UNDERSTANDING AND ADDRESSING STUDENTS’ FEARS IN ESL SPEAKING CLASSES: INSIGHTS FROM STUDENTS
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.31110/2616-650X-vol13i2-012Keywords:
speaking anxiety, fear of mistakes, teaching strategies, confidence, supportive learning environmentAbstract
In language teaching and learning, there has been significant progress in understanding and addressing students' speaking fears, nevertheless, there are still several issues that need to be addressed. The article explores students’ fears in ESL classrooms and suggests strategies to manage those fears as impediments to learning progress. A survey was conducted with the aim of getting a comprehensive understanding of the most common fears of students, namely fear of making mistakes and being corrected, fear of speaking in class, and fear of falling behind in studies. The survey consisted of questions focused on gathering insights from the students regarding their learning experience and fears related to speaking. The survey findings showed that students have different fears and stressed the importance and need to explore effective strategies to address those issues. Overall, the results suggest the students struggle emotionally in ESL speaking lessons, as well as they recognise the significance of feelings and emotions for their academic and personal growth. The results of the study provided useful insights into students’ prevalence of fears in ESL classrooms, which included fear of making mistakes, fear of speaking in front of a teacher and peers, fear of negative evaluation and fear of falling behind. Considering students’ fears have a negative effect on learning outcomes and impede advancement in language learning, it is extremely important to examine effective teaching strategies to alleviate students’ fears and help them build confidence in their speaking skills. The article reviews several strategies for teachers to support their students and build their confidence in ESL speaking lessons. Among the suggested strategies, are the following: implementing delayed correction to deal with the fear of speaking and making mistakes, peer interaction and feedback to help students gain confidence and promote a supportive learning atmosphere.
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