affection interest and motivation, attitude and beliefs, and feelings, and reading purpose. They are primary determining factors which can
influence students’ reading comprehension. From all factors have been mentioned above, there are three
important factors in reading comprehension which are identified: thinking, feeling, and purpose for reading.
19
However, the researcher limits this research on feeling factor in the aspect of anxiety.
Therefore, the writer discusses anxiety in the next topic.
B. Anxiety
1.
The Understanding of Anxiet y
In our daily life, when we find unexpected situation, we will feel anxious.
Anxiety is a negative feeling that someone has in certain time. Anxiety is a feeling where the people are uncertain or hesitant
with their ability or what they want to do. This anxiety can be described as a feeling which causes someo
ne’s low self-confidence, so that heshe can’t make maximal success in hisher life. For the people
who learn a foreign language, anxiety may affect their acquisition of the language. Someone with high anxiety can create a negative effect
especially in their learning achievement. According to Horwitz et al. define anxiety as “the subjective
feeling of tension, apprehension, nervousness, and worry associated with an arousal of the autonomic nervous system.”
20
Furthermore, anxiety arises as a response to an awful situation. Passer and Smith
define anxiety as a state of tension and apprehension as a natural response to perceived threat.
21
It means that people are naturally feels anxious when they are threatened. According to Ormrod anxiety is a
19
Ibid., p. 261
20
Horwitz, et. al., Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety, The Modern Language Journal, Vol. 70, Blackwell Publishing, 1986, p.125
21
Michael W. Passer and Ronald E. Smith, Psychology: The Science of Mind and Behavior, Second Edition New York: McGraw-Hill, 2003, p. 546
feeling of uneasiness and apprehension concerning a situation with an uncertain outcome.
22
Anxiety is an abstract word which is not easy to define and explain in a simple sentence. Commonly, anxiety is associated with
feelings of uneasiness, frustration, self-doubt, apprehension, or worry. Moreover, Atkinson and Hilgard argue that anxiety occurs because of
threatening situation, conflict, frustration, threats of physical harm, threats to self-
esteem, and pressure to perform beyond an individual’s capabilities.
23
Also, people with low self-esteem generally feel anxious because they always think that they cannot do something
good and get success. From the explanation above, it can be summarized that
anxiety is apprehension feeling that arises when someone face an awful situation. Anxious person will focus on thinking the negative
results are going to happen rather than the positive result. Moreover, Anxiety has negative effect in the learning process; their learning
ability will be distracted, because they cannot fully focus on the task. Therefore, anxiety plays an important role in the learning process.
Moreover, it is important in a classroom for a teacher to know whether students’ anxiety from the trait or whether it comes from a
particular situation at the moment. The following topic will discuss the types of anxiety.
2. Types of Anxiety
Anxiety may negatively affect students’ self-esteem, self- confidence, and ultimately prevent proficiency in language acquisition.
22
Jeanne Ellis Ormrod, Educational Psychology: Developing Learner, Boston: Pearson Education Inc., 2011, p. 401
23
Rita L. Atkinson, et. al., Introduction to psycology, New York : Har Court Brace Jovanich Inc.,1983 p. 431
Anxiety can be experienced at various types. According to Spielberger in Brown, anxiety is divided into two:
24
a Trait anxiety is anxious feeling that tends to be more permanent. It has b
een someone’s character and become tendency.
b State anxiety is emotional reaction which occurs temporarily because of threatening situation.
Although anxiety may result in negative effects on language learning, it is also believed that anxiety could motivate language learning.
Alpert and Haber in Brown distinguish harmful and helpful anxiety as facilitative and debilitative anxiety, those are:
25
a Debilitative anxiety is harmful anxiety. It has negative
effect on language learning process. Anxious students are having difficulties in dealing with some task, they feel
uncomfortable and unconfident. This situation will reduce their concentration which means can influence their
language learning process. b
Facilitative anxiety is helpful anxiety. It is contrast to debilitative anxiety because facilitative anxiety has positive
effect. Several studies have suggested the benefit of facilitative anxiety in learning foreign languages. In
Bailey’s study of competitiveness and anxiety in second language learning, facilitative anxiety was one of the keys
to success, closely related to competitiveness. It motivated students to study harder.
Therefore, anxiety can be divided into two types: State anxiety; feeling of apprehension and nervousness as reaction to particular situation,
and trait anxiety; more intense anxiety that depends on one’s individual
24
H. Douglas Brown, Principles of Language Learning and Teaching, Fourth Edition, New York : Addison Wesley Longman Inc., 2000 p. 151
25
Ibid p. 151
regardless of the situation. Moreover, anxiety appears because of some sources. Sources of anxiety will be discussed in the following topic.
3. Sources of Anxiety
