Senior High School Students Anxiety in English Speaking
Abstract:
This paper, titled "Senior High School Students’ Anxiety in English Speaking", discusses the anxiety experienced by senior high school students in speaking English, which is one of the essential skills in foreign language learning. The objective of this paper is to examine the forms, causes, and impacts of students' anxiety when speaking English. The discussion in this paper shows that speaking skills involve not only linguistic knowledge, such as vocabulary and grammar, but also affective factors such as self-confidence, motivation, and anxiety. Many students experience anxiety, nervousness, or fear of making mistakes when asked to speak in front of the class, which leads to a decrease in speaking performance quality. This anxiety stems from social pressures, lack of mastery over the material, and concern about negative evaluations from both teachers and peers. Symptoms of anxiety experienced by students include trembling voices, stumbling speech, and loss of focus while speaking. The conclusion of this paper emphasizes that anxiety in English speaking is a significant barrier in the learning process. Therefore, teachers need to create a supportive and enjoyable learning environment to help students feel more comfortable and confident in using English in oral communication.