ANXIETY AS A DETERRING ELEMENT IN LEARNING ENGLISH FOR ORAL COMMUNICATION AMONG EFL STUDENTS

The present study was designed to investigate the effects of anxiety on English language oral performance. In so doing, one hundred undergraduate students doing English in Islamic Azad University ? located in Abadan, Iran ? participated voluntarily in the experiment of this research and were asked to answer a Horwitz-based 33-item questionnaire. Analyses of the data revealed that foreign language anxiety remarkably impinges upon learners’ English speaking. Likewise, the main sources of anxiety were identified as: appearing in front of the audience, making mistakes, losing face, inability to express oneself, fear of failure, teachers as class authorities, and fear of not achieving up to the expectations. Further findings also suggested that anxiety can originate from learners’ own feelings, language learning and language speaking difficulties, and fear of being negatively evaluated. The above findings along with a few more, such as the lack of motivation and interest, helped to conclude that teachers can dispel students’ feelings of anxiety through establishing a friendly learning environment in class filled with care and mutual respect as well as sense of direction and fun.