Arab World English Journal (AWEJ) Volume 10. Number 1. March 2019 Pp.

64-72
DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.24093/awej/vol10no1.6

A Study of Language Anxiety among English Language Learners in Saudi Arabia

Badia Muntazer Hakim

English Language Institute, King Abdulaziz University
Jeddah, Saudi Arabia

Abstract:
Classroom anxiety is a recurrent phenomenon for language learners. There are various factors that
cause language anxiety, the most common of which include learners’ excessive self-consciousness
and self-awareness concerning their oral reproduction and performance and their peculiar, and
quite often misplaced and mistaken, views and beliefs regarding different approaches. Other
potential reasons for this problem could include the fear, and the consequent deterrence occasioned
thereof, of encountering difficulties in language learning, specifically learners’ individual
problems regarding the culture of the target language and the varying social statuses of speakers.
The most important fear is, perhaps, the deterrent fear of causing damage to one’s self-identity.
Therefore, while needing to paying special attention to language learners’ anxiety reactions,
language teachers have a crucial role in helping their students achieve the expected performance
goals in the target language. Another factor that could potentially lead to language anxiety is
simply the poor command of the target language. This problem could be attributed to linguistic
barriers and obstacles language learners encounter in learning and using the target language. In the
current study, using a qualitative, semi-structured interview and the focus-group discussion
technique, the researcher aims to investigate the factors that contribute to language anxiety among
Arab language learners. It focuses on learners both within the classroom setting and without, i.e.
in the social context, and recommends a number of approaches to manage and overcome this
problem.
Keywords: language anxiety, language learners, classroom anxiety, anxiety reaction, situation-
specific anxiety

Cite as: Hakim, B. M. (2019). A Study of Language Anxiety among English Language Learners
in Saudi Arabia. Arab World English Journal, 10 (1) 64-72.
DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.24093/awej/vol10no1.6

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A Study of Language Anxiety among English Language Learners in Saudi Arabia Hakim

Introduction
The worldwide popularity and the increasing, even exponential, rise of English as an international
language has made the demand to learn it (with good communication skills) all the more essential
and inescapable. However, learners of the English language frequently face and report emotions
such as fear, stress, nervousness, and anxiety in their journey towards attaining their desired
competence and communicative skills in the language. In some extreme instances, it leads to
learners’ complete inability, occasioned by fear, even to attempt to speak English at all (what is
oftentimes termed a “mental block” against learning a language).

In their Introduction to Psychology, Hilgard, Atkinson, & Atkinson (1979), discuss anxiety
as a psychosomatic concept, commonly considered by psychologists as “a state of uneasiness and
fear, a vague anxiety that is specifically associated with the particular object or phenomenon”.
Language anxiety is, in another interpretation offered by Horwitz (2001), a spontaneously shown
reaction by the majority of language learners that negatively impacts the language learning process
and has come to represent one of the most studied variables in all of psychological themes of
education.

Language anxiety can inhibit all kinds of learning processes, but, when it is specifcally
associated with learning a second or foreign language, it is called “second/foreign language
anxiety”. According to Tanveer (2007), studying learners’ reactions operating under anxiety is of
paramount importance, since it enables the teacher to help them, in turn, to achieve the required
performance goals in the target language. Discussing, and trying to answer, two fundamental
questions should precede any discussion of language anxiety. First, what ‘is’ language anxiety?
And, why is it considered so important in learning and speaking a new language? Second, how,
and if, is foreign language anxiety different from the language anxiety experienced in the process
of learning the first language? There are two approaches that account for the onset of language
anxiety. In the first one, language anxiety is a comprehensive concept of anxiety and a rudimentary
human reaction possibly induced by numerous amalgamations of situational factors (McIntyre,
1995; McIntyre & Gardner, 1989, as cited in Tittle, 1997). According to Horwitz et al. (1986), a
feeling of awkwardness experienced by a ‘shy’ student when delivering a short speech in front of
an entire class can be regarded as language anxiety; it is an intrinsic mode of anxiety triggered by
the combination of language anxiety and other anxieties that results in an odd type of internal
hindrance in language learning. In the other viewpoint, it is argued that there is an element inherent
to the language learning experience that turns certain individuals anxious and fearful of language
learning. When this nervousness or fear occurs in a language-learning context, it is termed
language anxiety. Psychologists tend to use the term “anxiety reaction” to separate people who are
usually fearful in general circumstances from those who become nervous only in language-specific
situations (Horwitz et al., 1986).

The obstacle that language anxiety poses is an additional trial to both language learners
and their teachers/educators. The increasing modern-day pressure to communicate ‘only in
English’ in language classes leads to anxiety in some student, since, for them, it exposes their
weaknesses in front of their fellow learners. Therefore, in order to support learners to develop their
communication skills in the target language effectively, it is essential to take learner anxiety into
particular consideration in modern language classroom settings.
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Definitions and Types of Anxiety

In psychology, anxiety is a psychosomatic concept generally defined as a condition of anxiety and
fear and a vague apprehension usually linked to an object and or phenomenon (Hilgard, Atkinson,
& Atkinson, 1971; cited in Scovel, 1991). Many language learners experience anxiety as a
spontaneous and inevitable reaction. This reaction has a negative effect on language learning and
has, thus, come to constitute one of the most vastly scrutinized variables among the psychological
themes of education (Horwitz, 2001). Psychologists distinguish three different types of anxiety,
i.e. trait anxiety, state anxiety, and situation-specific anxiety. For Scovel (1991), trait anxiety is a
relatively unwavering and enduring personality-specific quality and a tendency to be anxious most
of the time. State anxiety, on the other hand, refers to a fleeting state and/or a reaction to a specific
anxiety-provoking stimulus such as an important test (Spielberger, 1983; cited in Horwitz, 2001).
Situation-specific anxiety refers to the insistent and multi-dimensional nature of some anxieties
(MacIntyre & Gardner, 1991a; cited in Horwitz, 2001 ) that can be provoked by an explicit type
of state or stimulus such as speaking before an audience in public (stage fright), certain interactive
exams, and classroom participation (Ellis, 1994).

Foreign language anxiety

Anxiety experienced while learning a second or foreign language is called “second/foreign
language anxiety”. According to Horwitz & Young (1991), it is a composite and multi-faceted
phenomenon. McIntyre & Gardner (1994) believe it to be “a particular state of tension, anxiety,
uneasiness, and fear linked with the provocation of the involuntary nervous system”. In their study,
Horwitz et al. (1986) observed that anxiety is mostly associated with the two basic and interactive
skills of learning a foreign language, i.e. listening and speaking. This might be due to the fact that,
in any linguistic communicative interaction, it is impossible to separate these skills from one
another.

Cause(s) of language anxiety

For Schwartz (1972; cited in Scovel, 1991), language anxiety is associated with learners’ self-
consciousness and a fundamental internal stimulus such as individual self-perceptions about other
people (peers, teachers, etc.). It could be observed in various situations that require communicating
in the target language and expressing one’s individual opinions using the foreign/second language.
Among other reasons, language anxiety could be possibly caused by an incompetence to use the
target language and, also, a lack of knowledge (Sparks & Ganschow, 1991; cited in Horwitz, 2001).
Overall, it may be due to the linguistic difficulties language learners face while learning and using
the target language.

Within a social context, language anxiety may be caused by external stimuli (Schwartz,
1972; cited in Scovel, 1991) and could include diverse social and cultural settings, predominantly
situations where second language (L2) and foreign language (FL) learning takes place. The target
language is, in other words, an alternative communicative tool, and, consequently, as in any human
interaction, there is a tendency in some individuals to experience anxiety (Gardner 1990; cited in
Horwitz & Young , 1991). The assumed public identity of the L2/FL speakers, the power relations
and hierarchies between/among them, and many other issues and factors (such as gender
discrimination) could play a big role in causing language anxiety. Investigating the factors that

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cause anxiety helps language teachers to lessen fear and nervousness in the classroom setting and
create a learning environment that contributes to learners’ ability to acquire the target language.

Method
In order to fulfill the objective of this study, a qualitative semi-structured interview and the focus-
group discussion technique were used. The present study aims to investigate the factors conducive
to language anxiety in EFL (English as a Foreign Language) students of the English Language
Institute (ELI) of King Abdulaziz University in Jeddah in both classroom settings and in the social
context. The participants included sixty EFL (the foundation year program) students of level 102
at the ELI. The participants were selected randomly from five different 102 classes.

Findings
Studies conducted on foreign language anxiety have invariably confirmed its negative effect on
the process of learning and particularly speaking the second/foreign language and, in order to
become a successful foreign language speaker, students need to overcome this problem (Horwitz
et al., 1986). It has been observed that language anxiety is closely associated with how learners
perceive the language learning process, their self-consciousness about the language and how they
should be acting in any communicative setting, and also the linguistic complications they have to
deal with in their interactions in English.

Anxiety-inducing factors
In this study, we observed extreme language anxiety among the majority of Saudi Arabian
participants ,which, compared with participants in other similar research projects in the related
field, it appears to be considerably higher. Jones (2004) believes that there are social aspects related
to the anxiety reactions of language learners . In our study, the pressure to achieve native-like
mastery proved a further major cause of anxiety for language learners. Strict and tense classroom
settings was found to be another important cause of their language anxiety. As Tsui (1996) states,
teachers need to take into consideration that a language classroom itself could become an
extremely anxiety-inducing environment for students. It is possible that, at least, for some language
learners, the formal setting of a language classroom, where strictly correct and accurate use of the
target language is the rule, is a key source of anxiety and fear. The findings of this study indicate
that the participants believed a friendly attitude and a relaxed classroom setting helped lessen
anxiety. On the other hand, learners tend to feel more nervous and anxious in classroom settings
where older, more traditional learning arrangements and methods, such as the audio-lingual
language teaching method according to which learners are required to reiterate ‘tedious’ drills and
activities, are followed. Language learners feel less nervous and anxious in classroom settings that
focus on student-centered and interactive activities. Giving presentations and lectures before an
audience of students and the teacher has also been found to be an extremely anxiety-inducing
situation. These demotivating teacher-centered methods have been reported to make the classroom
environment extremely formal and taxing for learners.

As Koch and Terrell (1991), Young (1990), and Price (1991) report, the majority of
participants find oral presentation the most anxiety-inducing activity in language classrooms.
There is a common perception among language teachers that oral presentations help learners to
feel less anxious, while, in reality, it does the exact reverse by making them, among other things,
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go through the stressful situation of having to remember what they have memorized (Tanveer,
2007).

In Jones’ research (2004), the fear of making errors and the subsequent uneasiness before
the classmates constituted the main cause of language anxiety for most of the learners. Language
learners feel anxiety for the fear of appearing incompetent in front of their peers. This fear, which
can sometimes amount to a paralyzing terror, of committing errors poses a big obstacle before
speaking and using a foreign language in classroom settings. In Gregersen and Horwitz’s (2002)
study of the correlation between language learning and perfectionism, a strong link was found
between students’ fear of making errors and their concern to maintain a positive image before an
audience of their teachers and peers/fellow learners.

The socio-cultural context

The social context, including beliefs, social values and status, and a feeling of being alienated can
also impact language anxiety. In this study, social factors proved as important as linguistic factors
in triggering language anxiety.

Experiencing the new language

Having limited access and exposure to adequate speaking resources and opportunities, as is the
case in Saudi Arabia, makes learners undergo difficulties in the development of their
communicative capability, which, in turn, hinders interaction.

Cultural differences
‘Cultural differences’ is another, often underestimated, cause of classroom anxiety. Tanveer
(2007) believes that a failure to adapt to, and a feeling of estrangement with, the culture of the
target language leads to increased anxiety. Most participants tend to do all they can to evade public
interaction so as to avoid losing face, which goes on to corroborate Jones’ thesis that ‘language
anxiety is an apprehension of saving face in different cultures’ (2004). Language anxiety can,
however, be a culture-bound and culture-specific phenomenon, the reception and perception of
which can vary from culture to culture.

Social Status and self-image

Participants’ social statuses can have a remarkable impact on their interactions (Giles, Bourhis, &
Taylor, 1977, as cited in Carrier, 1999). Also, the findings of the current study reveal that speakers’
feeling of unease and inferiority while talking to someone they assume to be higher in status may
result in stress or anxiety. According to Pica (1987), a, real or assumed, status gap between learners
and teachers could be one further cause of anxiety for learners. It goes on to show that a lack of
confidence in one’s linguistic competence leads to low self-confidence and anxiety on the side of
learners in their interactions with speakers who have a good command of the language, e.g. native
speakers (Peirce, 1995). The fear to interact in cultural settings, which is partly due to speakers’
inadequate linguistic capabilities, could result in poor communication. For such learners, speaking
a foreign language is a problem because of the apprehension of losing their positive image or self-
identity. Many researchers confirm social anxiety as a feeling of losing individual self-confidence
which is intensely ingrained in the first language (Guiora, 1972; Peirce, 1995, 1984; Rardin, 1988;
Leary, 1982; cited in Ohata, 2005).
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Managing with stress and anxiety in language classes

Language anxiety has an important, though detrimental, role in the learning process of
communicating in a foreign language. Researchers, in their studies on language anxiety, have
proposed different approaches to deal with this multi-faceted problem. A popular solution is to
have more casual and less formal classroom settings with a friendlier atmosphere. According to
the constructivist theory of language learning, such classroom settings provide language learners
with an environment where students can afford to make mistakes without looking inept. They also
help educators create an environment in which learners feel positive, accomplished, and
comfortable while using the language and avoid setting up activities that could make students feel
neglected. Others propose a truly unrestrained interactive classroom setting where learners are
given a chance to participate in spite of their insufficient language competence. Interactive
techniques such as drama and role-play activities could help students feel safe in an invented
setting with a pretended identity.

Tanveer (2007) puts forward the idea that, in order to reduce anxiety, instructions should
be thorough and clear and it should also be guaranteed that the learners have adequate ideas and
preparation to accomplish the tasks. Teachers have a critical role in making the classroom a more
comfortable, welcoming, and cheerful learning zone and a less anxiety-inducing place. Tanveer
goes on to suggest that instructors should establish an environment where making mistakes while
learning a language is not only acceptable but welcome. In fact, teachers should regard mistakes
as learning opportunities and welcome, and introduce, them as a norm in classroom settings.
According to this approach, teachers are encouraged to offer counteractive and constructive
feedback on errors rather than disturb and correct students repeatedly with outdated and
unconstructive methods such as on-the-spot error correction, etc. Instead, teachers, for instance,
can take cloistered notes of the errors made by learners and then address them collectively in front
of the entire class without mentioning the name of a specific learner. Also, in order to effectively
deal with language anxiety, individual learners’ self-perceptions and beliefs should be taken into
consideration.

In the same vein, teachers are invited to point out to the learners that feeling uncomfortable
and anxious while speaking a foreign language is common and acceptable so as to establish a
friendlier environment that welcomes student participation. Tanveer (2007) believes this strategy
would unburden students and help them come to the realization that the state of anxiety is common
among most of the learners and is not associated with any particular individual. According to Price
(1991), this method helps teachers to alleviate, if not completely eliminate, an antagonistic, tense,
and judgmental classroom setting and make students feel better and more self-confident. This way,
students feel more optimistic, and at the same time less concerned, with their individual personas
and consequently sum up their own strong points and build upon them. Onwuegbuzie et al. (1999)
believe, by adopting such strategies, instructors can help students build confidence and self-respect
in their second/foreign language acquisition through reassurance, encouragement, optimistic
support, and understanding.

Language teachers are also encouraged to warn against perfectionism and other ingrained
traditional beliefs and habits and instill the idea, in the students, that learning a language requires
working tolerantly and making a lot of mistakes on the way. They should also avoid setting the
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native speaker’s English (pronunciation, vocabulary, etc.) as a benchmark. Announcing feedback

collectively, in the form of grades and marks, is another practice that instructors should refrain
from conducting for its adverse effects.

The vital role of the language teachers

Language instructors have a great role in moderating, or intensifying, the anxiety experienced by
students in classroom settings (Brandl, 1987; Horwitz et al., 1986; Price, 1991; Young, 1990, 1991;
cited in Onwuegbuzie et al., 1999). Teachers’ views concerning the process of language learning
and teaching, their response to learners’ spoken mistakes, and the way they create a taxing
environment in the classroom have been reported to impact second/foreign language anxiety
(Tanveer, 2007). Many learners have also reported teachers’ patronizing and insensitive attitude
and treatment of learners, particularly when committing errors and mistakes, as a factor that
adversely affects their willingness to participate in classroom activities. According to Jones (2004),
inappropriate treatment of learner errors, and the subsequent shame experienced by the student
before his/her peers, can have a lasting impact on a student’s learning.

Suggestions for language teachers

Language anxiety can intensely affect the course of language learning and teaching. Therefore,
language teachers, as the agents directly responsible for students’ achievement or lack thereof,
need to know that anxiety can hinder a language learner’s progress and try to help them overcome
nervousness and anxiety. Therefore, language teachers’ awareness of the seriousness of learner
anxiety, and taking due measures to address it, is crucial in teaching and learning a foreign
language.
The findings of the current study, and similar studies in this field, include the following
suggestions:

1) Language teachers should be aware of the reality of anxiety in language learners and classroom
settings and are expected to implement expeditious and practical tactics to manage and overcome
this problem.
2) A comprehensive methodology, that provides students with more opportunities to practice
speaking skills, should be introduced to, and implemented in, the classroom setting in order to
assist language learners with inadequate exposure to the English language.
3) A friendly, relaxed, and casual classroom setting coupled with teachers’ approachable,
cooperative, and supportive behavior should be created so that students feel more comfortable
while speaking, and in general interacting, in the classroom. This could help minimize, if not
wholly eliminate, the impact of the social and status gap between students and teachers in a
substantial way (Tanveer, 2007).
4) Teachers should have the insight to encourage learners who are afraid of making speaking errors
to feel free to make as many errors as they like and instill the idea in their students that committing
errors is indispensable to attaining good communication skills. Teachers should refrain from
techniques such as on-the-spot error correction, as such techniques result in more anxiety, and,
instead, should opt for methods that would invoke the least defensive reactions from students.
5) In order to decrease students’ fear and anxiety, teachers should give priority to using formative
assessment (assessment for learning) and feedback instead of summative assessment, since the
latter, as it is often conducted collectively and in public, can generate a stressful situation.
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6) Language teachers need to talk openly about anxiety in the class and take proper actions to
minimize it as much as possible.
7) In order to help students feel positive, successful, and accomplished in their learning, language
teachers should avoid complicated and obstructive activities in the early stages. Instead, they are
required to start with simple tasks so that novice learners feel contented and comfortable in their
participation in the language class.
8) In classroom activities, excessive self-consciousness should be obliterated through proper
strategies. Teachers should introduce strategies, such as role play, drama, etc. and make teaching,
and learning, as indirect as possible.
9) Teachers’ familiarity with learners’ cultural background and showing genuine interest in their
educational history and background can help them better understand, and treat, students’ anxiety
issues. It also leads to a positive atmosphere of wholesome attachment and collaboration in the
classroom and helps students to practice their speaking skills assertively and without anxiety.

Conclusion
Since teachers have an important role in the acquisition of a foreign language, examining their
principles and perspective with regard to learning and teaching ESL/EFL was considered
inevitable by the researcher. The working hypothesis of the study was that language anxiety can
be caused by, and attributed to, learners’ own self-consciousness due to their personal perceptions,
language learners’ individual problems, differences in learners’ cultural background and that of
the target language, variations in the social status of interlocutors, and the fear of losing self-
identity. Therefore, in order to manage the pressure, anxiety and nervousness in their classes, it is
essential for language teachers to have in-service training courses on general psychology,
including specific courses on language anxiety.

About the Author:

Dr. Badia Hakim is the Vice Dean of English Language Institute (Women’s Main campus) King
Abdulaziz University Jeddah – KSA. She has a PhD in Understanding Reactions to ICT Adoption
in Teaching English for Specific Purposes from University of London- United Kingdom. She has
been supervising the academic and administrative affairs at ELI since 2007.
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2374-9933

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