College Students' English-Speaking Anxiety at the Foreign Language Corner

英語口說能力爲台灣相當重視的語言專業能力。然而，學生在增進口說能力的過程中，有著不同程度的外語焦慮。外語焦慮會影響學生的口語表現與語言習得。本研究旨在調查口說焦慮對於一所國立科技大學外語學習園區之學生，所造成的影響與衝擊。我們的問卷結果包含了英文口說焦慮的成因、影響及焦慮所引起的生理徵狀。誘發英文口說焦慮的因素可以分爲聆聽對象和語言能力兩部分。本研究結果顯示出不同聽眾對於英語口說焦慮所造成的影響：89%的學生跟異性講話時最爲緊張(M=4.45)，其次爲陌生人(83%，M=4.4)，對於同學(79%，M=4.23)以及老師的焦慮則較低(64%，M=4.00)。至於語言能力方面，高達89%的學生感到焦慮是因爲他們怕自己的英文能力低於他人(M=4.4)，其次是怕文法錯誤(81%，M=4.36)或是發音不正確(79%，M=4.32)。除此之外，英文口說焦慮能造成正面跟負面的影響，正面影響是激勵學生加強口語能力以降低焦慮，進而提升口說表現；負面影響則是由於外語焦慮而導致學生表現失常。多數的同學表示自己焦慮時，會以傻笑化解尷尬；一部分的同學則會講話結巴，無法用英語正確表達，此外，學生也會避免視線相對而四處張望。我們的研究可以提供老師作爲調整教學方法的參考，以減少焦慮帶來的損害，讓同學們在輕鬆自在的環境下有效的學習英文。

關鍵字

外語焦慮；英語學習角落；外語焦慮徵狀與影響

並列摘要

English speaking has been perceived as an important professional skill in Taiwan. Many students look for opportunities to immerse themselves in English learning although they may more or less experience foreign language anxiety in English speaking. Given that language anxiety can affect learners' performance and language acquisition, we are intrigued to investigate the phenomenon of English-speaking anxiety in a particular context of English Corner at a national university of science and technology to see how it influences language learning. The results of our questionnaire had covered the factors, effects, and symptoms of English-speaking anxiety. There were audience factors as well as language-related factors which led to English-speaking anxiety. With respect to audience factors, higher percentage of students felt anxious when speaking English with people of opposite sex (89%, M=4.45) and strangers (83%, M=4.4) as opposed to their classmates (79%, M=4.23) and teachers (64%, M=4.00). As for language-related factors, 89% of the students felt pressure when they perceived their English ability to be inferior to others' (M=4.4); 81% of students got anxiety because they were worried about making grammatical mistakes (M=4.36), and 79% worried about pronunciation (M=4.32) in speaking English. Furthermore, English-speaking anxiety was found to bring about both positive and negative effects. For instance, 79% of the participants trained their oral skill in order to overcome English-speaking anxiety (M=4.06), whereas 89% of students indicated that nervousness led to their unnatural performance (M=4.15). Interestingly, the most common physical symptom of English-speaking anxiety for these students was 'laughing' (20%), followed by 'stammering' (17%) and 'avoiding eye contact' (14%). The students at English Corner seemed to use laughing to hide their anxiety of English speaking and might thus develop a habitual pattern of laughing in reaction to English-speaking anxiety. Implications drawn from this study will help teachers to understand the impact of foreign language anxiety and to create a more secure learning environment for English learning.

並列關鍵字

foreign language anxiety ； English Corner ； anxiety's symptoms and effects

參考文獻

Horwitz, E. K.(ed.),Young, D. J.(ed.)(1991).Language anxiety from theory and research to classroom implications.Englewood Cliffs, NJ:Prentice Hall.

Google Scholar

Daubney, M. (2007). Language anxiety: Creative or negative force in the language classroom. Retrieved March 27, 2009, from http://www.hltmag.co.uk/sep07/sart03.htm

Google Scholar

Edwards, J.(1991).Evaluation in adult and future education: A practical handbook for teacher and organizers.Liverpool:The Worker's Educational Association.