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Speaking Anxiety in Chinese University EFL Classrooms: Causes, Effects, and Pedagogical Strategies

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Shiqi Yang

Sanya University, Sanya, Hainan, China

Abstract

Speaking anxiety is one of the reasons why Chinese university students in EFL situations are unable to learn English speaking well. Although more attention has been paid to communicative competence in higher education recently, many students still suffer from speaking anxiety in class. This paper reviews existing literature on speaking anxiety among Chinese university students, covering its theoretical foundations, causes, impacts and relevant teaching strategies. The review indicates that speaking anxiety is a multi-faceted problem arising from cognitive, emotional, teaching and learning environment and social-cultural reasons, such as the fear of negative evaluation, low selfconfidence, lack of speaking opportunities, exam-oriented education, and cultural concerns related to face. It reduces students’ classroom participation willingness, leads to less oral output and weakens their communicative competence. To address the above problems, the following measures have been taken: establishing a positive classroom learning environment, task scaffolding, anxiety-sensitive assessments, and technology-assisted learning. Therefore, teaching can help students overcome speaking anxiety by creating various learning environments and adjusting the learning content according to their needs, thus improving their general all-round development.

Keywords

  • Speaking anxiety
  • Foreign language anxiety
  • Chinese university students
  • English as a foreign language
  • Oral communication
  • pedagogical implication
  • Teaching EFL learners speaking

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