classroom atmosphere (pp. 24– 45). Boston, MA: McGraw-Hill.
Marcos-Llinas, M., & Juan-Garau, M. (2009). Effects of Language Anxiety on Three Proficiency-Level Courses of Spanish as a Foreign Language. Foreign Language Annals,42(1), 94-112.
Masutani, Y. (2021). The Foreign Language Anxiety of Japanese EFL Learners: Focusing on Anxiety When Speaking English. LET Kansai Chapter Collected Papers, 19, 1-14.
Othman, N. D., & Abdul Latif, L. (2021). Foreign Language Anxiety among Japanese Language Learners in IIUM Pagoh. International Young Scholars Journal Of Languages, 4 (1), 16-30.
Paneerselvam, A., & Yamat, H. (2021). Validity and Reliability Testing of the Adapted Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (FLCAS). International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 11(4), 209-216. DOI:10.6007/IJARBSS/v11-i4/9027
Pasaribu, T. A., & Harendita, M. E. (2018). English language anxiety of pre-service teachers: Causes and coping strategies. LLT Journal: A Journal on Language and Language Teaching, 21(2), 134-147.
Perez-Paredes, P. F., & Martinez-Sanchez, F. (2001) A Spanish Version of the Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale: Revisiting Aida’s Factor Analysis. RESLA, 14, 337-352.
Rahmat, N. H., Abu Bakar, A. M., Zamri, A. H., Roslan, A. N., Zakaria, A. Z., Sabandi, D. T. A., & Zaki, M. A. I. M. (2021). A Study of Speech Anxiety Among ESL Learners. European Journal of English Language Teaching. 6(4),34-47. DOI: 10.46827/ejel.v6i4.3736
Rusli, R., Yunus, M. M., & Hashim, H. (Eds.). (2018). Low Speaking Proficiency Among the Malaysian Undergraduates: Why and How? Retrieved from
http://conference.kuis.edu.my/pasak3/images/eprosiding1/PASAK3_2220.pdf
Zhang, L. J., & Rahimi, M. (2014). EFL learner’s anxiety level and their beliefs about corrective feedback in oral communication classes. System, 42, 429–4.
Zheng, Y., & Cheng, L. (2018). How does anxiety influence language performance? From the perspectives of foreign language classroom anxiety and cognitive test anxiety. Language Testing in Asia, 8 (13),1-19. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40468-018-0065-4
In-Text Citation: (Manan et al., 2022)
To Cite this Article: Manan, N. A. A., Azizan, N. binti, & Yusof, J. (2022). Language Anxiety Among English For Specific Purposes (ESP) Learners at UiTM Perak Seri Iskandar Campus. International Journal of Academic Research in Progressive Education and Development, 11(3), 977–988.
Copyright: © 2022 The Author(s)
Published by Human Resource Management Academic Research Society (www.hrmars.com)
This article is published under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0) license. Anyone may reproduce, distribute, translate and create derivative works of this article (for both commercial and non-commercial purposes), subject to full attribution to the original publication and authors. The full terms of this license may be seen at: http://creativecommons.org/licences/by/4.0/legalcode