An Investigation on Perceived Anxiety and Speaking Skills: the Case of Indonesian EFL Student Teachers

The aims of this study were to explore any possible existence of linkage between perceived anxiety and speaking skills, and to determine any significant difference in speaking skills between the students who got higher level of speaking anxiety and those who were in lower level of speaking anxiety. This research employed a quantitative method. Sixty-nine second semester student teachers of the English Education Department of Borneo Tarakan University were taken as the sample of this research. Data were collected using questionnaire, speaking test, and interview. Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (FLCAS) questionnaire developed by Horwitz et al. (1986) was used to rate students’ perceived anxiety and speaking test was carried out to assess students’ speaking skills. The Pearson product moment correlation and the independent sample t-test were employed in analyzing the acquired data. The result of this study showed that, first, there was no relationship between speaking anxiety and speaking skills because the r-test value (0.221) was lower than the r-table (0.235) and the sig. value for 2-tailed (0.068) was higher than the level of significance (0.05) which indicated there was no relationship. Second, the students who were in higher level of anxiety got better speaking skills (mean score: 65.6) than those who were in lower level of anxiety (59.7). The result of Independent sample t-test proved that the sig. value for 2-tailed (0.152) was higher than the level of significance (0.05). The result of the interview confirmed that internal and external factors affected the students’ speaking skills. Those factors were psychological state (lack of confidence, discourage, anxiety itself), linguistic knowledge (limited vocabulary, poor grammar, mispronunciation), general knowledge (topics being discussed), performance situations (time, preparation, amount of support), and the learning atmosphere (classroom climate).