73 the beliefs is that the instructor is supposed to correct every single mistake made
by the students. According to Petra’s experience, the lecturer’s way of listening to her
presentation made her feel afraid of being negatively judged by the lecturer. While she was speaking in front of the class, she looked at her lecturer and thought
I thought my lecturer would give me a bad grade because the lecturer was so serious. She hardly smiled.
Intrvw2_P10 When I asked what she expected from the lecturer’s reaction. She said
I hoped that my lecturer smiled and did not listen to me without any reaction. If she smiled at least I knew that she was listening to my
presentation.
Intrvw1_P84
2 Classmates’ Characteristics
According to Horwitz et al. 1986, anxiety especially FNE is triggered not only by the teacher as a fluent speaker but also the classmates. Koch and Terrell
1991 similarly state that speaking in front of the peers is another source of anxiety in learning a foreign language. In
Venita’s and Petra’s experience, classmates’ characteristics became one of the major causes why the participants
thought that they would be negatively evaluated. Venita told me that some of her classmates liked to underestimate other friends. She explained
In my class, there were some students who were arrogant. They showed off their abilities. When I was speaking, I thought that they would give bad
comments. They liked to underestimate others. It could be seen from the way they looked at me at that time.
Intrvw1_V83 Petra said the same thing but in a different way
There were some friends who liked to give bad comments behind my back. Intrvw1_P87
74
b. Manifestation of FNE
Similar to their experience of CA, Venita and Petra also experienced several symptoms when they were afraid of being negatively evaluated by the lecturer and
friends. The participants in this study experienced the symptoms of FNE differently. Venita experienced a physical symptom whereas Petra experienced a
psychological symptom. The manifestation experienced by both participants showed that realizing the presence of the lecturer and friends and the thought that
they might be negatively evaluated by the lecturer and friends worsened the situations.
1 Physical Symptom
Being afraid of being negatively evaluated by the lecturer and some friends, Venita’s heart beat faster than before. She said that her lecturer was very detail
when she came to the grading. Her lecturer paid attention on the gesture. That made Venita’s heart beat faster. She also thought that some friends would give
bad comments since they liked to underestimate others. When I ask whether afraid of being negatively evaluated by her classmates, she said
That made my heart beat faster than before. Intrvw1_V85
2 Psychological Symptoms
Being afraid of being negatively evaluated by the lecturer, Petra told me that she became more nervous. When she experienced CA, she went blank and had a
memory difficulty. When she experienced FNE, she went blanker. She said What I wanted to say suddenly disappeared. I forgot the material.
Intrvw2_P12 PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
75 Interestingly, the symptom when she was afraid of being negatively
evaluated by her lecturer was similar with the symptom when she was afraid of being negatively evaluated by her classmates. She said once again, “I forgot the
material” Intrvw2_P16.
c. Strategies to Cope with FNE
The symptoms that have been explained in the previous subtheme led both participants to handle their FNE. Generally, three approaches to the alleviation of
anxiety are cognitive, affective and behavioral approaches Hembree, 1988 in Kondo Ying-Ling, 2004. Each participant in my study came up with a strategy
to cope with the FNE they experienced.
1 Relaxation
To cope with FNE caused by the lecturer, Venita used affective strategy specifically by doing relaxation. Venita who physically experienced rapid
heartbeat tried to relax by taking a deep breath. She stated I tried to relax. I took a deep breath.
Intrvw2_V8
2 Positive Thinking
Petra who experienced psychological symptoms used cognitive strategy specifically by thinking positively. She expressed
I tried to think positively that I could do the presentation well. Intrvw2_P13
3 Ignoring
Interestingly, to cope with FNE caused by the classmates, both participants used the same strategy. They tended to ignore the thought that they would be
76 negatively evaluated by their friends. It was interesting because this strategy does
not belong to one of the strategies proposed by Hembree 1988 or Kondo Ying-Ling 2004. Venita stated
I ignored it. It bothered me but I tried to ignore it. I tried not to think about it. It was not the time to think about it.
Intrvw1_V86 Petra also similarly stated
I tried to ignore it though sometimes it distracted me. Intrvw2_P17
I could conclude that both participants tended to cope with FNE in positive ways instead of negative ways
. This fact was in contrast with Aida’s 1994, p. 157 idea that in foreign language classrooms, students with FNE
“tend to sit passively in the classroom, withdrawing from classroom activities that could
otherwise enhance their improvement of the language skills or even cutting class to avoid anxiety situations.
”
3. Reasons of Choosing The Coping Strategies
The participants in this study had some reasons why they chose certain strategies to cope with CA and FNE. When I asked why Venita chose the
strategies, she said At that time, I was hopeless, really hopeless. I saw the other friends who had
given the speech before me. They could deliver the speech smoothly. Why couldn’t I? I also wanted to get a good grade in the course. Those things
helped me calm down myself. Intrvw1_V74
When I asked why Petra chose the strategies, she expressed Because I wanted to be able to speak English and wanted to get a good
grade. If I kept thinking negatively, I would not be able to do the presentation well and would not be able to speak English until the end. If I
