Students’ Strategies for Managing Speaking Anxiety in English-Medium Science Classrooms
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.24256/ideas.v14i1.10414Keywords:
Speaking Anxiety, English-Medium Instruction, Science Classroom, Strategic Competence, Self-RegulationAbstract
Speaking anxiety can still be considered one of the common challenges experienced by learners of English as a foreign language (EFL), especially in English-medium instruction (EMI) classrooms where students are required not only to understand subject content but also to express their ideas in English at the same time. Although many previous studies have discussed the causes of speaking anxiety, only a limited number of studies have explored how students actually manage this anxiety during classroom interaction. Therefore, this study attempts to explore students’ experiences of speaking anxiety as well as the strategies they use in an English-medium science classroom. This study employed a qualitative descriptive approach involving ten eighth-grade students selected through purposive sampling. The data were collected through semi-structured interviews and then analyzed using thematic analysis. The findings indicate that students’ speaking anxiety is influenced by several factors, which include language difficulties, challenges in explaining scientific concepts, and classroom conditions. At the same time, it was also found that students actively use various strategies to cope with these difficulties, such as preparation, simplifying explanations, self-correction, the use of gestures, code-switching, and self-regulation. Based on these findings, it can be understood that speaking anxiety in EMI science classrooms should not only be seen as a problem, but also as part of the learning process, since students do not simply experience anxiety but also respond to it in order to maintain their participation.
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