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Chapter 1

INTRODUCTION

Background of the Study

Learning English may be challenging to most learners and to

some that creates a gap between being comfortable with the use

of the native tongue rather than expressing ideas using the

English language. According to Horwitz, there is a definite

connection between what they have identified as language anxiety

and performance in the classroom.

Anxiety, as an important effective variable, has been found

to be a significant factor adversely affecting the language

learning (Aydin, 2008).

English is the most commonly spoken language in the world,

it is mostly used as the medium of instruction, the language

of media industry, and also the official language of most

countries around the globe. Thus, learning the language displays

confidence and creates impact on the lives of the learners both

inside and outside the classroom. Students who are confident

language learners are more likely to participate and engage to

various social activities and interpersonal venues. However,

language anxiety may result to insufficient command of the target

language (Sparks and Ganschow; cited in Horwitz, 2001:118).

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Once the level of language acquisition and the mastery of the

language are highly satisfactorily, one may appear smart and

credible in the target audience. Language learners with

self-confidence and low anxiety level are more likely to succeed

in foreign and second language acquisition (Krashen 1989).

Moreover, as humans, our primary medium for communicating

with each other is language. As research says that anxiety may

affect the quality of an individual’s communication or

willingness to communicate (Young 1991:58).

In addition, despite of the best and dedicated efforts,

language teachers may still fail to aid the needs of anxious

students because the type of learning anxiety is not understood.

Consideration of language learners’ anxiety reactions by a

language teacher is considered highly important in order to

support them to achieve the envisioned performance goals in the

target language (Tanveer, 2007)

In this study, the researcher aims to determine the

relationship of the English language learning anxieties such

as communication anxiety, fear of negative evaluation, test

anxiety and anxiety in the English classroom of Grade 11 students

of Handumanan National High School in relation to their academic

performance.
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Theoretical Framework

This study was anchored on Sigmund Freud’s Psychoanalytic

Theory of Anxiety and Horwitz, Horwitz and Copes Theory of

Foreign Language Anxiety.

As proposed by Freud (1963) who defined anxiety as 1) a

specific non-pleasurable quality, 2) efferent discharge

phenomena and 3) the perception of a more complex definition

as an unpleasant emotional state of condition. It is a feeling

of impending danger that can be based on objective, neurotic

or moral threats.

Based on the Freudian theory, anxiety is at the core of

the psychoanalytic theory of affects (feelings), and from the

beginning of psychoanalytic thought has been recognized as

central to an understanding of mental conflict (for it is through

bad feelings that conflicts are felt and known).

According to Horwitz (2001:113), anxiety is the subjective

feeling of tension, apprehension, nervousness and worry

associated with an arousal of the automatic nervous system. It

is bound to interfere with many types of learning and it is only

logical that this would also apply to second language learning.

Anxiety as perceived intuitively by language learners,

negatively influences language learning and has been found to

be one of the most highly examined variables in all psychology

and education.
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Horwitz et al. (1986) found that anxious student reveal that

speaking in the foreign language as the most anxiety-producing

experience. The learner may experience anxiety as a result of

fear of ‘losing oneself’ in the target culture.

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Conceptual Framework

The concept of this study was anchored on English Language

Learning Anxiety such as communication anxiety, fear of negative

evaluation, test anxiety, and anxiety in the English classroom

of Grade 11 students of Handumanan National High School in

relation to their academic performance.

Figure 1 on the next page was the conceptual framework that

shows the relationship between Independent and dependent

variables of the study.

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Figure 1. The Schematic Diagram of the Study Showing the Selected

Variables and their Relationships.

English
Language
Learning
Anxiety

Communication
Anxiety The Extent of
English Academic
Fear of Language Performance Intervention
Negative Learning in English
Evaluation Anxiety

Test Anxiety

Anxiety in the
English
Classroom
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Statement of the Problem

The purpose of the study was to determine the relationship

between English Language Learning Anxiety and the Academic

Performance of Grade 11 students in Handumanan National High

School. Specifically, this study sought to answer the following

questions:

1. What is the extent of English Language Learning Anxiety of

Grade 11 students in Handumanan National High School in terms

of:

a. Communication Anxiety

b. Fear of Negative Evaluation

c. Test Anxiety

d. Anxiety in the English Classroom

2. What is the academic performance in English of Grade 11

students in Handumanan National High School?

3. Is there a significant difference among English Language

Learning Anxiety of Grade 11 students in Handumanan National

High School in terms of:

a. Communication Anxiety

b. Fear of Negative Evaluation

c. Test Anxiety

d. Anxiety in the English Classroom

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4. Is there a significant relationship between English Language

Learning Anxiety and Academic Performance in English of Grade

11 students in Handumanan National High School?

Hypotheses of the Study

Based on the given problems, the hypotheses below were

formulated:

1. There is no significant difference between English

language learning anxiety of Grade 11 students in

Handumanan National High School in terms of

communication anxiety, fear of negative evaluation,

test anxiety, and anxiety in the English classroom.

2. There is no significant relationship between English

language learning anxieties and the academic

performance of Grade 11 students in Handumanan

National High School.

Significance of the Study

The result of this study will be significant to the

students, teachers, parents, future researchers, curriculum

planners and school administrators. Through this study, they

will determine the language learning anxieties of the students

in relation to their academic performance in English.

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Students. This study will help the students to determine the

different language learning anxieties that could affect their

academic performance in English. This will arouse students'

interest to participate in class activities and develop their

self-confidence to perform well.

Teachers. This study will help the teachers to be

knowledgeable about the language learning anxieties that could

affect the students’ performance in English. This will help them

to enhance students’ performance and will integrate language

learning anxieties to decide on the teaching strategies and

methods that would be best for the teaching process.

Parents. This study will make the parents be aware about the

possible language learning anxieties that affects their

children’s academic performance in English. The information to

be acquired will serve as a guide for the parents to provide

the appropriate support that they should give to their children.

Curriculum Planners. This study will provide the curriculum

planners significant and adequate information on the

relationship of English language learning anxieties and the

academic performance of the student. This will provide them the

basis in planning for content, methodologies, learning

materials, instruction and evaluation to be used that will

enhance the academic performance of the students in English.

This would allow them to make or enhance new and existing

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strategies to address the language learning anxieties that

affect the students’ performance in English.

To School Administrators. This study will help the school

administrators to innovate ways in providing further venue for

the students in enhancing their performance in English. This

will benefit them to provide quality education in developing

the students’ academic performance with the integration of

language learning anxieties.

The Future Researchers. This study will serve as a basis for

the future researchers in identifying the relationship between

English language learning anxieties and the academic performance

of the students in English.

Scope and Limitations of the Study

This study aims to determine the relationship between English

language learning anxieties such as communication anxiety, fear

of negative evaluation, test anxiety and anxiety in English

classroom and the academic performance of the students in

English.

This study is limited only to the Grade to the Grade 11 students

of Handumanan National High School who are officially enrolled

for the first semester school year 2017-2018.

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Definition of Terms

For better understanding of this study, the following terms

were defined conceptually and operationally:

Academic Performance. Conceptually, refers to the outcome of

education- the extent to which a student, teacher, or institution

has achieved their educational goals, according to, Journal of

Education and Practice (2015), cited in Annie, Howard and Mildred

(1996).

Operationally, academic performance will be used to measure

the students’ performance in the English subject specifically

to Oral Communication in Context.

Communication Anxiety. Conceptually, refers to the fear of

public speaking, also known as stage fright. It is a nervousness

before, during an appearance before an audience (Arroyo 2013).

Operationally, communication anxiety is used in this study

as the learners’ personal knowledge that they will have

difficulty understanding others and making themselves

understood in terms of manifestations such as difficulty in

speaking in public, listening or learning a spoken utterance.

English Classroom Anxiety. Conceptually, refers to a feeling

of discomfort, irritability, fear, fright, and distress,

experience in the English classroom environment.

Operationally, English classroom anxiety is used in this

study as the learners’ anxieties inside the English classroom

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where factors such as learning activities, teachers’ methodology

and even peer pressure may contribute and could affect the

learners’ academic performance in English.

Fear of Negative Evaluation. Conceptually, it refers to

apprehension about others’ evaluations, distress over their

negative evaluations, avoidance of evaluative situations, and

the expectation that others would evaluate oneself negatively

(Kumar 2015).

Operationally, fear of negative evaluation is use in this

study as the apprehension of the learners about other people’s

evaluation, avoidance of evaluative situations and the

expectations that others may evaluate them negatively that would

affect their performance in English.

Language Anxiety. Conceptually, defined as a distinct complex

of self-perceptions, beliefs, feelings and behaviours, related

to the classroom language learning arising from the uniqueness

of language learning experience (Horwitz, Horwitz and Cope

(1986).

Operationally, language anxiety will be measured in terms of

communication anxiety, fear of negative evaluation, test anxiety

and English classroom anxiety.

Test Anxiety. Conceptually, it refers to the subjective

experience of intense physiological, cognitive, and/ or

behavioral symptoms of anxiety before or during the test-taking

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situations that interferes with test performance (Sakwa Miller,

2015).

Operationally, test anxiety is used in this study as the

learners’ experience when taking formal test or other evaluative

situations.
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Chapter 2

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE AND STUDIES

This chapter presents the review of related literature and

studies conducted before which are related to present study.

They are reviewed to provide insights and proper perspective

and understanding.

English Language Learning Anxiety in the Learning Process

It is undeniable that English language is the most important

and prevalent language worldwide. It also forms a paramount

importance in the professional and academic lives of students

from different disciplines (Al-Tamimi & Shuib, 2009; Teng &

Sinwongsuwat, 2015).

Hilgard, Atkinson, & Atkinson, (1971) defines anxiety as a

psychological construct that is described as a state of

apprehension, a vague fear that is only indirectly associated

with an object.

McIntyre (1999) states that language anxiety as the worry and

negative emotional reaction aroused when learning a second

language. McIntyre and Gardner (1993) see language anxiety a

learned emotional response.

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Young (1994) states that anxieties related to the learner

which eventually causes anxiety include low self-esteem,

self-perceived low level of ability, communication

apprehension, lack of group membership and attitudes and beliefs

about language learning.

In the social context, language anxiety may be experienced

due to extrinsic motivators (Schwartz, 1972; cited in Scovel,

1991:16)

The Encyclopedia Britannica 2008 ultimate reference suite

provides the following definition for anxiety: “a feeling of

dread, fear, or apprehension, often with no clear

justification”. Moreover, it has been defined by different

scholars in the field of language learning and educational

psychology.

Toth (2010) also discussed this more recently and explained

that language anxiety can be placed into the wider category of

social anxieties because language learning occurs in a social

setting and involves interpersonal communication. Toth

explained that the state/trait approach to understanding anxiety

assumes that anxiety is a stable characteristic of an individual

over many different situations. He explains it, this view asserts

that certain situations are more anxiety-evoking than others,

and that the types of situations that cause anxiety differ from

person to person.
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Anxiety is one of the difficulties that many high school

students are facing in learning and speaking the English

language. In teaching and learning the English language, the

problems of the students’ language anxiety remain one of the

greatest obstacle teachers have to overcome (Prishtine 2016).

According to Owens, Stevenson, Hadwin & Norgate, (2012),

anxiety has been linked to poor academic performance. High levels

of academic anxiety can negatively affect working memory.

English learning anxiety, one of key emotional factors, is

considered as a key obstacle to learning English and has a

significant impact on English learning, “A study of Tianjin

Vocational Institute in China (2014)”

Language learning anxiety may be experienced due to

linguistic difficulties foreign language learners face in

learning and using the target language (Hashemi and Abbasi,

2013). He also reported language learners to be less anxious

and stressful in environments which emphasize collaborative

activities among the teachers and the students.

Anxiety is said to overlap with different types of learning,

but when it is linked to learning a second or foreign language,

it is coined as “a second or foreign language anxiety”. Language

anxiety has been considered as one of the most important aspects

of language learning, and a plethora of research have been

published to investigate language anxiety since 2000s

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(Kamarulzaman, Ibrahim, Yunus, & Ishak, 2013). Likewise, anxiety

has been one of the most extensively researched areas in the

in the last few decades (Amiri, 2015)

Anxiety has been a matter of considerable interest in language

education setting for educators since it is a major obstacle

to foreign language learning that the learners need to overcome

(Wu, 2010; Zheng, 2008). Horwitz (2001) asserts that one-third

of all foreign language learners experience some level of

language anxiety. Foreign language anxiety is an important

factor that influences one’s level of achievement in foreign

language learning (Dordinejad and Ahmadabad, 2014).

Many language instructors and students are unaware of the

existence of language learning anxiety (Worde, 2003). This can

create feelings of isolation in students if they believe they

are alone in their situation. For example, a study of over 400

university-level foreign language students and eight teachers

found that approximately two thirds of the students experienced

language anxiety, but most of the teachers did not think it was

a prevalent or serious problem (Trang, Baldauf, & Moni, 2013).

Foreign language anxiety can occur if students are exposed

to several negative experiences in a foreign language context

(Chen and Chang, 2004; Sparks et al., 2000; Hewitt and

Stephenson, 2012; Horwitz et al., 1986; Horwitz et al., 2010;

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MacIntyre and Gardner, 1991; MacIntyre, 1999; Saadi, 2009;

Sparks and Ganschow,2007).

The main cause of anxiety stems from “learners’ unrealistic

or erroneous beliefs about language learning” (Zhang and Zhong,

2012). While some learners think they lack the aptitude or gift

to learn a new language (Price, 1991), some believe that two

years or less is sufficient for them to become proficient in

another language (Horwitz, 1988) without estimating the

difficulty of the language learning task, and therefore, they

could possibly experience conflict resulted in anxiety. Learners

may also have erroneous beliefs and expectations about language

standards. Since foreign language learners are exposed to the

expert language of native speakers from tapes, videos and

instructors (Kitano, 2001), they “set their standards as high

as the level of native speakers”, which causes anxiety because

of failing to achieve the high standards (Zhang and Zhong, 2012).

In an investigation about English Language Anxiety-

Experiences of Undergraduate Students in Bangladesh (August,

2013) researched that the main sources of anxiety are presenting

before the class, making mistakes, losing face, inability to

express, fear of failure, test anxiety, incomprehensible input,

inability to comprehend, remembering target rules and grammar,

poor pronunciation, lack of vocabulary and poor knowledge of

English language. Problems in expressing oneself properly in

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English are commonly expressed by majority of second language

learners. Gregeresen (2005) argues that learners who feel

anxious in their second language learning may find their study

less enjoyable (as cited in Mahmoodzadeh, 2012 p.467).

Recent studies conducted to investigate the relationship

between foreign language anxiety and language performance

revealed that language anxiety was the major factor which

negatively affect language achievement (Mesri, 2012; Al-Shboul,

Ahmad, Nordin, & Rahman, 2013; Toghraee & Shahrokhi, 2014; Lian

& Budin, 2014; Gopang, Bugio, & Pathan, 2015).

Cheraghian et al. (2008) conducted a research investigating

the relationship between test anxiety and educational

performance among university students. Their findings pointed

out that most of the students had low and moderate levels of

anxiety.

According to Waseem and Jibeen (2013), instrumental

motivation is a significant contributor towards second language

anxiety, including fear of negative evaluation, speech

apprehension, fear of tests and anxiety of English classes.

Source of English Language Learning Anxiety

Previous research studies have shown that language anxiety

is caused due to some psychological, social, and cultural

factors. The fact that language anxiety is a psychological

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construct, it most likely stems from the learner’s own ‘self’,

i.e., as an intrinsic motivator (Schwartz, 1972; cited in Scovel

1991: 16). Again, language anxiety may be a result as well as

a cause of insufficient command of the target language (Sparks

and Ganschow; cited in Horwitz, 2001). That is to say it may

be experienced due to linguistic difficulties that learners may

face in learning and using the target language. Within social

contexts, language anxiety may be experienced due to extrinsic

motivators (Schwartz, 1972; cited in Scovel, 1991: 16). Also,

the target language is a representation of another cultural

community; there is a predisposition among some people to

experience such anxiety because of their own concerns about

ethnicity, foreignness, and the like (Gardner cited in Horwitz

& Young, 1991).

Cited in Khattak, Jamshed, Ahmad, Baig (2011), Social status

of the speaker and the interlocutor, a sense of power relations

between them, and gender could also be important factors in

causing language anxiety for speakers. Besides, there could be

some other factors behind language anxiety of the learners. These

may be related to teaching methods and learning environments

especially in poor settings such as ours (i.e. Pakistan’s). A

further detailed investigation about these factors could

potentially assist language teachers to alleviate anxiety in

the classroom setting and to make the classroom environment less

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anxiety-provoking and hence to improve learners’ performance

in the target language.

Communication Anxiety

A related study looks at language anxiety among English

language learners in higher education, the majority of the

learners interviewed report that they are very nervous when

speaking in English and that they face great difficulty to

express themselves in English (Noor Hashimah Abdul Aziz, 2007)

cited in a Journal Language Studies, Vol. 12(1), Special Section,

January 2012, “Exploring English Language Learning and Teaching

in Malaysia”.

In a study of English language anxiety among 1389 middle

school, high school, and university level students in Saudi

Arabia, Alrabai (2014) found communication apprehension to be

a common source of anxiety, specifically over fear of being

unable to understand the teacher and having to speak in language

class.

This area in language anxiety is an important area of research

firstly because the research suggests that “anxiety... may

affect the quality of an individual’s communication or

willingness to communicate” (Young 1991:58), but also because

it affects a large number of students in higher institutions

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(Campbell & Ortiz 1991:159) cited in the study of Rebecca

Humphries: Language Anxiety in International Students (2011).

Based on the findings of Social and Behavioral Sciences 93

(2013), a study on Speaking Anxiety in a Foreign Language

Classroom in Kazakhstan states that, students felt overwhelmed

by the number of rules that they had to learn in order to speak

English. The focus of learning activity is on form rather than

the overall meaning. The students were anxious because of not

knowing what their teachers were talking about. For some, English

was “a kind of language that I do not know,” (student A1, personal

communication, March 2010).

According to Suleimenova (2012), anxiety is also

associated with high levels of worry that can affect academic

performance. High levels of anxiety can lead to some

consequences, among which uncertainty of one’s abilities,

difficulty in speaking in public, participating in conversations

minimally, failure to initiate conversation, and finally

becoming self-conscious and inhibited speakers. This in turn

can create more anxiety, as foreign language learners may feel

overwhelmed by the fear of failure, by panic, and by the presence

of new material. All these negative factors can influence their

effort to learn English and may consequently impede their

learning, and therefore cause them to do poorly on their speaking

English. The fear of falling short of these expectations can

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hinder the learning process (Rajanthran et al., 2013). Anxious

learners think that their language skills, especially speaking

skills, are weaker than their peers’ (Young, 1991) because of

perceiving speaking ability as the most important. Additionally,

Kitano (2001) states that “speaking skill is usually the first

thing that learners compare with that of peers, teachers and

native speakers”.

In a recent study about Investigating Foreign Language

Learning Anxiety: A case of Saudi Undergraduate EFL Learners

(2016), incorporating English into different disciplines is an

effective way to create competency in English in general and

in written and oral communication in particular. However,

students intend to master their English language might encounter

difficulties during this process. Brown (2007) points out that

one of the major affective factors in learning a second or foreign

language is anxiety. Language anxiety is one of the most powerful

predictors of students’ performance and achievement (Liu &

Huang, 2011).

In Saudi Arabia, English language is one of the affective

factors that lead to success in academic life. However, English

language is not actively used in the daily life because it is

considered as foreign language in the Kingdom and it has a limited

role in the Saudi society (Aljafen, 2013; Alrabai, 2014).

Therefore, certain reforms have been taken by the Saudi

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government to enhance teaching and learning English as a foreign

language. This is because most of Saudi learners have a poor

command and a low proficiency in English language (Alrabai,

2014).

Fear of Negative Evaluation

According to Horwitz and Horwitz and Cope (1986), cited in

the Journal of Language and Linguistic Studies (2016), fear of

negative evaluation is where people worry about what others think

about them.

Fear of testing is another source of anxiety stemming from

classroom environment, where learners are constantly being

evaluated. Students put down a wrong answer because of their

nervousness during the test (Conway, 2007). According to Young

(1991), “in language testing, the greater degree of student

evaluation and the more unfamiliar and ambiguous the test tasks

and formats, the more the learner anxiety is produced”.

In a study of Watsons & Friend (1969) as cited by Rafek et

al. (2013) states that, fear of negative evaluation factor that

students in the language class are afraid to receive negative

feedback not only from other classmates but also from the

lecturers and or instructors, cited in (Watson and Friends,

1969). On this study, cited in the research of Von Worde (2003),

found out that students were very sensitive toward teachers’

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evaluations especially regarding their speaking skills, some

students become frustrated when the teacher corrects the error

before they have time to completely formulate a response.

In addition, according to a research about “Language and

Gender: Fear of Evaluation in Second Language Learning of the

3rd Global Summit of Education (2015), in a Malaysian classroom

context, as evaluation on each other is very common in second

language (English) classes, the students feel frequently

uncomfortable when they think that they are being watched by

both lecturer and peers, cited in (Zhao Nao, 2007). In line with

this study, this interruption would regularly cause students

to lose focus while formulating answers since they become very

sensitive when it comes to error correction in front of their

friends, cited in McIntyre & Gardner (1991). The feeling of

constantly being tested evokes condition whereby every

correction perceived as a sign of failure.

According to Burden (2002), students often underestimate the

time and effort that will be needed to learn English. Students

may be afraid of making mistakes in public, but the more specific

fear is surely negative evaluation in the form of the real or

imaged ridicule of their peers, suggested by McVeigh (2001).

Zhao (2007) in her study of anxiety among high school students

in China found that the fear of negative evaluation was the most

prevalent cause of anxiety, boys experienced more anxiety of

 26

English classes than girls did, and anxiety of English classes

and tests was a debilitative factor in language learning.

Consequently, she concluded that highly anxious learners do not

obtain much achievement; and their low achievement causes them

to be more anxious in the process of language learning.

Furthermore, the evaluation or criticisms from peers is also

a major cause of anxiety (Conway, 2007). Young (1991) found that

anxious learners thought their skills in language were weaker

than their peers’ and they were looking down at them. In addition,

anxious learners are scared because of a fear of appearing

awkward, foolish and incompetent in the eyes of their peers

(Jones, 2004).

In an article entitled “English language learning anxiety

among Iranian EFL freshmen university learners”, Yamat and

Shirani Bidabadi (2012) claimed that while the freshmen

experienced more anxiety on being negatively evaluated, they

found no significant difference in foreign language learning

anxiety regarding gender; nonetheless, the participants were

anxious and nervous in terms of language skills. However, they

stated that males were more anxious in case of communication

and tests whereas females showed more anxiety in English classes

and fear of being negatively evaluated.

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Test Anxiety

According to Bensoussan (2012), has focused specifically on

reducing test anxiety in language classroom. According to him,

even students who do well on classwork and homework can suffer

from test anxiety and do poorly on tests. Frequent poor academic

performance can increase anxiety levels.

Huang (2005) reported that, the causes of provoking test

anxiety might be derived from the educational system.

Joy (2013) also gives the following suggestions for reducing

test anxiety in particular by replacing numerical test scores

by grading system, as well as allowing student involvement in

test development. She believed that both teachers and policy

makers can help reduce the students’ test anxiety. She examined

the level of test anxiety pre-, during- and post-test stages

of second language learners. The results showed that the most

anxiety-provoking stage was during-test stage, followed by the

pre-test stage and the least anxiety-provoking stage was

the post-stage test.

Even if perfectionist students are high achievers,

perfectionists can still suffer from a fear of failure that can

cause high levels of stress (Fletcher & Speirs, & Neumeister,

2012). Thus, it only shows that anxiety can happen to everyone

with no exemption.
 28

Recent research indicates that the problems related to

anxiety enjoy a high frequency, and the test anxiety is one of

these problems (Fathi Ashteini & Emamgholivand, 2002). Test

anxiety includes unpleasant emotional experiences, feelings,

and worries in situations in which one's performance is being

evaluated. The test anxiety refers to any condition which causes

a person to fear about his capabilities the outcome of which

is a decrease in one's ability to cope with stressful conditions

such as test-taking situations. Some researchers believe that

tests cause individuals to study better while others claim that

decreasing the anxiety helps the person to perform better. Thus,

a person suffering from test anxiety can be regarded as the one

who knows the material well but his high anxiety and worry cause

him not to perform satisfactorily while taking an exam

(Cheraghian et al. 2008).

Moreover, as a person assumes a test to be more threatening,

the more anxious and less confident he will be before the

examinations (Fathi Ashteini & Emamgholivand, 2002). Many

factors may cause high test anxiety and accordingly lead to poor

performance on the examinations some of which are as follows:

low self-confidence, insufficient amount of study, negative

attitudes toward school or college, fear of failure in future

exams or the previous experience of failure (Cassady & Johnson,

2002).
 29

English Classroom Anxiety

In a study of Tianjin Vocational Institute in China (2014),

classroom anxiety is a critical variable in learning English,

has always affected learners. Due to weakness of basic knowledge

of students, they have a psychological fear of learning English.

According to Hashemi and Abbasi (2013), the more friendly and

informal the language classroom environment, the less it is

likely to be anxiety provoking. They state that “formal language

classroom setting is a major source of stress and anxiety because

of its demand to be more correct and clearer in using the target

language”.

As cited in Liu (2012), when making a mistake in the language

classroom, students often worry that they are negatively

evaluated, not only by their instructor, but also by their

classmates.

Classroom-related anxiety is associated with instructors,

peers and classroom practices. Instructors who believe their

role is to correct students constantly, who feel that they cannot

have students working in pairs because the class may get out

of control may be contributing to learner language anxiety.

(Zhang and Zhong, 2012).

Language anxiety is a transfer of other more general types

of anxiety. Therefore, test- anxious students feel so because

they fell that they are constantly tested. Also, shy people feel
 30

uncomfortable when asked to communicate publicly. Early studies

adopting such approach yielded conflicting results about the

effects of anxiety on achievement and performance. (Trang, 2012,

p.70).

Teachers are recommended to deal with anxiety-provoking

situations carefully as they are the most involved part in this

process (Al-Khasawneh, 2016). It is extremely important that

English teachers not only recognize that anxiety can be a major

cause of students not being successful in speaking English, but

also assist them to overcome the consequences of anxiety as well.

The prevalence of language learning anxiety has currently

been realized in every English class in Kazakhstan, and the next

step is that important measures should be taken to try to minimize

its negative effects. There is much we do not yet know about

language anxiety as a factor shaping students’ experiences in

foreign language learning, so more research in this area would

be particularly fruitful (Suleimenova, 2015).

Classroom activities have also caused anxiety. As it was

reported in Price's (1991) interview study, many anxious

students fear making mistakes in pronunciation in front of their

peers. Furthermore, oral presentation is the most

anxiety-provoking classroom activity (Koch and Terrell, 1991),

which makes the classroom environment more formal and stressful

for the learners.

 31

According to Yamat and Shirani Bidabadi (2012), teachers

should be supportive of students’ learning processing and create

a safe, relaxed, and friendly classroom atmosphere for them so

that the students feel secured to express themselves orally.

English Language Learning Anxiety

and Academic Performance

There had been attempts to study the different factors related

to English language learning. For instance, a study examined

motivation, anxiety, global awareness and linguistic confidence

about language test performance.

Research in educational settings points out that some

affective factors influence the students' performance

positively or negatively. Anxiety, considered as one of the

factors affecting the students' achievement, includes levels

of communicative anxiety, fear of negative evaluation, test

anxiety, and anxiety of English class or classroom (Amiri, 2015).

Language teachers have observed on numerous occasion the

apprehension and discomfort experienced by many students who

are attempting to acquire and produce and foreign language. This

nervousness or anxiety frequently seems to become particularly

aggravated when students are required to speak in class and

during exams and tests. Such observation has been supported in

the studies of many authors who have examined anxiety in language

students (Wilson, 2006).

 32

Cothran and Ennis (2000) found that students were motivated

by teachers who cared about student learning and showed

enthusiasm. These teachers introduced topics in an interesting

strategy and promoted student involvement by allowing

participation in the selection learning activities. Leandro and

Pelechano (2004) studied the wisdom and achievement motivation

factors have correlation with academic performance and the

motivational factors are more relevant to academic qualification

than contemporary wisdom. Academic achievement is accomplished

by the actual execution of class work in the school setting.

The past research of Ohata (2005), concludes that language

anxiety cannot be defined in a linear manner but rather it can

be better constructed as a complete psychological influenced

by many variables.

With the shifting of research focus from teachers to learners

in SLA (Second Language Acquisition), affective factors, such

as attitudes and motivation, were thought to account a lot for

language learning outcomes. Anxiety, as a very important

affective factor, has been considered very important, and many

studies have been undertaken to explore it since the 1970s. The

major concern of the earlier studies was the causes of language

anxiety. According to Young (1991), there are six potential

causes of language anxiety which include personal and

interpersonal, learner beliefs about language learning,

 33

instructor beliefs about language teaching, instructor-learner

interactions, classroom procedures and language tests (Ciu,

2011).

In terms of cognition, anxious students were found to have

difficulty processing meaningful input, and to be less

responsive to language output (Krashen, 1981, 1982, 1985).

Anxiety has also been shown to have negative influences, both

pervasive and subtle, on the three stages of cognitive

processing: input, processing and output (MacIntyre & Gardner,

1991b, 1994a, 1994b; Bailey, Onwuegbuzie, & Daley, 2000). In

terms of achievement and performance, research has indicated

that both general Foreign Language Anxiety and anxieties about

specific skills, including listening, reading, speaking and

writing, have negative effects on student achievement and

performance (Tran Thi Thu Trang, Karen Moni and Richard B.

Baldauf, Jr, 2012).

Academic Performance in English

Due to the increasing popularity of English language, schools

around the world offered English as one of their courses. Because

of globalization, English gained its prestige as the

international language (Wu, 2013). However, there were several

claims about the difficulty of learning the language. Learning

meant not only knowing words and uttering those in any form of
 34

communication. Learners had to consider its origin and its

culture.

As Yilmaz and Ozkan (2016) posited, learning a language

necessitates learning the culture of its origin. Through this,

students would be able to gain a critical understanding of their

own culture and the culture of the second language they were

learning. Furthermore, they would be able to compare values and

beliefs of the two languages. Thus, to have a successful

intercultural communication, intercultural awareness would be

necessary (Korzilius, van Hoft & Planken, 2007). When students

would not successfully learn the features of English language,

the difficulty of learning it would take place. In fact, several

studies investigated on the challenges encountered by learners

studying English as a second language. Studies revealed that

problems were related to culture, academics, and pressures

(Spencer-Oatey & Xiong, 2006).

When students did not know how and when to use the language,

then failure would likely occur. These difficulties were present

because of lack of knowledge of the language (Wu, 2014).

If one wanted to be competent in English, he/she should orient

himself/herself to this language. Studies revealed that

students’ competence in English served as the basis for students

to succeed academically (Barker, Child, Gallios, Jones & Callen,

1991; Church, 1982; Wintergerst, DeCapua& Verna, 2003; Ying &

 35

Liese, 1991). However, students’ incompetence in English

hampered them to perform well in their academic pursuits (Barker,

Child, Gallois, Jones& Callan, 1991; Robertson, Line, Jones &

Thomas, 2000)

Communication Anxiety
and Academic Performance

Philippine schools and educational managers for many decades

is the deteriorating performance of the students in all subject

areas particularly English, Mathematics, and Science wherein

English language is used. Philippine education took a step in

making a milestone by implementing the K to 12 curriculum in

response to the demand of the 21st century education and to answer

the problem of decreasing performance of Filipinos academically.

This implementation aimed to produce holistically developed

Filipino with 21st century skills including the acquisition of

effective communication skills that focus on using English in

the area of communication (DepEd Official Gazette).

Unfortunately, in communicating orally in English, students

usually encounter varied speech problems that evidently hinder

their communication and eventually negatively affect their

general proficiency and academic performance (Azagra, 2017).

Most students find problems in speaking and expressing

themselves in their Oral Communication classes and experience

 36

stage fright, trembling when speaking, dryness of mouth and

throat, poor eye contact, excessive perspiration, and mental

block. These manifestations belong to the so-called speech

anxiety which affects students‟ social skills, self-esteem, and

academic performance (ERIC Digest, 2000).

Fear of Negative Evaluation

and Academic Performance

The fear of receiving negative criticism is defined as

feeling excessive and constant anxiety (Aydın, 2008; Leary,

1983; Weeks, Heimberg, & Rodebaugh,2008) that one will be

criticized in a negative and hostile way by others (Leary, 1983).

As a result of such beliefs, an individual who has such fears

of being negatively evaluated will avoid social contexts and

situations requiring social performance in order not to

experience rejection, seeking instead behaviors that do not take

him/her out of his safety zone (Rapee & Heimberg, 1997)as cited

in the study of Cetin, Ilhan, Yilmaz (2014).

Apart from the fear of receiving negative criticism, academic

risk-taking behavior is another significant factor exerting

influence on students’ classroom behaviors. Academic

risk-taking behavior is defined as sharing ideas whose accuracy

is not certain, asking questions, and the willingness to attempt

both novel and alternative solutions to problems (Beghetto,

2009). In other words, academic risk-taking behavior comprises

 37

considering both the known and unknown results of participating

in a learning act followed by a decision as to whether s/he should

participate in the learning process or not (Robinson, 2011).

Test Anxiety and Academic Performance

A Research from McGraw-Hill Education, Canada (2019) has

revealed that test anxiety does have a negative impact on student

performance. A study published on Research Gate and titled “The

Relationship Between Test Anxiety and Student Achievement” noted

that the nature of test anxiety is complex, with the fear and

worry associated with the anxiety symptoms actually compounding

the condition for many students. The worry about the anxiety

ultimately leads to the onset of symptoms, which can cause poor

performance on an exam in a post-secondary institution. Students

who are afflicted by test anxiety may sometimes fall victim to

behavioural symptoms, such as procrastination or lack of desire

to prepare for exams. The preparation process can leave them

feeling worried, upset, unhappy or unwell, which is why they

may avoid the experience entirely. This becomes a vicious cycle

which results in a poor testing experience, inadequate results

and an increase in the anxiety associated with taking exams.

For test anxiety, in particular, educators need to be able

to recognize the symptoms of the condition and provide support

as needed. Luckily for those who suffer from test anxiety, the
 38

majority of educators are willing to accommodate the needs of

those with the condition. The study published in The Canadian

Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning notes that

90 percent of instructors are willing to accommodate students

suffering from test anxiety. Simply making these accommodations

can help a student feel more comfortable and increase their

self-confidence levels. When they feel there is a realistic

chance that they can succeed, they will be motivated to do what

is necessary in order to adequately prepare for the exam.

Anxiety in the English Classroom

and Academic Performance

When a classroom is environment is not conducive to taking

appropriate risks, and there are few opportunities to produce

the target language, it is more challenging for students to

develop competence in oral skills. The risk of appearing foolish

in front of one’s peers and teacher, and the risk of feeling

frustrated or ashamed about the inability to communicate

effectively in the target language can inhibit efforts

(NAGAHASHI, 2007).

A study indicates that classroom atmosphere rather than

specific instructional activities may decrease students’

anxiety levels. Palacios (1998) examined the impact of classroom

climate was associated with higher (and lower) levels of anxiety.

Most importantly, the level of perceived teacher support had

 39

the strongest relationship with the students’ feelings of

anxiety. Palacios also found out that classroom level of

affiliation among the learners’ lack of competition and clear

task were associated with lower anxiety levels (Ariola, 2018).

English language as the only medium of classroom instruction

in Nigerian schools has affected students’ academic performances

greatly because the language is foreign to the students.

Student who has problem in communication skill may likely not

do well academically that is why English language is very

important in Nigerian educational system (Kola, Olanipekun,

Sunday, 2013).

In language classes, strategy use had also been proven

valuable to contribute an increase in students’ academic

performance (Alhaisoni, 2012; Chien, 2007; Kirmizi, 2014; Liu,

2014). The study of Chien, (2007) in Taiwan linking rhetorical

strategy use on students’ writing in English revealed that there

was a good effect on students’ academic performance. Also, Liu

(2014) pointed out that training students to employ strategies,

especially, on the use of dictionaries made them become

independent learners and helped them progress in their minor

English subject. Similarly, English as Foreign Language (EFL)

learners of Saudi who maximized the use of different strategies

were found to have likely had high proficiency (Alhaisoni, 2012).

Moreover, when more vocabulary learning strategy was employed

 40

by Turkish EFL learners, the higher their academic achievement

and wider their vocabulary had become (Kirmizi, 2014). With

these, strategy use indeed aid students to improve their academic

performance.

Interventions Concerning English

Language Learning Anxiety

Language anxiety has long been recognized as an obstacle in

second language learning. Khattak, Jamshed, Ahmad, Mirza and

Baig (2011) reported, “Anxiety experienced in learning English

language can be debilitating and may influence students’

achievements of their goals”. In the other words, anxiety is

one of the most significant factors affecting language learning.

Reducing students’ language anxiety can enhance overall

learning experience and improve motivation and achievement. The

challenge for teachers is to help create conditions that allow

students more opportunities to communicate in the target

language in a relaxed, supportive environment (NAGAHASHI, 2007).

Cooperative learning is one strategy that can be successful

in reducing students’ anxiety. Suwantarathip and Wichadee’s

(2010) study examined its use with a group of university

students. Small groups were formed in class with students of

varying backgrounds and ability levels, and they worked together

to complete various language tasks.

 41

The effects of anxiety can progress beyond English class.

Language teachers can help the learners to complain about their

existing anxiety- provoking situation, and they can make the

learning context less stressful. But before either option is

viable, the teacher must first acknowledge the existence of

foreign language anxiety (Horwitz, E, Horwitz, M. & Cope, 2012).

Wong (2009) recommended avoiding certain practices that tend

to cause tension for students, such as pop quizzes, highly

competitive activities, and requiring students to speak in front

of the class without advance preparation. Creating the right

environment. In beginning to consider the recommendations for

reducing anxiety in language classrooms, it is important to

realize that anxiety is not only an internal process. As made

clear by the review of the literature, there are several external

factors such as teaching practices, interactions with

classmates, and overall environment that play a large part in

language anxiety (Cited in the study of Gustafson, 2015).

More recently, Atasheneh and Izadi (2012) addressed listening

comprehension test anxiety and made a similar recommendation

that students be taught to listen for main ideas, as trying to

follow along word for word is an unrealistic expectation and

tends to cause anxiety. They also advised teachers to order test

items from easy to difficult because a difficult first question

can arouse anxiety that impacts students’ performance on the

 42

rest of the exam. In an experimental study, Atasheneh and Izadi

administered two listening comprehension exams to highly anxious

English learners at a university in Iran.

Language teachers have probably identified in their students

many of the negative effects of anxiety in their language class.

This is where students avoid engaging in classroom activities

when they were unprepared, nervous, and refused to interact.

Therefore, teachers should always consider anxiety is

responsible for the learners’ behavior which affects its English

Language performances or achievement. The role of the teachers

in the English language learning anxiety is very vital in the

teaching- learning episodes of the learners. So, teacher may

create or destroy such learning environment. One has to deal

with strategies to reduce stress anxiety for as long as the

learners take place in the school setting where evaluation is

related to performance, there is always a possibility that

anxiety is likely to happen (Ariola, 2018).

 43

Chapter 3

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

This chapter discusses the research design, the subject

and respondents of the study, population and sample size,

sampling techniques, the data gathering instrument, validity

and reliability of the research instrument, data gathering

instrument and the data analysis that were used in this study.

Research Design

This study aimed to assess the English language learning

anxiety of Grade 11 students of Handumanan National High School

as influenced by academic performance in English. Thus, the

researcher used descriptive research design.

Descriptive research was used to describe the

characteristics of a population or phenomenon being studied.

It does not answer the question how, when and why the

characteristics occurred. Rather, it addresses the question

what. It can be either quantitative or qualitative.

The descriptive method of researched was used to describe

the nature of a situation as it exists at the time of the study,

and to explore the causes of a particular phenomenon (Travers,

1978).

According to Gay (1976), this method of research involves

in the collection of data in order to test the hypotheses or

 44

answer questions concerning the current status of the subject

under study.

Subject and Respondents of the Study

The subject and respondents of the study were the Grade 11

students who were officially enrolled in the first semester of

school year 2017-2018.

Population and Sample Size

The sample size of the population was computed using the

formula by Slovin.

𝑁
𝑛=
1 + 𝑁(𝑒)2

where: N = population size

n = sample size
e = margin of error (0.05)

The total population of Grade 11 students was three hundred

twelve (312) and using the Slovin formula, one hundred

seventy-five (175) was the obtained sample size.

𝑁
𝑛=
1 + 𝑁(𝑒)2

312
𝑛=
1 + 312(0.05)2

312
𝑛=
1 + 312(0.0025)

312
𝑛=
1 + 0.78

𝑛 = 175
 45

Sampling Techniques

In determining the number of respondents per strand, the

researcher used the Stratified Random Sampling Technique and

Simple Random Sampling Technique given the formula below:

ni= Ni (n)
N

Where: ni = sample size per strand enrolled

Ni = population per strand enrolled
N = total population
n = total sample size

Table 1 presents the data on the distribution of

respondents.

Table 1. Distribution of Respondents by Strand of Grade 11

Students of Handumanan National High School, First
Semester of S.Y 2017-2018.

Course Enrolled Population (N) Sample (n)

ABM 67 38
CCS 81 45
EIM 96 54
CSS 68 38
Total 312 175

The Data Gathering Instruments

The data gathering instrument that was used to obtain this

study was adapted from the Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety

Scale (FLCAS) designed by Horwitz et al. (1986)

In determining the English language learning anxiety, there

was a 32-item questionnaire categorized into the different

English language anxiety that maybe prevalent among language

 46

learners of English. Such anxieties were identified as

communication anxiety, fear of negative evaluation, test

anxiety, and anxiety in the English classroom classes.

Validity and Reliability of the Research Instrument

The written test questionnaire and rubric were reliable and

standard but the researcher had it subject for face and content

validation. He requested jurors of experts in the field to

validate it using the Criteria for validating the research

instrument by Good and Scates (Serapia, 2015).

For reliability, the test-retest method was used. The

validated questionnaires were administered to 35 students who

are not respondents of the study. An interval of one week was

given before administering the same questionnaires to the same

set of students.

It will be statistically tested using the Spearman Rho

Coefficient using the formula:

Where:

d = is the difference in rank of order between

the variables per person

n = is the number of cases

Ƿ = correlation between the continuous variables x

and y
 47

𝛴d2 = sum of all the difference in rank of order

between the variables per person raised to the
second power

The correlation will be computed between the first and

second test of scores. The r value obtained will be interpreted

as follows:

R Interpretation of Strength of Correlation

< 0.15 very weak

0.15 – 0.24 Weak
0.25 – 0.39 Moderate
0.40 – 0.75 Strong
>0.75 very strong

Data Gathering Procedures

To gather data, the researcher first sought approval from

the Principal and Assistant Principal of Handumanan National

High School. After being approved, the researcher sought

permission from the respondents to conduct a survey.

After the approval was availed, the researcher distributed

the survey forms personally to the respondents which were the

Grade 11 students of Handumanan National High School officially

enrolled for the first semester of S.Y. 2017 – 2018. The survey

forms were collected immediately by the researcher to secure

confidentiality of information after giving enough time for the

respondents of the study to accomplish it.

 48

Data Analyses

After the data are gathered, the researcher tallied,

tabulated, analyzed and interpreted the data.

In the analyses and interpretation of data, different

statistical tools were used:

To answer statement of the problem no. 1 which states, what

is the extent of English language learning anxiety of the grade

11 students in Handumanan National High School, frequency and

mean were used.

The mean score in problem number 1 was interpreted as

follows:

Numerical Scale Descriptive Interpretation

4.20-5.00 Severe
3.40-4.19 High
2.60-3.39 Moderate
1.80-2.59 Mild
1.00-1.79 Low

To answer statement of the problem no.2 which states, what

is the academic performance of the grade 11 students of

Handumanan National High School, frequency and mean were used.

To answer statement of the problem no. 3 which states, is

there a significant difference between English language learning

anxiety of grade 11 students in Handumanan National High School

in terms of communication anxiety, fear of negative evaluation,

test anxiety, and anxiety in the English classroom, Analysis

of Variance (ANOVA) was used with the formula:

 49

𝑀𝑆𝑏
F = 𝑀𝑆𝑤

where:

MSb = mean squares between column

MSw = mean squares within column

To answer statement of the problem no. 4 which states, is

there a significant relationship between English llanguage

learning aanxiety and Academic pperformance in English of Grade

11 students in Handumanan National High School, chi square test

of independence was used with the formula:

(𝑂𝐹 − 𝐸𝐹)²
𝑥2 = ∑
𝐸𝐹

Where:

X2 = Chi-square
OF = Observed Frequency
EF = Expected Frequency
 50

Chapter 4

PRESENTATION, ANALYSIS AND INTRPRETATION OF DATA

This chapter deals with the presentation, analysis and

interpretation of the data gathered for this study.

English Language Learning Anxiety

of Grade 11 Students

The table below reveals the extent of English language

learning anxiety of Grade 11 students.

Table 2. Extent of the English Language Learning Anxiety of

Grade 11 Students.
English Language
Level Frequency Mean Interpretation
Learning Anxiety
Severe (4.20-5.00) 9
High (3.40-4.19) 74
Communication
Moderate (2.60-3.39) 73 3.34 Moderate
Anxiety
Mild (1.80-2.59) 19
Low (1.00-1.79) 0
Severe (4.20-5.00) 17
High (3.40-4.19) 62
Fear of Negative
Moderate (2.60-3.39) 75 3.38 Moderate
Evaluation
Mild (1.80-2.59) 21
Low (1.00-1.79) 0
Severe (4.20-5.00) 8
High (3.40-4.19) 65
Test Anxiety Moderate (2.60-3.39) 90 3.31 Moderate
Mild (1.80-2.59) 11
Low (1.00-1.79) 1
Severe (4.20-5.00) 5
Anxiety in the High (3.40-4.19) 43
English Moderate (2.60-3.39) 91 3.08 Moderate
Classroom Mild (1.80-2.59) 36
Low (1.00-1.79) 0
Severe (4.20-5.00) 3
High (3.40-4.19) 74
As a Whole Moderate (2.60-3.39) 80 3.28 Moderate
Mild (1.80-2.59) 18
Low (1.00-1.79) 0
 51

Based on the table from the previous page, there were 9

students who have very high-level communication anxiety. There

were 74 of them were high level, 73 were moderate, 19 were low

and none of them were considered to have a very low level of

communication anxiety. The over-all mean is 3.34 which is

interpreted to be moderate. In terms of Fear of Negative

Evaluation, there were 17 students have very high level, 62 were

high, 75 of them were in moderate level, 21 were low, and there

were no students who were in the very low level. The over-all

mean is 3.38 which is interpreted to be moderate as well. In

terms Test Anxiety, there were 8 who were very high, 65 were

high, 90 students were moderate, 11 were low, and 1 is in a very

low level of test anxiety. The interpretation is moderate with

the 3.31 of the over-all mean of. In terms of Anxiety in the

English Classroom, there were 5 who were considered to have very

high level of anxiety, 43 were in a high level, 91 were moderate,

36 were low and none were considered to have very low level of

test anxiety. The interpretation is moderate that has had 3.08

of the over-all mean. As a whole, in terms of English Language

Learning Anxiety, there were, there were 3 of them who had very

high level of anxiety, 74 were high, 80 were moderate, 18 had

low level of anxiety, and none had a very low level. The over-all

mean is 3.28 which is interpreted to be moderate.

 52

The results show that the English language learning anxiety

obtained by most of the students with the highest mean of 3.38

is fear of negative evaluation. This affirms that students worry

what others may think about them as what stated in the study

of Horwitz and Horwitz and Cope (1986), cited in the Journal

of Language and Linguistic Studies (2016). Furthermore, based

on the study of Watsons & Friend (1969) as cited by Rafek et

al. (2013), they were afraid to receive negative feedback not

only from classmates but also from teachers and other

instructors. A 0.04 difference on the total mean where

Communication Anxiety is next to the highest. This implies that

students would really encounter issues in communicating using

the English language. This supports the study of Suleimenova

(2012), where such anxiety would really affect the learners’

skills and abilities in terms of speaking, failure to initiate

a conversation, and becoming a conscious and inhibited speaker.

Test Anxiety also occurred to the recipients of the study.

With a mean of 3.31 which is interpreted to be moderate shows

that English assessments would also cause anxiety to the

learners. Fear of failing in the English class creates a venue

for them to feel depressed and anxious as what stated in the

study of Fletcher & Speirs, & Neumeister (2012). It implies that

students would feel anxious about assessments in English class,

giving them confusion and anxieties in understanding

 53

instructions. Thus, anxiety in the English classroom, also

created to be one variable that causes negative performance

expectancies and social comparisons, psychophysiological

symptoms and avoidance behaviors from the learners as stated

in the study of Horwitz (1986, 559) cited in the study of Keramida

(2009). Though moderate, it could also be a venue where students

may get intimidated and hesitant in participating in the class,

that they would prefer to be silent rather that engaging

themselves into an environment where English is the medium of

instruction.

As a whole, the results of the study also mean that the English

Language Learning Anxiety of the students is in an average or

mild level of anxiety. They may be able to have complete attention

to certain things that makes them feel anxious and just simply

ignore other matters that surrounds them. They may also feel

excited than normal as well as, they may also feel less confident.

The Academic Performance of

Grade 11 Students

The table on the next page shows the academic performance of

Grade 11 students.
 54

Table 3. Level Extent of Academic Performance of Grade 11

Students in English.
Frequency
Academic Performance Mean Interpretation
(ʄ)
Outstanding
54
(90-100)
Very Satisfactory
57
(85-89)
Satisfactory
30
(80-84)
Fairly Satisfactory 85.83 Very Satisfactory
34
(75-79)
Did Not Meet
Expectation 0
(Below 75)
Total 175

Table 3 shows that out of 175 respondents of the study, there

were 54 of them who had an outstanding academic performance.

This implies that these students excel in all were as of learning

across disciplines including linguistic and academic

performance. These were the students who were able to have

exemplary performance in academics and acquired the rating of

90-100, as described in the Learners Progress and Achievement

Descriptors of the Department of Education stated in DepEd Order

No. 8, Series of 2015.

On the above table shows that, there were 57 of them who were

Very Satisfactory. These were the students who were able to have

the rating scale of 85-89. Stated in the DepEd Order No. 73,

Guidelines on the Assessment Rating of Learning Outcomes under

 55

the K-12 Basic Education Curriculum, these were the students

who were proficient.

There were 30 students who were satisfactory with grades in

the scale of 80-84. These were students who met expectations

of quality of work, efficiency and timelines. Students whose

performance is approaching to proficiency (DepEd Order No. 73).

This indicates that students were achieving the required

learning objectives for each stage of the course (James Cook

University, 2019). There were 34 of 175 students who were Fairly

Satisfactory with grades from the scale of 75-79. The study also

shows that none of the respondents had Did Not Meet Expectations

academic performance, no students were able to receive grades

below 75 which is considered to be failure.

The result of the study also shows an over-all mean of 85.83

which is interpreted to be Very Satisfactory.

This means that the academic performance of the students in

their English subject specifically Oral Communication in Context

belonged in the scale of 85- 89 of their grades, as based on

the Department of Education’s Descriptors, Grading Scale and

Remarks, DepEd Order No. 8, Series of 2015. This also imply that

students’ academic performance indicates a good grasp of the

subject matter or excellent grasp in one area balances with

satisfactory grasp in the other area.

 56

Difference of English Language Learning

Anxiety of Grade 11 Students

The table shows the difference among the English Language

Learning Anxiety of Grade 11 students.

Table 4. Difference on English Language Learning Anxiety of Grade

11 Students.
English Language Learning Anxiety
Communication Fear of Negative Anxiety in the English
Test Anxiety
Anxiety Evaluation Classroom
Score ʄ Score ʄ Score ʄ Score ʄ
4.50 2 5.00 2 4.75 3 5.00 1
4.38 2 4.88 1 4.5 1 4.63 2
4.25 5 4.75 1 4.38 1 4.50 1
4.13 9 4.63 1 4.25 3 4.25 1
4.00 8 4.50 3 4.13 1 4.13 1
3.88 12 4.38 6 4.00 3 4.00 2
3.75 21 4.25 3 3.88 12 3.88 7
3.63 15 4.13 6 3.75 16 3.75 8
3.50 9 4.00 8 3.63 15 3.63 9
3.38 15 3.88 10 3.50 19 3.50 16
3.25 11 3.75 14 3.38 15 3.38 16
3.13 6 3.63 7 3.25 14 3.25 13
3.00 13 3.50 16 3.13 13 3.13 9
2.88 13 3.38 18 3.00 14 3.00 19
2.75 10 3.25 10 2.88 17 2.88 7
2.63 5 3.13 16 2.75 12 2.75 15
2.50 7 3.00 11 2.63 4 2.63 12
2.38 1 2.88 13 2.50 4 2.50 13
2.25 1 2.75 6 2.38 6 2.38 7
2.13 6 2.63 2 2.25 1 2.25 8
2.00 3 2.50 5 2.00 0 2.13 6
1.88 1 2.38 9 1.98 0 1.88 2
1.87 0 2.25 2 1.97 0 1.86 0
1.86 0 2.13 4 1.96 0 1.85 0
1.85 0 2.00 1 1.00 1 1.84 0
Mean= Mean= Mean= Mean=
3.34 n= 175 3.38 n= 175 3.31 n=175 3.08 n=175

F-computed : 9.30
F-tabular : 2.62
Decision : Reject Ho
Interpretation : Significant @ 0.05 level of significance
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ANOVA Single Factor

SUMMARY
Groups Count Sum Average Variance
Communication Anxiety 175 584.55 3.34 0.35
Fear of Negative Evaluation 175 590.84 3.38 0.39
Test Anxiety 175 578.42 3.31 0.27
Anxiety in the English Classroom 175 539.14 3.08 0.32

ANOVA
Source of
SS df MS F P-Value F-Crit Interpretation
Variation
Between
9.30 3 3.10 9.30 4.94 2.62 Significant
Groups
Within
232.07 696 0.33
Groups

Total 241.37 699

Based on the above table, it shows that in terms of

Communication Anxiety, out of 175 respondents, there were 2 of

them who got the score of 4.50 and 4.38, there were 5 who scored

4.25, 9 scored 4.13 and 8 of them scored 4.00. There were 12

of them who scored 3.88, 21 were 3.75, 15 were 3.63, 9 of them

scored 3.50, 15 got 3.38, 11 were 3.25 and 6 got the score of

3.13. There were 13 students who scored 3.00 and 2.88, 10 of

them got 2.75, 5 were 2.63, 7 got 2.50, 1 got the score of 2.38

and 2.25. There were 6 of them who scored 2.13, 3 got 2.00 and

1 scored 1.88, where communication anxiety has an over-all mean

of 3.34.

In terms of Fear of Negative Evaluation, out of 175

respondents, there was an over-all mean of 3.38, where 2 of them

got the score of 2.00, 1 got 4.88, 4.75 and 4.63. There 3 students

who scored 4.50, 6 got 4.38, 3 were 4.25, 6 scored 4.13 and there
 58

were 8 who scored 4.00. There were 10 out of 175 students scored

3.88, 14 scored 3.75, 7 got 3.63, 16 were 3.50, 18 got the score

of 3.38 and 10 were 3.25. There were 16 students scored 3.13,

11 were 3.00, 13 got 2.88, 6 scored 2.75, 2 were 2.50, 9 were

2.38, 2 were 2.25, 4 got 2.13 and 1 got the score of 2.00.

In terms of Test Anxiety, in a total of 175 respondents, there

3 of them who scored 4.75, 1 scored 4.5 and 4.38. There were

3 respondents got the score of 4.25, 1 was 4.13, 3 got 4.00,

12 got 3.88 and 16 were 3.75. The score of 19 students were 3.50,

15 got 3.38, 14 of them were 3.25, 13 were 3.13, 14 scored 3.00.

There were 17 students scored 2.88, 4 got the score of 2.63 and

2.50, 6 were 2.38 and 1 scored 2.25 and 1.00. The over-all mean

for Test Anxiety was 3.31.

In terms of Anxiety in the English Classroom, out of 175

respondents, 1 got the score of 5.00. 2 of them were 4.63, 1

got the score of 4.50, 4.25 and 4.13. There were 2 respondents

scored 4.00, 7 were 3.88, 9 got 3.63, and there were 16 students

who scored 3.50 and 3.38. 13 students scored 3.25, 9 were 3.13,

19 got 3.00, 7 scored 2.88, 15 were 2.75, 12 were 2.63, 13 got

2.50 and 7 were 2.38. There were 8 out 175 scored 2.25, 6 were

2.13 and 2 scored 1.88. The over-all mean for Anxiety in the

English Classroom is 3.08.

Upon using Analysis of Variance (ANOVA), the computed value

of 9.30 is greater than the tabular value of 2.62 at 0.05 level

 59

of significance. Thus, the null hypothesis is rejected. This

means that there is a significant difference on English language

learning anxiety of grade 11 students.

This implies that the occurrence of language anxieties such

as communication anxiety, fear of negative evaluation, test

anxiety and anxiety in the English classroom may be experienced

by the students as a whole and differently. This pertains to

the study of Zagreb (2014), stating that children do experience

anxiety at some level where it arises the learners progress to

the higher level of language learning and accumulative negative

experiences through their education.

Relationship between English

Language Learning Anxiety and Academic
Performance of Grade 11 Students

The table below shows the relationship between English

Language Learning Anxiety and Academic Performance of Grade 11

Students
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Table 5. Relationship between English Language Learning

Anxiety and Academic Performance of Grade 11 Students
English Academic Performance
Language Very Fairly Did Not Meet
Learning Outstanding
(90-100)
Satisfactory
Satisfactory
(80-84)
Satisfactory Expectations TOTAL
(85-89) (75-79) (Below 75)
Anxiety
Severe
(4.20-5.00) 0 1 2 0 0 3
High
(3.40-4.19) 14 22 11 27 0 74
Moderate
(2.60-3.39) 31 28 16 5 0 80
Mild
(1.80-2.59) 9 6 1 2 0 18
Low
(1.00-1.79) 0 0 0 0 0 0
TOTAL 54 57 30 34 0 175

Computed Value (x2) = 34.14

Tabular Value(x2) = 19.02
Decision = Reject Ho
Interpretation = Significant @ 0.05 level of significance

The table on the previous page shows that out of 175 students

there were 3 who got very high level of English Language Learning

Anxiety where 1 of them was Very Satisfactory and 2 were

Satisfactory in term of their academic performance. For those

74 students who were high in English Language Learning Anxiety,

14 of them were outstanding, 22 were very satisfactory, 11 of

them were satisfactory, 27 were fairly satisfactory. Out of 175

respondents, there were 80 who had moderate level of English

Language Learning Anxiety. There were 31 of them who were

outstanding, 28 were very satisfactory, 16 were satisfactory

and 5 were fairly satisfactory. There were 18 of 175 who got

low level of English Language Learning Anxiety, where 9 of them

were outstanding, 6 of them were very satisfactory, 1 was

 61

satisfactory and 2 were fairly satisfactory. In all levels of

anxiety, none of the respondents obtained very low and did not

meet expectations in terms of academic performance.

Using Chi-Square Test, a computed value of 34.19 was obtained

which is higher than the tabular value of 19.02 at 0.05 level

of significance. Therefore, there was a significant relationship

between the English Language Learning Anxiety and the Academic

Performance of Grade 11 students of Handumanan National High

School, school year 2017- 2018. This implies that learning

anxiety of the students affects them academically. This also

suggests that students with greater level of learning anxiety

might result to poor academic performance.

The results support the study of Prishtine (2016), where

Anxiety is one of the difficulties that many high school students

were facing in learning and speaking the English language.

According to the Attribution theory, students need to feel in

control over the outcome of an academic task. Students who feel

more in control over the outcome will have more motivation

to successfully complete that task (Dobson, 2012).

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Chapter 5

SUMMARY OF FINDINGS, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

This chapter presents the summary of findings, conclusions

and recommendations made out of this study.

Summary of Findings

Based on the presented and analyzed data, the findings that

were arrived are as follows:

1. The level of English language learning anxiety of the

students as a whole is moderate with a mean of 3.28. The fear

of negative evaluation with the mean of 3.38 is the highest

English language learning anxiety of the students. Followed

by communication anxiety with a mean of 3.34, then test

anxiety 3.31 and anxiety in the English Classroom with a mean

of 3.08, respectively.

2. The academic performance of the students in the English

Subject (Oral Communication in Context) is Very Satisfactory

with a mean of 85.83.

3. There is a significant difference between English language

learning anxiety of Grade 11 students in Handumanan National

High School with a computed value of 9.30 that was less than

the tabular value of 2.62 at 0.05 level of significance.

4. There is a significant relationship between English

language learning anxiety and academic performance of

 63

students in English with a computed value of 34. 19 was higher

than the tabular value of 19.02 at 0.05 level of significance.

Conclusions

Based on the foregoing findings of this research study, the

conclusions that were arrived are as follows:

1. Since that the findings of the study shows that their

English language learning anxiety is moderate.

2. The academic performance of the students is very

satisfactory.

3. There is a significant difference between the English

language learning anxiety. The English language learning

anxiety creates an impact and influence to the students in

Handumanan National High School.

4. There is a significant relationship between English

language learning anxiety and academic performance of

students in English. The English language learning anxiety

impacts and influence the Academic Performance of Grade 11

student in their English subject specifically in Oral

Communication in Context.

Recommendations

With the reference to the findings and conclusions of the

study, the following recommendations are offered:

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1. Since most of the students are anxious for being negatively

evaluated, language teachers may opt to device an alternative

assessment that could lessen the students’ anxiety toward

performing in class. Language teachers may utilize general

feedbacking in either group or individual linguistic

performance instead of giving out individual critique and

evaluation that may possess the existence of anxiety on the

part of the students.

2. The School administrators may impose strict implementation

of the Speak English Policy in different school offices so

that learners may have more opportunities to practice the use

of the English language. They may also use this study to

include as a topic in the In-Service Training for teachers

on how to create a venue for the students to develop their

English communication skills.

3. The teachers and curriculum planners shall continue their

best practices, techniques and teaching strategies, planning

and methodologies since the study shows that students are Very

Satisfactory in terms of the academic performance in English.

Likewise, they should be prepared and be sensitive of the

possibilities that anxieties may likely to occur during or

after classroom instruction. Otherwise, activities that

could prevent English language learning anxiety may be used.

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4. Since that the English language learning anxiety is

significant to the academic performance of the students,

though Very Satisfactory, teacher must be able to understand

the nature of their students’ language anxieties. Learners

may vary from one another therefore it is pertinent that

teachers be made aware of what language anxieties their

students may be suffering from. In such ways, they may be able

to design lessons and prepare activities and learning

materials that will best address the strategies that can be

effectively utilized by these types of learners to cope with

their respective language anxieties.

5. The English language teachers should acknowledge the issue

about English language learning anxiety through encouraging

the students to develop their communication competence in

English. Learners should be encouraged to communicate with

native speakers of the English language in more formal context

such as social networking.

6. The conduct of Seminar Workshops, Training and Symposiums

related to Language and Communication can also be given to

the learners to provide them exposure about their acquisition

of English language. Such activities would provide them wider

experience if not to completely avoid English language

learning anxieties but at least to lessen or minimize the

issue.