Analysis of Speech Anxiety among EFL Learners in Japan: A Comparison

Due to the high encouragement from the Japan Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology (MEXT) to promote more internationalization among Japanese graduates, many higher education institutions have started introducing more communicative courses such as public speaking and presen...

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Main Authors: Muhammad Nur Adilin, Mohd Anuardi, Wan Noor Farah, Wan Shamsuddin, Atsuko K., Yamazaki
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: IJLT 2023
Subjects:
Online Access:http://umpir.ump.edu.my/id/eprint/38548/
http://umpir.ump.edu.my/id/eprint/38548/1/Analysis%20of%20Speech%20Anxiety%20among%20EFL%20Learners%20in%20Japan-%20A%20Comparison.pdf
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author Muhammad Nur Adilin, Mohd Anuardi
Wan Noor Farah, Wan Shamsuddin
Atsuko K., Yamazaki
author_facet Muhammad Nur Adilin, Mohd Anuardi
Wan Noor Farah, Wan Shamsuddin
Atsuko K., Yamazaki
author_sort Muhammad Nur Adilin, Mohd Anuardi
building UMP Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description Due to the high encouragement from the Japan Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology (MEXT) to promote more internationalization among Japanese graduates, many higher education institutions have started introducing more communicative courses such as public speaking and presentation skills. These goals not only aim to ameliorate students’ communication skills, but also to foster global human resources. Although considerable research has been conducted on students’ communication skills, few have explored the causes of speech anxiety among university students, especially in the context of English as a Foreign Language (EFL). Thus, this study aims to fill this gap by analyzing 43 university students in Tokyo, Japan. According to the results, a pivotal link between gender and speech anxiety was found. Specifically, the female students exhibited higher public speaking anxiety, compared to the male students. This study also investigated the sources of speech anxiety in four domains: communicative apprehension, fear of negative evaluation, test anxiety, and general anxiety of English. Among all four components, the EFL students recorded the highest anxiety in communication apprehension. It is also interesting to note that after completing the presentation skills course, the female students showed a significant reduction in the fear of negative evaluation domain. It is hoped that the findings of this study will be used by instructors to improve EFL students’ communication skills.
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spelling ump-385482024-10-03T04:27:29Z http://umpir.ump.edu.my/id/eprint/38548/ Analysis of Speech Anxiety among EFL Learners in Japan: A Comparison Muhammad Nur Adilin, Mohd Anuardi Wan Noor Farah, Wan Shamsuddin Atsuko K., Yamazaki H Social Sciences (General) L Education (General) Due to the high encouragement from the Japan Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology (MEXT) to promote more internationalization among Japanese graduates, many higher education institutions have started introducing more communicative courses such as public speaking and presentation skills. These goals not only aim to ameliorate students’ communication skills, but also to foster global human resources. Although considerable research has been conducted on students’ communication skills, few have explored the causes of speech anxiety among university students, especially in the context of English as a Foreign Language (EFL). Thus, this study aims to fill this gap by analyzing 43 university students in Tokyo, Japan. According to the results, a pivotal link between gender and speech anxiety was found. Specifically, the female students exhibited higher public speaking anxiety, compared to the male students. This study also investigated the sources of speech anxiety in four domains: communicative apprehension, fear of negative evaluation, test anxiety, and general anxiety of English. Among all four components, the EFL students recorded the highest anxiety in communication apprehension. It is also interesting to note that after completing the presentation skills course, the female students showed a significant reduction in the fear of negative evaluation domain. It is hoped that the findings of this study will be used by instructors to improve EFL students’ communication skills. IJLT 2023 Article PeerReviewed pdf en http://umpir.ump.edu.my/id/eprint/38548/1/Analysis%20of%20Speech%20Anxiety%20among%20EFL%20Learners%20in%20Japan-%20A%20Comparison.pdf Muhammad Nur Adilin, Mohd Anuardi and Wan Noor Farah, Wan Shamsuddin and Atsuko K., Yamazaki (2023) Analysis of Speech Anxiety among EFL Learners in Japan: A Comparison. International Journal of Learning and Teaching, 9 (2). pp. 101-105. ISSN 2377-2891(Print); 2377-2905(Online). (Published) http://www.ijlt.org/show-162-927-1.html 10.18178/ijlt.9.2.101-105
spellingShingle H Social Sciences (General)
L Education (General)
Muhammad Nur Adilin, Mohd Anuardi
Wan Noor Farah, Wan Shamsuddin
Atsuko K., Yamazaki
Analysis of Speech Anxiety among EFL Learners in Japan: A Comparison
title Analysis of Speech Anxiety among EFL Learners in Japan: A Comparison
title_full Analysis of Speech Anxiety among EFL Learners in Japan: A Comparison
title_fullStr Analysis of Speech Anxiety among EFL Learners in Japan: A Comparison
title_full_unstemmed Analysis of Speech Anxiety among EFL Learners in Japan: A Comparison
title_short Analysis of Speech Anxiety among EFL Learners in Japan: A Comparison
title_sort analysis of speech anxiety among efl learners in japan: a comparison
topic H Social Sciences (General)
L Education (General)
url http://umpir.ump.edu.my/id/eprint/38548/
http://umpir.ump.edu.my/id/eprint/38548/
http://umpir.ump.edu.my/id/eprint/38548/
http://umpir.ump.edu.my/id/eprint/38548/1/Analysis%20of%20Speech%20Anxiety%20among%20EFL%20Learners%20in%20Japan-%20A%20Comparison.pdf