Examining EFL Students’ Foreign Language Speaking Anxiety: The Case at a Turkish State University

The present study examines EFL students’ Foreign Language Speaking Anxiety (FLSA) and its possible reasons as well as some solutions to it. The participants were 147 Turkish students at the English preparatory program of a state university. A questionnaire was administered to the students from each proficiency level to explore their FLSA. The findings revealed that EFL students experience a moderate level of FLSA. Furthermore, female students seem to be highly anxious while speaking. Another striking point is that students’ FLSA increases when communicating with a native speaker compared to with class members. As to the proficiency level of the students, FLSA does not seem to rest upon this aspect. This study concludes that encouraging EFL learners to participate in authentic contexts such as study abroad programs and addressing FLSA by appealing to both genders could be more contributory to language development and communicative competence of the learners.