SOUTHEN THAI STUDENTS’ ANXIETY IN SPEAKING ENGLISH IN THE CLASSROOM

Abstract

Speaking is one of the languages that are important in language learners as a new second or foreign language. Speaking is believed as a skill that most frequently evokes anxiety among the students. Thai students have been learning English for many years, from elementary school to university, but they still do not speak it fluently.  Hence, a study was carried out to determine the perceptions among English Language Learners of Thailand students’ in Darunsat Wittaya school towards the feeling of anxiety they experienced when speaking in the second language. There are two mains objective for this research: 1) to identify the levels of foreign language anxiety perceived by southern Thai students’ in speaking English in EFL classroom. 2) To investigate the reasons for foreign language anxiety experienced by southern Thai students’ in speaking English in EFL classroom. The research design in this study was a mixed-method research design; the data were obtained through Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (FLCAS) questionnaire and interview. The subject of this study was eleventh graders consisting of 40 students, 19 male students, and 21 female students in Darunsat Wittaya school. This quantitative and qualitative research was analyzed statistically and descriptively.  The study findings showed that the majority of the students (n=40) there were nine students in level Relaxed, Thirteen students in level Mildly Anxious, and eighteen students in level Anxious. The most anxiety in speaking English in the classroom that Thai students face is fear of negative evaluation.           

Keywords: Speaking anxiety, Thai students, EFL classroom