CHAPTER 1

The Problem and Its Background

Introduction

The English language has been the tool of teaching English subject to

learners in the Philippines; hence, the interaction between the teacher and

learners has been uneasy due to the various factors affecting English fluency

acquisition. The English language, which is considered the language of progress

and power in the country, has played a significant role in Filipinos' lives in

improving their socio-economic status and achieving a much better life. We all

know the Philippines has many Filipinos working overseas, and now we consider

them as living heroes.

According to Wa-Mbaleka, 2014, it had become the lingua franca in the

country even before the world treated English as such because of the country's

great linguistic diversity. Nevertheless, even if it is highly valued because of its

functional and practical use in the Philippines and many countries around the

world, acquiring the English language is still found to be very challenging since

the process goes through complicated tasks that involve psychological as well as

social factors (Berowa, 2016). It is a general idea among learners that speaking

is more challenging than other English skills, which may be more important than

other skills (Harmer 2007; Nunan, 1999). Language learners are faced with

anxiety when they happen to speak in front of the classroom without preparation

1
(Mak, 2011). Some studies have been conducted in classroom anxiety about

learners' socio-economic and family background, learners' beliefs about

materials, learners' self-confidence, lecturers' role and arrogance in the teaching-

learning process, and other forms of anxiety.

Anxiety is the state of an individual when he/she feels "uneasiness,

frustration, self-doubt, apprehension, or worry" similar to any other specific

anxiety (Scovel, 1978). Horwitz, Horwitz, and Cope (1986) define foreign

language anxiety as "a distinguished multipart of self-perceptions, beliefs,

feelings, and behaviors related to classroom language learning derived from the

uniqueness of the language learning process." Brown (2007) believes that

personality factors (i.e., gender, foreign language anxiety, shyness, willingness to

communicate, and the like) are essential parts of the affectivity that raise our

language learning success.

Further, most research focuses on average learners such as school and

college learners, which revealed a consistent moderate negative correlation

between language anxiety and language achievement (Horwitz, 2001). The

correlation studies showed that high language anxiety is related to low

achievement in language learning. Zhao (2007) made a similar observation with

high school learners in China. It was further supported by Siti Noorhayati (2007).

Based on her study found that secondary school learners did experience a

considerable amount of speaking anxiety in the areas of communication

apprehension, fear of negative evaluation, and test-taking. Based on Wong

2
( 2012), many learners (68.4%) experienced moderate levels of language

anxiety, while 14.1% of them experienced high levels of language anxiety, and

the remaining 17.5% experienced low levels of language anxiety. Foreign

language anxiety is one of the issues in the area of language learning and

teaching which was broadly investigated by many scholars in the field (Awan,

Azher, Nadeem, & Naz, 2010; Fariadian, Azizifar, & Gowhary, 2014; Heng,

Abdullah, & Yosaf, 2012; Öztürk, 2009).

Being a learner in both public and private schools for almost 14 years, the

researcher has experienced this foreign language learning anxieties. Also,

having four years in actual teaching and five years for being a tutor, he could

pronounce that most of his former and new learners have English language

anxiety. Moreover, learners have a low degree of achievement and competence

in listening, speaking, and writing skills in English and related subjects like

science and math. This is based on their teacher's observation, evaluation, and

assessment of their oral or written activity and class participation.

As evidenced by these observations, experiences, and findings, the role of

proficiency in second language related anxiety is an area where further research

is needed. Also, the seventh grade is the most crucial year level in secondary

education because it is where students from diverse school backgrounds bear

with them the culture of their previous school conglomerate.

Therefore, to address these issues concerning foreign language learning

anxiety, the present study attempted to determine the contributing factors to

3
language anxiety and propose strategies to address them, thereby fostering the

use of English as the medium of instruction.

Review of Related Literature and Studies

People are often anxious about their ability in a foreign language,

especially in listening/speaking situations, which leads to a type of anxiety called

"communication apprehension" (Macintyre & Gardner, 1991). This type of anxiety

plays such a crucial role in F.L. speaking anxiety that even talkative people

become silent in an F.L. class when they have communication apprehension

(Horwitz et al., 1986; Aydın, 2008; Ay, 2010).

Teacher Factors

The causes of learning anxiety are; a.) communication anxiety b.) fear of

negative evaluation c.) test anxiety d.) anxiety in the English classroom (which

includes teacher and teaching styles): and language strategies used by foreign

learners to cope with the language anxiety are the English language learning's

and cited as; a.) Listening strategy, b.) Vocabulary strategy, c.) Speaking

strategy, d.) Reading strategy, e.) Writing strategy, and f.)Strategic use of

translation (Lucas et al., 2011). Also, Bailey (1983), through the analyses of the

diaries of 11 learners, found that competitiveness can cause anxiety on the part

of the learners. He found that learners tend to outperform each other to gain

positive feedback from their teacher regarding their progress and competence.

He also found that tests and the learners'" perceived relationship with their

4
teacher also contributed to the learner's" language anxiety (Bailey, 1983 as cited

in Luca et al., 2011).

Calma (2000) conducted the study intended to determine the association

between English teachers' characteristics, learners' reticence, and achievement

in English. The result of the study indicated that the English teachers under study

possessed the desirable personal and professional characteristics as perceived

by learners and teachers themselves as to reticence and performance. The

learners were noted to have a strongly moderately agree of reticence in English.

In contrast, their performance in the said subject was noted to be moderately

agreed.

Moreover, teachers should also clarify that language learning entails

making mistakes, and mistakes are not a demonstration of failure (Elkhafaifi,

2005). It is also necessary for teachers to consider themselves as facilitators

instead of evaluators and avoid turning the language classroom into a testing or

competitive environment, but rather create a supportive learning environment

where learning can quickly occur. The study of Weda et al., 2018 in their study

entitled 'Factors influencing Learners' Anxiety in English as a Foreign Language

Classroom,' they found out that the learners tended to be nervous when they did

not understand the materials explained by the teacher in English class. Teachers

should try to explain ideas or concepts several times using slight variations in

terminology and examples (Pearson, 2015)

5
 Liu (2007) and Liu and Jackson (2008) reported that foreign language

anxiety harms learners' willingness to communicate in classrooms. The two

research studies showed that factors such as lack of vocabulary, low English

proficiency, and memory disassociation lead to anxiety (Liu, 2007 and Liu and

Jackson, 2008 as cited in Mede and Karairmak, 2017). Therefore, the teachers

should be aware of speaking anxiety in F.L. classrooms and show empathy to

their learners. In a similar vein, the study of Tsiplakides and Keramida (2009)

found that due to the fear of negative evaluation and the perception of low ability,

learners experience speaking anxiety in English language classrooms.

An unfavorable evaluation is another factor that influences speaking

anxiety in F.L. classrooms (Öztürk and Gürbüz, 2014). They investigated the

significant causes of F.L. anxiety in Turkish EFL classrooms. Although the

quantitative data showed that the participants generally experience a low level of

English speaking anxiety, the qualitative results demonstrated opposite findings.

Based on the learners' excerpts, pronunciation, immediate questions, fears of

making mistakes, as well as negative evaluation, are the significant causes of

speaking anxiety which the teacher should take into consideration in their

language classrooms (Öztürk and Gürbüz, 2014 as cited in Mede and Karairmak,

2017).

Naudhani et al. (2018) found out that most university learners in mainland

China who took part in filling questionnaires suffer from a high level of foreign

language anxiety, i.e., speaking anxiety, foreign language classroom anxiety, and

6
teacher-generated anxiety. According to Ying (2008), language anxiety is caused

by (1) personal and interpersonal, (2) learner beliefs about language learning, (3)

teacher belief about language anxiety, (4) teacher-learner interactions, (5)

classroom procedures, and (6) language testing (Ying, 2008 as cited in Sadiq,

2017).

Furthermore, Huang (2011) reported that teachers' smile, nod, and a pat

of learners' shoulders could indicate praise, while frown, head-shaking, and

confusing look can mean "no," and learners' body language can convey their

affection to the teacher and their attitudes toward the courses that they learn and

toward school's rules. Further, a teacher should often smile in class. A smiling

teacher is thought to convey warmth and encouragement in all cultures and will

be perceived as more likable, friendly, warm, and approachable (Liangguang

Huang, 2011).

Learner Factors

Del Villar (2010) investigated the anxiety attribution of beginning public

speaking learners in a state-run university. Her findings revealed that there are

eight factors that learners attribute their anxiety. These are the expectation,

training and experience, audience, self-worth, rejection, verbal fluency,

preparation, and previous pleasant experience. The majority of the learners also

believe that they would overcome their public speaking anxiety. Further, the

learners believed that the essential remedies were practice, confidence, and

exposure.

7
 According to Young (1994), anxieties related to the learner, which

eventually cause anxiety, include low self-esteem, competitiveness, self-

perceived low level of ability, communication apprehension, lack of group

membership, and attitudes and beliefs language learning.

Paloma (2005), after the policy of developing a bilingual nation, was

announced in Dept. Order No. 8. 1973, and twenty years after its implementation

in schools, reported that the problem of developing Filipinos competent in both

English and Filipino is still the subject of much controversy. While Filipino has

been gaining headway, English has been lagging. The use of English by Filipinos

has 'deteriorated.' She also said that one of the factors considered a stumbling

block towards effective language learning is anxiety or reticence. Learners

choose to speak as little as possible due to the main reason; unfamiliarity with

the language used. This behavior severely restricts learning opportunities and

result in a lack of genuine interaction between teachers and learners.

Besides, the English used by Filipinos makes something worse in quality

(Azrcon, 2006). He also said that Filipino learners' language-learning abilities had

surprised many, and these continue to be controversial over the precise limits of

these abilities, but being reticent can affect their performance in SL/FL

classrooms. He also added that many learners suffer from their behavior of being

reticent or being fearful of talking, especially in a class where they feel

uncomfortable to talk, such as in their English subject. Besides, Ay (2010) stated

8
that learners feel more anxious when required to speak without previous

preparation.

Quirino (2009) explains that an organ in the body is directly affected when

one experiences such an emotion. She exemplified a learner cramming for

examinations has an increase of adrenaline. The areas affected are the brain,

nervous system, stomach, muscles, and other body parts. On the other hand,

cramming may also cause him to be mentally blocked. She added that reticence

is a typical response to stress.

Gregersen and Horwitz (2002) found that some learners' language anxiety

may stem from their perfectionist tendencies. They concluded that anxious

learners share many similar manifestations with perfectionists, and these

similarities have the potential for making language learning unpleasant. Evidence

of this conclusion includes the fact that anxious learners were not easily satisfied

with their accomplishments and had a higher level of concern over the errors

they made than non-anxious learners who tended to celebrate small victories

accomplished.

In Na's (2007) study, she surveyed 115 Chinese high school learners and

found that they have high anxiety in learning the English language. Specifically,

she discovered that males have higher anxiety in learning English than their

female counterparts. She also found a high anxAlsoa debilitative role in high

school learners' language learning (Na, 2007).

9
 According to Mohamad & Wahid (2009), the learners were asked to

comment on factors that they believe contribute to anxiety. As a result, commonly

mentioned factors were: "speaking activities, inability to comprehend, negative

classroom experiences, fear of negative evaluation, native speakers,

methodology, pedagogical practices, and the teachers themselves." Furthermore,

Mohamad & Wahid (2009, p. 74) mentioned in their study that "most of the

learners were concerned about various kinds of evaluative situations in which

people around them will monitor their knowledge and performance of English."

Luo and Xu (2016) concluded that language anxiety would directly affect

communication and daily teaching in reality, and internal and external factors

cause it. Their study found out that the actual situation to solve the language

anxiety phenomenon, teachers should take care of the learners, their early

detection of anxiety, their early help on foreign language learning anxiety, and

their emotional factors should give enough attention to improving the learners'

English learning achievement.

Hashemi (2011) found out that adopting or achieving native (L1)-like

pronunciation emerged as a significant anxiety source for language learners. He

added that the participants appeared to be blaming a strict and formal classroom

environment as a significant cause of their language anxiety. Thus, these

perceptions can be considered a clear indication that the teachers should

recognize that the language classroom could become a highly anxiety-provoking

environment for learners (Tsui, 1996: cited in Ohata, 2005: 148).

10
 Moreover, Khattak et al. (2011) conducted a study on Abdul Wali Khan

University Mardan (AWKUM) and found out that learners were anxious about

producing mistakes and being corrected by teachers. The learners also felt

nervous about failing exams (Khattak et al., 2011, as cited in Chin et al., 2016).

Social/Environment Factors

Pappamihiel (2002) conducted a study on language anxiety among 178

middle-school Mexican immigrant learners attending school in the U.S. The

participants were subjected to the English Language Anxiety Scale to identify

how anxiety levels correlated with specific factors such as years of stay in the

U.S., levels of academic achievement, listening and speaking skills, reading and

writing skills, and gender. The study showed that interaction with Mexican

learners raised anxiety levels and that such strategies such as avoidance were

used to reduce anxiety (Pappamihiel, 2002 as cited in Luca et al., 2011).

Ohata (2005) examined the nature of language anxiety from the

perspective of five Japanese English learners studying in the U.S. With the use

of self-reflective accounts of the emotional difficulties experienced by these

language learners, and she found that characteristics of language anxiety are

influenced by Japanese cultural norms or expectations they have acquired

through numerous socialization processes in Japan. It seems that their cultural

practices, such as hesitating to express one's ideas or not being assertive,

caused them anxieties in their interaction with others.

11
 Conway's (2007) study, Anxiety in Second Language Learning, Causes,

and Solutions, helps us detect some of the factors attributed to anxiety. Her study

shows other types of anxiety: classroom anxiety, learning anxiety, state anxiety,

test anxiety, and audience anxiety. Conway stated that each depends on the type

of anxiety that can occur within the second language learning. Conway claimed

that many causes or factors lead to second language learning anxiety. The first

is fear of negative evaluation. Learners' fears are brought on by the foreign

language classroom environment, where they are continually evaluated.

However, the evaluation or criticisms from peers is also a significant cause of

anxiety.

Besides, according to Young (1990) and Palacios (1998), institutional

anxiety can be traced to the list of classroom activities (activities' suggested' by

the curriculum) that the language learners perceive as anxiety-producing. These

may include: (a) spontaneous role-playing; (b) speaking in front of the class; (c)

oral presentations and report, and (d) writing tasks on the board.

Moreover, a survey of 243 Japanese learners was conducted in 31

English conversation classes at four universities in Japan. The study found out

that language anxiety was often associated with the language learning process's

output and processing stages. They also discovered that teachers and

classmates are also caused by learners' anxieties (Williams and Andrade, 2008)

According to Ordonez (2009), multiple variables such as low English

proficiency, personality, and cultural beliefs contributed to learner reticence in

12
SL/FL classrooms. Many learners suffer from their own timid and unsociable

nature, especially in a class where they feel unable to establish an open and

friendly relationship with a peer. When many learners are timid, everyone shares

the same reluctance to break the silent norm. Psychologically, unwillingness to

communicate might be a result of social influence. Many weak learners not only

worry about the low quality of speech, including defective pronunciation and

clumsy, broken, or incomprehensible English. Failure in meeting the standard of

their ongoing course makes them give up the desire to participate. Anxious

learners are less likely to volunteer answers or to participate in oral classroom

activities.

Tanveer (2007) stated that almost all research subjects acknowledged

that people feel anxious and nervous while speaking English in front of others.

Some ESL/EFL learners even expressed that they feel 'stupid' when they cannot

speak English well, and others maintained that they try to skip or escape the

situations, which demand speaking in front of others, either in the classroom or

outside of the classroom. What seems to distinguish speaking is the public

nature of the skill; this poses a threat to peoples' self-concept, self-identity, and

ego, which they have formed in their first language as reasonable and intelligent

individuals (Horwitz et al., 1986: 128). In addition to these psycholinguistic

factors, some cultural aspects of English language learning can also contribute to

language anxiety for ESL/EFL learners. In their interaction with the English-

speaking interlocutors, the learners may have a good command of linguistic

13
knowledge (patterns of language, grammar, vocabulary, etc.) but may feel

apprehensive about using it because they are not sure of the cultural rules. This

uncertainty of the ESL/EFL learners as to when and how much they should talk

in interaction with English speaking people creates an unequal social or status

relationship between them, which 'disfavors attempts at negotiation' (Wolfson,

1989: 131).

These studies conducted over the years have shown that several factors

cause language anxieties. These factors may significantly contribute to the

learner's success in learning the second language. The teacher factors are one

of the causes of foreign language anxiety in the area of language learning (which

includes teacher and teaching styles, teacher-learner relationship, teacher's

personalities, and characteristics) which was investigated by many scholars in

the field (Lucas, Miraflores & Go, 2011; Bailey,1983; Calma, 2000; Elkhafaifi,

2005; Weda, & Sakti, 2018; Pearson, 2015; Liu, 2007; Liu & Jackson, 2008;

Karairmak, 2017; Tsiplakides & Keramida, 2009; Öztürk & Gürbüz, 2014;

Naudhani, Wu & Naudhani., 2018; Ying, 2008; Sadiq, 2017; Huang, 2011).

Moreover, the learner factors are also one of the causes of foreign

language anxiety in the area of language learning which was investigated and

found out that there were eight factors that learners attribute their anxiety to and

these are the expectation, training and experience, audience, self-worth,

rejection, verbal fluency, preparation and the previous pleasant experience of the

learner (Del Villar, 2010; Young, 1994; Paloma, 2005; Azrcon, 2006; Ay, 2010;

14
Quirino, 2009; Gregersen & Horwitz, 2002; Na, 2007; Mohamad & Wahid, 2009;

Luo & Xu, 2016; Hashemi, 2011, Ohata, 2005; Khattak et al., 2011; Chin, Ling &

Yih., 2016).

Furthermore, the social and environmental factors are also one of the

three sources of foreign language anxiety which are discovered and investigated

by many researchers (Pappamihiel, 2002; Lucas, Miraflores & Go, 2011; Ohata,

2005; Conway, 2007; Young, 1990; Palacios, 1998; Williams & Andrade, 2008;

Ordonez, 2009; Tanveer, 2007; Horwitz, Horwitz & Cope, 1986; Wolfson, 1989).

Theoretical Framework

This study was anchored on the Foreign Language Anxiety Theory, as

postulated by Horwitz, Horwitz, and Cope in 1986. Horwitz et al. (1986) define

foreign language anxiety as a distinct complex of self-perceptions, beliefs,

feelings, and behaviors related to classroom learning from the language learning

process's uniqueness. They found out that language anxiety is composed of and

a combination of the following factors: communication apprehension, test anxiety,

and fear of negative evaluation. They also found out that one-third of learners

learning a foreign language experience some anxiety. Young (1994) outlines the

three sources of foreign language anxiety into three categories: sources

associated with the learner, the teacher, and the institution.

According to Young (1994), anxieties related to the learner, which

eventually cause anxiety, include low self-esteem, competitiveness, self-

15
perceived low level of ability, communication apprehension, lack of group

membership, and attitudes beliefs about language learning.

The study of Palacios (1998) found out that teacher factors such as lack of

teacher's support, the teacher's unsympathetic personality, and lack of time for

personal attention do not help learners cope in their new language learning

environment.

Additionally, according to Young (1990) and Palacios (1998), institutional

anxiety can be traced to the list of classroom activities (activities' suggested' by

the curriculum) that the language learners perceive as anxiety-producing. These

may include: (a) spontaneous role-playing; (b) speaking in front of the class; (c)

oral presentations and report, and (d) writing tasks on the board.

The theory of Horwitz et al. (1986) was used to determine the present

anxieties of the respondents towards to the findings of enormous studies about

foreign/second language anxiety, like the studies of Horwitz, Horwitz, Cope

(1986), Young (1990), Young (1994) and Palacios (1998), as categorized by the

researcher namely teacher factors, learner factors and social/environment factors

of this present study.

Seem all these factors account for the learner's anxieties to learn the

English language. Thus, it was the hope of this present study to investigate if

indeed, these factors found in previous studies are also manifested by

foreign/second language learners studying in the country. Moreover, this study

16
aimed to propose a developmental plan for teaching approaches in English

language anxiety.

Figure 1 shows the input, the process, and the output of the study. The

respondents' profile variables such as their age, sex, dialects spoken at home,

the school graduated from, and educational attainment of the parents and the

given factors that trigger learners' anxieties in learning the English language,

were included in the input. On the other hand, the process included identifying

the problem, the data gathering procedure, analysis and interpretation of data,

and drawing conclusions and recommendations.

Figure 1. Research Paradigm

Input Process Output

 Profile Variables:  Identification of the  Proposed

a. age English language Developmental

b. sex anxiety's cause/s Plan for

c. dialects spoken at home;  Data Gathering Teaching

d. school graduated from of  Analysis and Approaches in

the learner; and Interpretation of English

e. educational attainment of data Language

the parents  Recommendations/ Anxiety

17
 Given factors that Conclusiom

determine the anxieties of

Statement of the Problem

This study was generally aimed to establish the causes of anxieties among

the grade seven learners. Notably, this study intended to answer the following

questions:

1. How may the profile of the respondents be described in terms of:

1.1. Age;

1.2. Sex;

1.3. dialects spoken at home;

1.4. the school graduated from of the learner’ and

1.5. educational attainment of the parents?

2. How may the learners’ learners’ anxieties be described in term of:

2.1. Teacher Factors;

2.2. Learner Factors; and

18
 2.3. Social/Environment Factors?

3. Is there a significant relationship between the respondents' profile and the

determinants of learners' anxieties?

4. What developmental plan may be proposed as an output of this study?

Hypotheses

The following hypotheses were formulated, which were also tested in this

study except hypothesis number 2 with null and alternative hypotheses:

Null Hypothesis:

1. There is no significant relationship between the respondents' profile and

the determinants of learners' anxieties.

Alternate Hypothesis:

1. There is a significant relationship between the respondents' profile and the

determinants of learners' learners' anxieties.

Significance of the Study

This study was conducted to determine the causes of the anxiety of

English language learners. The results of this study may be beneficial to the

following:

Learners/Learners. The study results may be of great help for the

learners to quickly identify if they have anxieties in themselves that prevent them

19
from excelling in English and make them aware if they do not have yet anxiety to

prevent or lessen it.

English Teachers. The study results may be used as a basis for the

English teachers to design teaching strategies and remediation activities that will

help learners avoid or manage anxiety.

Guidance Counselors. The result of this study may be of great help for

guidance counselors to quickly identify what areas of the learners' learning need

professional guidance.

School Administrators. School administrators may use the result of this

study to formulating activities and conducting programs that aim to reduce the

learners' anxiety.

Parents. This can also benefit parents whose children's learning in the

English language may be ensured to be reinforced.

Researcher. The result of this study may be a great help for researchers

to be more aware of the second language skills in which their learners, children,

and other English language learners feel anxious about.

Future Researcher. The result of this study may be a great help as a

basis for their related studies and can be further research for improving the

proposed teaching approaches and strategies in teaching the English language

in this study.

Scope and Delimitation

20
 This study focused on finding the causes of anxiety that the grade seven

learners have. It is conducted during the School Year 2019-2020. This study was

limited concerning the prevention of English language learner's anxiety. This

study aimed to determine the factors that cause the anxiety of the receiver of

English language learning and recommended ways to lessen or keep the

learners away from anxiety.

Definition of Terms

This study's following terms were conceptually and operationally defined

to give a more explicit meaning to their uses in this study:

Anxiety. This refers to tension, apprehension, nervousness, and worry

associated with the autonomic nervous system's arousal.

Language Anxiety. This refers to the worry and adverse emotional

reaction aroused when learning English as a second/foreign language.

Causes. This refers to the factors that bring the English language learners

in experiencing anxiety.

Acquisition of Language. This refers to the process of perceiving and

understanding the language.

ESL. Refer to English as a Second Language acquired or to be acquired

after the native language.

EFL. Refer to English as a Foreign Language from another country than

the speaker.

21
 Determinant. This refers to a factor that decisively affects the nature or

outcome of something.

Teaching Approaches. This refers to the way of teaching something,

which uses classroom activities or techniques to help learners learn.

Teacher Factor. Refers to teaching attitude, manner of teaching, the

teacher's personality, learning, and teaching styles that influence English

language learners in experiencing anxiety.

Learner Factor. This refers to the self-perceptions, beliefs, feelings, and

behaviors related to classroom learning that influence English language learners

in experiencing anxiety.

Social/Environment Factor. Refers to the school and classroom

activities, school facilities, and materials to enhance the English language, the

administrators, peers, and family that influence English language learners in

experiencing anxiety.

Justification of the Study

This study, which was about the "Determinants of Learners' Anxieties in

Learning Language: Basis for Improved Teaching Approaches," was justified by

the fact that the researcher conducted it as an original study. All the data used in

this study were gathered from the grade seven Daan Sarile Integrated School

learners during 2019-2020.

22
 Several literature and studies were included in this present work, which

was similar to the present study. However, no duplication was done since the

present study was conducted on the date as mentioned earlier and place.

Chapter 2

METHODOLOGY

This chapter presents the type of study, the methodology used, including

research design, data gathering techniques, and statistical tools utilized to

present, analyze, and interpret data.

Research Design

23
 This study made use of the descriptive method of research. Descriptive

research involves describing, recording, analyzing, and interpreting the present

nature, composition, or processes of phenomena, focusing on prevailing

conditions, or how a person, group, or thing behaves or functions in the present.

It often involves some types of comparison or contrast (Yin, 2003). It involves

collections of quantitative information that can be tabulated along with a range in

numerical forms such as scores on a test or the number of times a person

chooses to use a particular feature of a program, or it can describe categories of

information such as gender or patterns of interaction when using technology in a

group situation.

The descriptive method is used for frequencies, averages, and other

statistical calculations. Often the best approach before writing descriptive

research is to conduct a survey investigation (Glass & Hopkins, 1984).

Research Locale

The study was conducted on three sections of Grade 7 learners in Daan

Sarile Integrated School, the only integrated school in District VII of Cabanatuan

City. All rooms were composed of heterogeneous learners, conducive for

learning, well decorated, equipped with teaching technologies, and not far from

the e-library. Daan Sarile Integrated School was located at Interior Street, Daan

Sarile, Cabanatuan City, Nueva Ecija. This research site had been chosen

24
because of the researcher's accessibility to carry out the research. The

researcher was one of the teaching staff members in the secondary department

teaching Filipino 8, English 8, and Araling Panlipunan 7.

Fig. 2. The Façade of Daan Sarile integrated School

25
 Fig. 3. The Evacuation Plan of Daan Sarile integrated School

Samples and Sampling Techniques

This study's respondents were the grade seven learners from the Daan

Sarile Integrated School during 2019 – 2020. A total of 152 learners in three

sections were the participants who answered the questionnaires. The

respondents were composed of 83 male and 69 female learners. However, this

sample size was reduced using the Raosoft online application sample size

calculator to get 110 participants to represent the entire grade, seven learners.

Meanwhile, a simple random sampling method using Random.Org online

26
software application was used to select the participants since the three sections

are all heterogeneous learners. This was used to give all the grade seven

learners of the Daan Sarile Integrated School equal chances to be part of the

study.

Table 1 shows the number of learners and the equivalent percentage of

the participants. There are 50 (or 45.45%) male participants, and the remaining

60 (or 54.55%) were female participants.

Table 1

Respondents of the Study

Section N % n %
Male 83 54.61 50 45.45
Female 69 45.39 60 54.55
Total 152 100 110 100

Research Instrument

The questionnaire was the main instrument used in gathering information

from the respondent. The researcher revised and validated the questionnaire

from Horwitz, E. K., Horwitz, M. B., & Cope, J.'s Factors Triggering Foreign

Language Questionnaire and Pappamihiel's English Language Anxiety Scale

which was utilized by Lucas et al., (2011), in their study entitled "English

Language Learning Anxiety Among Foreign Language Learners in the

27
Philippines," and Banagbanag, (2019), in his study entitled "Language Anxiety

among Selected Grade 7 ESL

Learners in the Division of Northern Samar, Philippines". The respondents

should fill out part one of the questionnaires wherein the respondents' profile is

solicited.

Part two of the questionnaire dealt with the factors that trigger learners'

anxieties in learning the English language. Part two of the questionnaire was a

checklist type wherein the learners had to check the numbers 4 (strongly agree),

3 (agree), 2 (agree), and 1 (strongly disagree), depending on their experience,

thought, and opinion on the statement.

In the preparation of the questionnaire, experts knowledgeable in English

were consulted for validity checks, and the questions were based on the

statement of the problem. The researcher also used Grammarly for Microsoft

application before a rough draft of the survey was submitted to the adviser for

corrections and revisions. And then, to establish the instruments' reliability, the

researcher did a field test the instrument and administered them to respondents

who were not part of this study. After it was validated, a letter of request was

forwarded to the school division superintendent in the Division Office of

Cabanatuan City and the school principal before disseminating the questionnaire.

Data Gathering Procedure

The researcher waited three days to get the approved letter from the

division office and one day for the principal office's approved letter. The

28
researcher asked the help of the advisers in each section to ensure that all

learners are present. The researcher also asked the grade seven English teacher

permission to allow him to use at least half a subject time. The researcher

personally distributes the questionnaires to the respondents. Before all of these,

the researcher asked the permission from their respective officer in charge as the

principal advised him to do. When the participants were given the questionnaires,

they were informed about the study's objectives and instructed to answer the

items as completely and accurately. The researcher also informed the

participants that they could raise questions for clarification. The participants were

given 15-30 minutes to accomplish the questionnaire. Once all the data had been

completed, the questionnaires were classified, tallied, and tabulated. Lastly, the

participants were notified that this study's purpose was for educational purposes

only and to encourage honest responses, and the participants were informed that

their answers would remain confidential.

Data Analysis Technique

The responses of the participants were tabulated using Microsoft Office –

Excel 2016. The study used Raosoft online application sample size calculator to

identify the correct number of samples for this study with e- error or level of

significance of 0.05. First, descriptive statistical analysis was used in analyzing

the data. Second, the weighted mean was used to describe the overall anxiety

factors of the participants. Third, the standard deviation (S.D.) was used to

measure the variability of responses. Furthermore, lastly, Pearson correlation to

29
examine the relationship between the respondents' profile and the determinants

of learners' anxieties in terms of teacher factors, learner factors, and

social/environmental factors.

These were descriptive words that gave the verbal interpretation of the

weighted mean. The following interpretations were used with the corresponding

weighted mean.

Table 2

Pappamihiel’s English Language Anxiety Scale

Scale Weight Verbal Interpretation Indicator

4 3.26 – 4.00 Strongly Agree Very High Anxiety
3 2.51 – 3.25 Agree High Anxiety

30
 2 1.76 – 2.50 Disagree Low Anxiety
1 1.0 – 1.75 Strongly Disagree Very Low Anxiety

Chapter 3

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

This chapter presents the results of the study, the data analyses, and their

interpretations and discussions. Results were presented and discussed

according to the sequence of the problems.

I. Profile of the Respondents

1. Age of the Respondents

31
 The data revealed that 97 or 88.18% of the respondents' ages were in the

range of 12 to 13, 12 or 10.91% of the respondents' ages were in the range of 14

to 15, and 1 or 0.91% of the respondents' ages were in the range of 16 and

above. This was a cue that the more significant part of the respondents in terms

of their age was 12 to 13.

2. Sex

In terms of their sex, the data revealed that 60 or 45.45% of the

respondents were female, and 50 or 54.55% were male.

3. Language or Dialect Spoken at Home

The data revealed that 110 or 100% of the respondents used Tagalog as

their language or dialect at home, and none of the respondents used English,

Ilocano, Kapampangan, and Pangasinense. This implies that the respondents

were all using Tagalog as their language or dialect spoken at home.

4. School graduated from of the learner

The data revealed that 109 or 99.1% of the respondents graduated from

public school, and 1 or 0.9% graduated from a private school.

5. Educational Attainment of Father

In terms of the educational attainment of the respondents' father, the data

revealed that 46 or 41.82% of the respondents' father attained high school level,

32
26 or 23.63% of the respondents' father attained college level, 22 or 20% of the

respondents' father attained graduate school level and 16 or 14.55% of the

respondents' father attained elementary level.

6. Educational Attainment of Mother

In terms of the educational attainment of the respondents' mother, the

data revealed that 43 or 39.09% of the respondents' mother attained high school

level, 34 or 30.91% of the respondents' mother attained graduate school level, 27

or 24.55% of the respondents' mother attained college level and 6 or 5.45% of

the respondents' mother attained elementary level.

Table 3

Socio-Demographic Profile of the Respondents

Age Frequency Percent

12-13 y/o 97 88.18
14-15 y/o 12 10.91
16 y/o and above 1 0.91
Total 110 100
Sex Frequency Percent
Male 50 45.45
Female 60 54.55
Total 110 100.00
Language/Dialect Spoken at Frequency Percent

33
 Home
Tagalog 110 110.00
English 0 0.00
Ilocano 0 0.00
Kapampangan 0 0.00
Pangasinense 0 0.00
Others 0 0.00
Total 110 110.00
School Graduated Frequency Percent
Public 109 99.1
Private 1 0.9
Total 110 100.00
Educational Attainment of Frequency Percent

Father
Elementary 16 14.55
High School 46 41.82
College 26 23.63
Graduate School Level 22 20
Total 110 100.00
Educational Attainment of Frequency Percent

Mother
Elementary 6 5.45
High School 43 39.09
College 27 24.55
Graduate School Level 34 30.91
Total 110 100.00

II. Factors That Determine the Anxieties Among Grade Seven

Learners of Daan Sarile Integrated School in Learning English

Language

The factors that determine the anxieties among grade seven learners of

Daan Sarile Integrated School in learning the English language were

34
 classified into three categories: teacher factors, learner factors, and

social/environmental factors.

Table 4

Teacher Factors

Weighte Verbally
Items
d Mean Interpreted
1. I get nervous and confused when my teacher
2.51 Agree
speaks too fast.
2. I get stressed when my teacher does not use
2.71 Agree
instructional aides in teaching his/her lesson.
3. I get stressed when my teacher is not
2.63 Agree
knowledgeable about using the earning package.
4. I get stressed when my teacher has no mastery of
2.46 Disagree
the subject matter.
5. I get stressed when my teacher does not explain
2.95 Agree
the lesson clearly.
6. I get stressed when my teacher does not use
2.62 Agree
bilingualism when he/she discusses the lesson.
7. I get nervous and confused when my teacher
2.35 Disagree
seldom smiles in class.
8. I get nervous and confused when my teacher is
2.63 Agree
not approachable and friendly.
Overall Weighted Mean 2.61 Agree

A. Teacher Factors

Table 4 shows the teacher factor determining the anxieties among grade

seven learners in learning the English language. As gleaned above, the fifth

statement, "I get stressed when my teacher does not explain the lesson clearly,"

35
got the highest weighted mean of 2.95, which was verbally interpreted as

agreeing.

This finding was similar to the resulting study of Weda et al., 2018. In their

study entitled 'Factors influencing Learners' Anxiety in English as a Foreign

Language Classroom,' they found out that the learners tended to be nervous

when they did not understand materials explained by the teacher in English

class.

Teachers should try to explain ideas or concepts several times, using

slight variations in terminology and examples (Pearson, 2015).

On the other hand, the seventh statement says, "I get nervous and

confused when my teacher seldom smiles in class," got the lowest weighted

mean of 2.35, which was verbally interpreted as disagree.

This finding was similar to the study of Huang (2011) saying that teachers'

smile, nod, and a pat of learners' shoulders can indicate praise, while frown,

head-shaking, and confusing look can mean "no," and learners' body language

can convey their affection to the teacher and their attitudes toward the courses

that they learn and toward school's rules. Likewise, a teacher should often smile

in class; a smiling teacher is thought to convey warmth and encouragement in all

cultures and will be perceived as more likable, friendly, warm, and approachable

(Liangguang Huang, 2011).

Table 5

Learner Factors

36
 Weighte Verbally
Items
d Mean Interpreted
1. I get nervous and confused because I am afraid to
be called by the teacher. 2.64 Agree
2. I get nervous and confused because I think I am
not good enough to use English. 2.83 Agree
3. I get nervous and confused because I feel that my
classmates speak English better than I do. 2.33 Disagree
4. I get nervous and confused because I have a fear
of committing mistakes. 2.55 Agree
5. I get nervous and confused because I believe that
English is a difficult subject. 2.58 Agree
6. I get nervous and confused because I feel
uncomfortable with my English teacher. 2.50 Agree
7. I get nervous and confused because I am
embarrassed to talk to native speakers of English. 2.70 Agree
8. I get nervous and confused because I am afraid
that the other learners will laugh at me when I speak
English. 2.60 Agree
Overall Weighted Mean 2.59 Agree

B. Learner Factors

Table 5 shows the emotional factor determining the anxieties among

grade seven learners in learning the English language. As gleaned above, the

number two item says, "I get nervous and confused because I think I am not

good enough in using English" and got the highest weighted mean of 2.83, which

was verbally interpreted as agreeing.

When feeling anxious, learners might find their study become less

enjoyable (Gregersen, 2003), or they may experience problems such as reduced

word production and difficulty in understanding the spoken instructions (Horwitz

and Young, 1991; Casado and Dereshiswsky, 2004). Gregersen (2003) further

argues that anxious learners may also find it challenging to effectively respond to

37
their errors. In short, some literature suggests that F.L. anxiety can negatively

impact learner's foreign language learning. Regarding the factors which may

contribute to F.L. anxiety, the problems related to negative evaluation, such as

fear of correction and fear of making mistakes, and a general feeling of anxiety

such as fear of failing the class are considered the common factors that often

contribute to F.L. anxiety (Horwtiz et al., 1986; Pappamihiel, 2002; Casado and

Dereshiwsky, 2004).

Whereas, the number three item statement which says, "I get nervous and

confused because I feel that my classmates speak English better than I do.", got

the lowest weighted mean of 2.33, which was verbally interpreted as disagree.

Bailey (1983) examined the relationship between the learners'

competitiveness and self-esteem as a potential source of learner's anxiety,

claiming that the competitive nature of L2 learning can lead to anxiety when

learners compare themselves to others or idealized self-images. Krashen (1985)

also suggests that anxiety can arise according to one's degree of self-esteem.

People with low-esteem may worry about what their peers or friends think, in fear

of their negative responses or evaluation.

Table 6

Social/Environment Factors

38
 Weighte Verbally
Items
d Mean Interpreted
1. I get stressed because the school has no facilities
to enhance my English speaking skills. 2.40 Disagree
2. I get nervous and confused because the teachers
speak English all the time inside the campus. 2.26 Disagree
3. I get nervous and confused because the
administrators speak English all the time inside the
campus. 2.55 Agree
4. I get stressed because the school does not
provide updated additional English references and
instructional aids. 2.33 Disagree
5. I get nervous and confused because all of my
classmates and other learners speak English all the
time inside the campus. 2.37 Disagree
6. I get stressed because the school has no various
activities to enhance my English communication
skills. 2.35 Disagree
7. I get stressed because the school does not
provide a variety of reading materials for the
learners. 2.16 Disagree
8. I get stressed because my parents do not practice
speaking in English. 2.16 Disagree
Overall Weighted Mean 2.32 Disagree

C. Social/Environmental Factor

Table 4 shows the social/environment factor that determines the anxieties

among grade seven learners in learning English. It is seen above that the

number three item statement which says, ". I get nervous and confused because

the administrators speak English all the time inside the campus", got the highest

weighted mean of 2.55, which was verbally interpreted as agreeing.

Within social contexts, language anxiety might be experienced due to

extrinsic motivators (Schwartz, 1972 as cited in Scovel 1991: 16), such as

different social and cultural environments, particularly the environments where L1

39
and L2/FL learning takes place. Also, the target language represents another

cultural community, there is a predisposition among some people to experience

such anxiety because they were concerned about ethnicity, foreignness, and the

like (Gardner cited in Horwitz & Young, 1991: viii). The speaker and the

interlocutor's social status and a sense of power relations between them and

gender could also be essential factors in causing language anxiety for L2/FL

speakers (Tanveer, 2008).

Then, the number seven and eight items statements which says, "I get

stressed because the school does not provide a variety of reading materials for

the learners" and "I get stressed because my parents do not practice speaking in

English," both got the lowest weighted mean of 2.16 which was verbally

interpreted as disagree.

Backer and MacIntyre (2000) state that foreign language learners are at a

disadvantage because they are surrounded by their native language and must

search for stimulation in the target language. The foreign language learners

typically receive input from the target language only in the classroom setting and

lack the opportunities that a second language learner would have to practice the

target language daily (Backer and MacIntyre, 2000 as cited in Wang 2009: 67).

Table 7

Factors that Determine Anxieties among Grade Seven Learners

Factors That Trigger the Anxieties Among Weighted Verbal

40
 Grade Seven Learners of Daan Sarile Integrated Descriptio
Mean
School in Learning English Language n
Teacher Factors 2.61 Agree
Learner Factors 2.59 Agree
Social/Environment Factors 2.32 Disagree

D. Factors that Determine Anxieties among Grade Seven Learners

As gleaned on the table above, the teacher factors got the highest weighted

mean of 2.61, which was verbally interpreted as agreeing. Some teachers trigger

anxiety in learners rather than alleviating it (Atasheneh & Izad, 2012). In addition

to learner contributions to anxiety, several sources outside of the learner have

been identified. Ando (1999) found that having a native speaking teacher can

also be anxiety-provoking, as the teacher may lack sensitivity to the learning

process or the teacher's English might be challenging to understand. Oxford

(1999) felt that the match between the individual learner's learning style is not

compatible, "style wars" could trigger or heighten learner anxiety levels

(Cassady, 2010). Not surprisingly, teachers rank high on the list. Samimy (1994)

cited a judgmental teaching attitude, and Aida (1994) noted a harsh teaching

method leading to fear in the language classroom. Similarly, Palacios (1998)

found several teacher characteristics to be associated with anxiety. These

included the absence of teacher support, and unsympathetic personality, lack of

time for personal attention, favoritism, a sense that the class does not provide

41
learners with the tools necessary to match the teacher's expectations, and the

sense of being judged by the teacher or needing to impress the teacher.

Furthermore, the learner factors had a weighted mean of 2.59, which was

verbally interpreted as agreeing. When feeling anxious, learners might find their

study less enjoyable (Gregersen, 2003), or they might experience problems such

as reduced word production and difficulty in understanding the spoken

instructions (Horwitz and Young, 1991; Casado and Dereshiswsky, 2004).

Gregersen (2003) further argues that anxious learners might also find it

challenging to effectively respond to their errors. In short, some literature

suggests that F.L. anxiety can negatively impact learner's foreign language

learning. Concerning the factors which may contribute to F.L. anxiety, the

problems related to negative evaluation, such as fear of correction and fear of

making mistakes, and a general feeling of anxiety such as fear of failing the

class, are considered the common factors that often contribute to F.L. anxiety

(Horwtiz et al., 1986; Pappamihiel, 2002; Casado and Dereshiwsky, 2004).

Moreover, the social/environment factors got the lowest weighted mean of

2.32, which was verbally interpreted as disagree. Some participants blamed a

strict and formal classroom environment as a significant cause of their language

anxiety. They viewed the classroom as a place where their mistakes are noticed,

and their deficiencies were pointed out. Concerning this issue, a Saudi male

EFL/ESL learner expressed, "In the class, if you say because I did not know

42
much of a language, you will be blamed. That means you are not hard to study".

Another Saudi male learner expressed, "I feel more anxiety in the class because

it is more formal, but out of class I do not feel stress, talk to my friends, not afraid

of mistakes." Such expressions of the fear of being negatively evaluated under

formal classroom environment lend support to the previous research that

learners feel more anxious in highly evaluative situations, particularly in the L2/FL

classroom where their performance is monitored continuously by both their

teacher and peers (Daly, 1991: cited in Onwuegbuzie et al., 1999:218). These

perceptions suggested that learners feel more anxious and under stress in the

classroom environments that follow the traditional behaviorist theories of

learning; for instance, the classrooms where the learners as a whole class

repeatedly drill or repeat the learning tasks like a machine (e.g., audio-lingual

language teaching method) and thus the power or status differentials between

learners and teachers is upheld. Contrarily, learners feel less anxious and stress

in classroom environments that follow the constructivist theories of learning;

these emphasize collaborative activities by forming learning communities,

including teachers and learners (Tseng, 2012). Thus, these perceptions could be

considered a clear indication that the teachers should recognize that the

language classroom could become a highly anxiety-provoking environment for

learners (Tsui, 1996: cited in Ohata, 2005: 148).

43
 III. On Significant Relationship Between Profile of the Respondents

and the Determinants of Learners’ Anxieties in terms of Teacher

Factors, Learner Factors, and Social/Environment Factors

A. Teacher Factors

Table 8 presents the obtained r-values for the relationship of the

respondents' profile and the determinants of learners' anxieties in terms of

teacher factors using Pearson Product Moment Correlation.

Table 8

Significant relationship Between the Profile of the Respondents and the

Determinants of Learners’ Anxieties in terms of Teacher Factors

Teacher Factors
p-
Profile r-value Interpretation
value
Age .116 .229 No significant
relationship
Sex .055 .567 No significant
relationship
Language/Dialect Spoken at .a  
No significant
Home relationship
School Graduated From .153 .110 No significant
relationship
Educational Attainment of -.218* .022 Significant
Father relationship
Educational Attainment of -.231* .015 Significant
Mother relationship
*correlation is significant @ 0.05 level; a-cannot be computed since there is no

variation in the variables

As shown in the Table above, profile variables such as age, sex,

language/dialect spoken at home, and the school graduated from had no

44
significant relationship with learners' anxieties regarding teacher factors. The

hypothesis of no significant relationship was accepted. The result further showed

that the respondents' profile in terms of educational attainment of the parents had

a significant relationship with learners' anxieties in terms of teacher factors. Since

this study was the first to include the learner's parents' educational attainment,

the alternate hypothesis with a significant relationship was accepted.

B. Learner Factors

Table 9 presents the obtained r-values for the relationship of the

respondents' profile and the determinants of learners' anxieties in terms of

learner factors using Pearson Product Moment Correlation.

Table 9

45
 Significant relationship Between the Profile of the Respondents and the

Determinants of Learners' Anxieties in terms of Learner Factors

Learner Factors
p-
Profile
r-value value Interpretation
Age -.013 .895 No significant
relationship
Sex .158 .100 No significant
relationship
a  
Language/Dialect Spoken at . No significant
Home relationship
School Graduated From .145 .132 No significant
relationship
**
Educational Attainment of -.312 .001 Significant
Father relationship
**
Educational Attainment of -.252 .008 Significant
Mother relationship
*correlation is significant @ 0.05 level; a-cannot be computed since there is no
variation in the variables

As shown in the Table above, profile variables such as age, sex,

language/dialect spoken at home, and the school graduated from had no

significant relationship with learners' anxieties regarding learner factors. The

hypothesis of no significant relationship was accepted. The result further shows

that the respondents' profile in terms of educational attainment of the parents had

a significant relationship with learners' anxieties in terms of learner factors. Since

this study was the first to include the learner's parents' educational attainment,

the alternate hypothesis with a significant relationship was accepted.

C. Social/Environment Factors

46
 Table 10 presents the obtained r-values for the relationship of the profile

of the respondents and the determinants of learners’ anxieties in terms of

social/environment factors using Pearson Product Moment Correlation.

Table 10

Significant relationship Between the Profile of the Respondents and the

Determinants of Learners’ Anxieties in terms of Social/Environment

Factors

Social/Environment Factors
p-
Profile
r-value value Interpretation
Age .140 .144 No significant
relationship
Sex .009 .925 No significant
relationship
Language/Dialect Spoken at .a No significant
Home   relationship
School Graduated From .181 .059 No significant
relationship
Educational Attainment of -.246** .010 Significant
Father relationship
Educational Attainment of -.283** .003 Significant
Mother relationship
*correlation is significant @ 0.01 level; a-cannot be computed since there is no
variation in the variables

As shown in the Table above, profile variables such as age, sex,

language/dialect spoken at home, and the school graduated from had no

significant relationship with learners' anxieties regarding social/environmental

factors. The hypothesis of no significant relationship was accepted. The result

further showed that the respondents' profile in terms of educational attainment of

47
the parents had a significant relationship with learners' anxieties in terms of t

social/environmental factors. Since this study is the first to include the learner's

parents' educational attainment, the alternate hypothesis with a significant

relationship was accepted.

Overall the profile variables such as age, sex, language/dialect spoken at

home, and the school graduated from the learner have no significant relationship

with language anxiety. Meaning the said profile of the respondents does not

significantly influence their anxieties in learning the English language. Moreover,

the parents' educational attainment was negatively correlated with the

determinants of English language anxiety in learning the English language but

significant. Meaning, the learners' parents' lower educational attainment has

increased the level of anxiety encountered in learning the English language.

IV. On Proposed Developmental Plan for Teaching Approaches

Both learners and teachers recommended a dual-task approach to the

management of FLA, that is, efforts in managing FLA should not only focus on

reducing its adverse effects but also work towards making the most of its positive

effects. This approach is under Bigdeli and Bai's (2009) view on anxiety

management. According to Bigdeli and Bai, anxiety "holds a rich and valuable

learning possibility" because it "alerts a person to possible challenges and

difficulties in matters that are nonspecific, pervasive, and inarticulate" (p. 104).

48
 Although they did not deny the detrimental aspect of anxiety, they

acknowledged its positive aspect, thus arguing that an understanding of the

positive aspect of anxiety "will depathologize, hence normalize, anxiety and make

working with anxiety (as opposed to getting rid of it) [italics in the original] an

integral part of the challenge of learning and teaching" (p. 104). Given that

anxiety is unavoidable in learning an F.L., this study found that both teachers and

learners reported that it was better to accept it and make it serve learning and

teaching purposes as much as possible rather than seeking solutions to

eradicate it, which is both impractical (because it is impossible if learning is to

occur) and illogical (because anxiety does have some positive aspects) (Tran &

Moni, 2015).

Teachers should realize that language learning, and particularly oral

production, is a potentially stressful situation for some learners, and that the

"tension and discomfort related to language learning call for the attention of the

language teaching profession" (Horwitz, 2001: 122). The recommendations we

make are congruent with previous studies suggesting that teachers should not be

consider withdrawn learners as lazy, lacking in motivation, or having "poor

attitude" (Gregersen, 2003: 30), when in fact, they suffer from anxiety. Instead,

they should identify anxious learners and make interventions to help them

overcome foreign language anxiety (Aida, 1994 as cited in Tsiplakides 2009, p

43).

49
 Also, this type of difficulty may be attributable to at least two factors: the

learners' limited proficiency in English and the teacher's unclear explanations.

Although both factors would play a detrimental role in comprehending English

input, from a pedagogical viewpoint, I think the issue of whether teachers provide

clear explanations is more significant when considering how they can help

learners to manage anxiety (Tran & Moni, 2015).

Moreover, FL instructors' personalities are another essential factor that helps

reduce learners' FLSA (Young, 1992). Learner responses revealed that F.L.

teachers with the following personal characteristics and behaviors help cope with

learners' FLSA (in decreasing order of mentions): • Friendly; • Humourous; •

Knowledgeable; • Good at enhancing learners' interest in an F.L.; • Good at

employing different teaching strategies; • Patient; • Lively; • Good at creating

conducive learning environment; How to cope with foreign language speaking

anxiety effectively? 165 • Modern (instead of being reserved); • Outgoing; •

Versatile; • Sensitive to cultural differences; • Excluding learners' classroom

performance from final assessment; and • Learning some teaching styles from

native-speaking English teachers.

He, 2017 is her study entitled "How to Cope with Foreign Language Speaking

Anxiety Effectively?" she found out that among the 14 features, the first eight

were mentioned by more than half of the learners, especially the first two,

emphasized important references, prospective and in-service EFL/ESL teachers

50
in these regions/countries will be able to ease their learners' FLSA. Learners

themselves can learn oral English free from unnecessary affective barriers.

The following proposed developmental plan for teaching approaches in

learning the English language was based on the abovementioned studies and

findings vis-à-vis the "10 Tried, Tested and Trusted Language Teaching

Approaches" by Streve D. link https://www.fluentu.com/blog/educator/language-

teaching-approaches.

51
 Table 11

Proposed Developmental Plan for Teaching Approaches in English

Language Anxiety

Determinan
ts of Support /
Targe Desired
English Target Activities and How? Resource
t Date Outcomes
Language s
Anxiety
Grammar-
translation
Improved
Approach-Plenty of
correct use of
written examples and
grammar
Improve drills are given where
Better
d grammar rules are Per
reading/writing
Teachin elegantly observed quarte
the target
g Functional-notional r/sem
language, as
Strategi Approach-Know, ester
well as
es your learners Principal
appreciating
Select a topic that Co-
Teacher the works of
interest the learners teachers
Factors literature
Prepare carefully and Learning
know your material materials
Teacher/ The Silent Way
Instructo Approach- Be more Encouraged
r open and friendly Be learners to be
Personal tolerant with learner Year- independent,
ities and differences Be willing Roun to discover
Relation to help care for d and figure out
ship learners Do not be the language
towards either too strict or too for themselves
learners easy-going
Learner Coping Application Teacher Per Increased

52
 confidence,
Approach-Consult
lessened
teachers Discuss with
inhibitions
friends
with from the
Communicative
Learner’ audience, and
approach let learners
s Self- enjoyment of
introduce themselves,
Doubt a non-
share their hobbies
competitive
using the target
Quart atmosphere
language
Peers er/Se
Factors
Audiolingual Family meste Improved
Approach- role- r pronunciations
playing with dialogues and rhythm
Learner’
Direct approach- encouraged
s
pantomiming, word- learners to be
Speakin
picture association, independent,
g
question-answer to discover
Anxiety
patterns, dialogues, and figure out
and role-playing the language
for themselves
Total Physical
Response
Approach-
language teaching
Administ Year- More efficient
where gestures,
rators Roun language
actions, and Administr
Support d acquisition
Social/Envir movements play a ators
onment vital role in language Teachers
Factors acquisition Peers
Family
Produced
Natural Approach-
Year- correctly
Parents gives time for learners
Roun pronounced
Support to simply listen and
d words and
absorb the language
phrases

53
 CHAPTER 4

CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

This chapter presents conclusions drawn and some recommendations

offered.

Conclusions

Based on the findings, it can be concluded that both males and females at

ages range from 12 to 13, studying in public school, and uses Tagalog as the

dialect spoken at home are experiencing this second/foreign language anxiety in

learning the English language.

Research had proved that the primary reason that determined their

anxieties in learning the English language as to the teacher factor was that they

got stressed when their teacher did not explain the lesson clearly. The

respondents followed the learner factor said they got nervous and confused

because they thought they were not good enough to use English, whereas the

significant reason in social/environment factors was that the respondents got

nervous and confused.

After all, the administrators spoke English all the time inside the campus.

In general, the study found social/environment factors as the least factors that

54
triggered grade seven learners' anxiety when learning the English language. In

contrast, learner factors slightly determine their anxiety towards learning the

English language, and it could be gleaned from the results that the factors which

much determined their anxiety in learning the English language were teacher

factors.

It was also confirmed that the age, sex, dialect spoken at home, and the

school graduated from the learners did not determine their anxiety about learning

the English language. This was perhaps because the Filipino learners did not

look at their friends by age, sex, dialect, or school form, but they look at their

peers by their attitudes and beliefs.

Lastly, the correlation results also suggested that parents' educational

attainment was significantly correlated with learners' anxiety in learning the

English language. This would mean that the learners' parents' lower educational

attainment had a higher level of anxiety in learning the English language.

Recommendations

In light of the study's findings, the following recommendations were drawn

to prevent the factors that determine the anxieties of the grade seven learners

towards learning English.

First, ESL/EFL teachers/instructors should acknowledge the existence of

the feeling of anxiety in learning the English language and then should take

initiatives for its significant reduction. Second, prepare varied and appropriate

instructional materials and assessment tools to test the learner's level of anxiety.

55
 The revised questionnaire in this study can be used as an assessment

tool. Lastly, wear that smile, even though how exhausted you may be.

It is also recommended that school administrators be more involved in

creating a more nurturing and supportive environment that should be learner-

centered.

Family members and friends must remember that relation between family

and school has been recognized as a variable of success in learning the English

language because parents' roles play a crucial part in developing a positive

attitude towards the English language.

I recommend conducting this research on a larger scale since this study is

limited only to one school. Besides, I undertook my study only with

heterogeneous learners; it could be interesting to explore the extent to which

homogeneous learners exhibit English language anxiety, and whether the

determinants are the same or different, just in case there is a genus dimension. It

is also interesting to explore whether the determinants of anxiety exists in other

subjects.

Lastly, I recommend to develop specific strategies for English language

anxiety and use this study as a basis. Thus, it is advisable to incorporate

observations, interviews, and qualitative approaches since this research only

used a quantitative approach.

56
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