T1 112005072 Full text
CORRELATION BETWEEN STUDENTS’ LANGUAGE
LEARNING ANXIETY AND THEIR SCORES IN SPEAKING
CLASS
THESIS
Submitted in Partial Fulfillment
of the Requirements for the Degree of
Sarjana Pendidikan
Savira Putri Mayasari
112005072
ENGLISH DEPARTMENT
FACULTY OF LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE
SATYA WACANA CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY
2013
1
CORRELATION BETWEEN STUDENTS’ LANGUAGE
LEARNING ANXIETY AND THEIR SCORES IN SPEAKING
CLASS
THESIS
Submitted in Partial Fulfillment
of the Requirements for the Degree of
Sarjana Pendidikan
Savira Putri Mayasari
112005072
ENGLISH DEPARTMENT
FACULTY OF LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE
SATYA WACANA CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY
2013
2
CORRELATION BETWEEN STUDENTS’ LANGUAGE
LEARNING ANXIETY AND THEIR SCORES IN SPEAKING
CLASS
THESIS
Submitted in Partial Fulfillment
of the Requirements for the Degree of
Sarjana Pendidikan
Savira Putri Mayasari
112005072
Approved by:
Prof. DR. Gusti Astika, M.A.
Hendro Setiawan H., M. A.
Supervisor
Examiner
3
COPYRIGHT STATEMENT
This thesis contains no such materials as has been submitted for examination in
any course or accepted for the fulfillment of any degree or diploma in any
university. To the best of my knowledge and my belief, this contains no material
previously published or written by any other person except where due reference is
made in the text.
Copyright@2013. Savira Putri Mayasari and Prof. DR. Gusti Astika, M.A.
All rights reserved. No part of this thesis may be reproduced by any means
without the permission of at least one of the copyright owners or the English
Department, Faculty of Language and Literature, Satya Wacana University,
Salatiga.
Savira Putri Mayasari
4
PUBLICATION AGREEMENT DECLARATION
__________________________________________________________________
As a member of the (SWCU) Satya Wacana Christian University academic
community,
I verify that:
Name
: Savira Putri Mayasari
Student ID Number
: 112005072
Study Program
: English Department
Faculty
: Language and Literature
Kind of Work
: Undergraduate Thesis
In developing my knowledge, I agree to provide SWCU with a non-exclusive
royalty free right for my intellectual property and contents therein entitled:
CORRELATION BETWEEN STUDENTS’ LANGUAGE LEARNING
ANXIETY AND THEIR SCORES IN SPEAKING CLASS
along with my pertinent equipment.
With this non-exclusive royalty free right, SWCU maintains the right to copy,
reproduce, print, publish, post, display, incorporate, store in or scan into a
retrieval system or database, transmit, broadcast, barter or sell my intellectual
property, in whole or in part without my express written permission, as long as my
name is still included as the writer.
This declaration is made according to the best of my knowledge.
Made in
: Salatiga
Date
: January 11, 2012
Verified by signee,
_______________________
Approved by:
Prof. DR. Gusti Astika, M.A
Hendro Setiawan H., M. A.
Supervisor
Examiner
5
CORRELATION BETWEEN STUDENTS’ LANGUAGE LEARNING
ANXIETY AND THEIR SCORES IN SPEAKING CLASS
Abstract
The purpose of the present study was to find out whether there was any
correlation between students’ language learning anxiety and their scores in
speaking class. The participants of this research were 70 students of English
Department of Satya Wacana Christian University who were taking Speaking
course. The students were asked to fill the questionnaires about speaking anxiety.
The questionnaire was adopted from Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale
(FLCAS) developed by Horwitz (1986).The data of the research were also taken
from the students’ final scores in the speaking course. The result of the study
shows that there was no correlation between students’ language learning anxiety
and their scores in speaking class.
Keywords: correlation, anxiety, speaking performance
Introduction
Speaking is one of the four major skills that students should master in
English language learning. As an ESL/EFL learner, the student should be able to
speak English in every condition. In English language teaching and learning
process, speaking is one of the most important subject for students to cope with
because it examines oral production. Unfortunately, there are some problems
which occurred especially in the performance goals on Target Language (TL). For
example, teachers deal with students who have difficulties to speak fluently when
they feel anxious in performing the target language (TL).
One of the key successes of learners to study second language (L2) is
when they can develop oral skill as their way to communicate with other people.
Speaking skill in English language learning is very important for learners whether
as speakers; consciously or unconsciously people use their speech to create an
image of themselves to others (Luoma, 2003). Here, the sound of speech is one of
6
an important factor to consider in assessing speaking. As the result, people might
easily judge the speakers’ performance as they use a good pronunciation or not. In
other words, Bryant and Wallace (1974) mentioned three kinds of responses when
someone deliver a speech, such as the knowledge and understanding, opinions or
attitudes, and action of one kind or another by the listeners. In addition to that,
Harmer (2001) noted down that there are two major aspects in speaking which are
accuracy and fluency, in which learners should consider their correct use of
vocabulary, grammar and pronunciation; and fluency. Thus, the inability to
pronounce words correctly or use correct grammar can lead to negative evaluation
by others that might lead to a confusion and embarrassment by the speakers
(Horwitz &Young, 1991). Furthermore, Bygate (1987) mentioned that language
teaching, learning, and testing process in speaking L2 has its own right and that
oral L2 performance had identified the accuracy and fluency in which learners
communicative performance can be influenced through communication practice.
According to Levelt (1989), there are four points to consider in speech
production: conceptualization, formulation, articulation, and self monitoring.
Conceptualization relates with planning the message content such as background
knowledge, knowledge about topic, while formulation deals with how to find
words and phrases to express meaning and thus prepares the sound patterns of the
words to be used. Next process is articulation which involves the motor control of
the articulatory organs; lips, tongue, teeth, alveolar palate, velum, glottis, and
mouth cavity. Finally, self-monitoring is concerned with the learners’ ability to
self identify their mistakes.
7
Furthermore, Bygate (1987) points out that there are two aspects by the
context of speaking skills which is production and interaction skills. Productions
skills are related with making the oral production easier and sound naturally. This
skill is connected with the knowledge of the learners in producing the language in
different situations. Interaction skills, on the other hand, relates with the routines
and negotiation skills. For example, when there are many participants involve in it
such as in doctor-patient, teacher-pupil, professor-student, examiner-examinee,
parent-children, and adult-child interactions.
To master speaking skill in English language learning, the students should
consider those aspects discussed above as their asset to succeed in performing the
target language (TL). However, there is one common obstacle for L2 learners due
to their performance grades, that is anxiety in language learning. Language
anxiety according to Horwitz, Horwitz, and Cope (1986) is defined as “the
subjective feeling of tension, apprehension, nervousness, and worry associated
with an arousal of the autonomic nervous system” (p.125). For example, language
anxiety might lead students to their disabilities to express their ideas and opinions
during their performances in target language. As the result, it can affect their
grades. Furthermore, Horwitz, Horwitz, and Cope (1986) also stated that anxiety
can undermine self-esteem and threaten one self-image. In accordance to that, it
becomes one of a problems expressed by ESL/EFL learners in their speaking
class.
Some studies have been done in relation with foreign language classroom
anxiety and came with the mixed results. For example; Tanveer, (2007)
8
investigated the factors that caused language anxiety for ESL/EFL learners in
learning speaking skills and the influence on communication in the target
language. His result indicate that the most anxiety provoking skill in L2 learning
was speaking skill. Another study also done by Williams and Andrade, (2008) in
Japanese EFL university classes that contained causes, coping, and locus of
control foreign language learning anxiety. The findings indicated that anxiety was
often associated with the output and processing stages of the learning process and
that students attributed the cause of anxiety to the teacher or other people. A study
by Kondo and Ying-Ling, (2004) examined about strategies for coping with
language anxiety in the case of students of English in Japan. The findings
suggested 70 basic tactics for coping with language anxiety that cohered into five
strategies: preparation, relaxation, positive thinking, peer seeking, and resignation.
Anyadubalu, (2010) also studied self-efficacy, anxiety, and performance in
the English Language among Middle-School Students in English Language
Program in Bangkok. The study concluded that English language anxiety and
general self-efficacy were significant predictors of English language performance
among middle-school students in Satri Si Suriyothai School.
Feeling of anxiety would create some negative effects such as
discouragement to speak and feeling lack of confidence in speaking class. Horwitz
et al. (1986) stated that students might be good to learn other skills in English
language learning but they will have many failures when it comes to their
performance to speak. Language learning anxiety according to Horwitz et al.
(1986) formed three points which are related with performance evaluations i.e.
9
communication apprehension, test anxiety, and fear of negative evaluation.
Communication apprehension occurs when people are easier to get anxious in a
public speaking or even in a small group. Meanwhile, test anxiety and fear of
negative evaluation are dealing with the final scores since anxious students would
evaluate others negatively. Thus, language learning anxieties concern on the poor
test performance results and might lead to inaccurate grading by the teachers.
Based on the recent studies above, it has been proven that there is relationship
between language learning anxiety and L2 learners’ performances on target
language (TL).
In addition to that, some previous research also found several effects of
anxiety on language learning. Kleinmann, (1977) found that ESL students with
high level of anxiety attemped different types of grammar constructions than did
less anxious ESL students. Besides, learners also dealing with clinical experience
as Horwitz, Horwitz, & Cope, (1986) mentioned that the learners might deal with
such experiences such as apprehension, worry, even dread, and moreover they
have difficulty concentrating, become forgetful, sweat, and have palpitations.
Since language learning anxiety could influence student’s performance
goal on target language (TL), it gives enough reason for this study to investigate
the correlation between anxieties with their performances on the target language.
This study believes that every student who deals with language learning anxiety
might have unsatisfying result of his or her achievement.
Therefore, the scope of this study is to find out the levels of anxiety that
the learners might experience by discover the percentage of students’ feeling
10
anxious before their performance in speaking class. Still, this study is also aimed
at finding out whether there is any significant correlation between students’
learning anxiety and their performance scores in Speaking class. Additionally,
later on we might expect that this study will bring advantages for teachers and
students in English Department of Satya Wacana Christian University. Hopefully,
it will help teachers in evaluating students’ performances and also help students to
improve their performances. Thus, the research question that followed this study
is “Is there any significant correlation between the student’s anxiety and their
performance scores?”
THE STUDY
A. Method
This study used a descriptive method because it analyzed the numerical
data of students’ speaking performance scores and anxiety levels that they
experienced in learning English. This study used a correlational research in order
to answer the research question. This study analyzed the correlation between
students’ learning anxiety and their test scores in Speaking classes.
B. Participants
The author selected the participants of this research who were students of
Transactional Speaking class of English Department of Satya Wacana Christian
University from the 2011 academic year. There were 70 students from group A,
B, C, E, and G of Transactional Speaking class which comprised 55 females and
15 males. The reason why the author selected class from 2011 because in this
11
class students’ were trained to develop their communication skills especially
speaking in front of the class or in the daily conversations.
C. Data of the study
In this research, the first set of data was collected from the questionnaires
about language learning anxiety levels. The questionnaire had 10 questions where
the items were adopted from Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale
(FLCAS) developed by Horwitz (1986). The questionnaires used 4 Likert scale
items (1 = strongly disagree, 2 = disagree, 3 = agree, and 4 = strongly agree).
The other set of data for this research was speaking scores of Transactional
Speaking of group A, B, C, E, and G, obtained from the speaking teachers at the
end of the semester.
D. Data Collection
The first step was administering the questionnaires to the students outside
the class after they finished their speaking class. Then, the students were asked to
put circle of their answer choices; 1 (strongly agree), 2 (disagree), 3 (agree), or 4
(strongly disagree).
Next, the second data of this study was students’ speaking scores. It was
obtained by the end of the semester through the speaking teachers after the
questionnaires were collected. The speaking scores consisted of the total grade
which was 25% of daily performance including attendance and participation, 20%
individual presentations, and 55% group presentations.
12
There were 14 meetings in this Transactional speaking courses and the
presentations were taken individually or in groups. Individual presentations in this
course were about Personal Opinions, Interviews and Reports. The group
presentations were about Current Affairs, Advertising, Campaign, TV Talk Show,
and Radio Broadcaster. Generally, either individual presentations or groups would
only took about 15-20 minutes as the maximum of speech performances.
E. Data Analysis
The data of this research were analyzed using SPSS 19.0 Spearman’s rho
correlation analysis in order to find out the correlation between students’ learning
anxiety in speaking and speaking scores. The data type of the questionnaire was
ordinal and the data of the speaking scores was interval data. However, the
speaking scores data need to be converted into an ordinal data in order to analyze
it (Brown, 1988). Therefore, Spearman rho was used to find out the correlation of
the two variables. The questionnaire data of this research was ordinal data and
below is a table to show the scales of the questionnaire.
Table 1. Questionnaire
Questionnaire Categories
Scale
Strongly disagree
1
Disagree
2
Agree
3
Strongly agree
4
13
The questionnaire data was calculated based on the scales to get the
average score from each student (Appendix A). After getting the average score for
each student then the correlation analysis was carried out.
The data of the speaking scores was interval data and therefore they had to
be converted into ordinal data as the requirement of Spearman rho correlation
analysis. Thus, the speaking scores data were categorized into 4 groups in order to
make them ordinal. Below is the table to show the scales of speaking anxiety.
Table 2. Speaking scores from interval into ordinal scale
Speaking Scores Categories
Scale
0-25
1
26-50
2
51-75
3
76-100
4
The speaking scores had an interval of 25 points after they were converted
into ordinal data. For example, if a student scored 77.1 then the score would be
put into a scale of 4. After all questionnaires data and speaking scores data had
same ordinal scales, then it was analyzed using Spearman rho correlation analysis.
Result and Discussion
The purpose of this study was to find out the correlation between students’
learning anxiety in speaking and speaking scores. Further, there had been two sets
data used by this study, which was ordinal data from the speaking anxiety
14
questionnaire and ordinal data of speaking final scores, the result of conversion
from interval data (Appendix B). They were correlated using Spearman’s rho
correlation analysis.
Thus, the hypotheses of the study were formulated as follow:
H0 : There is no significant correlation between students’ learning anxiety in
speaking and speaking scores.
H1 : There is significant correlation between students’ learning anxiety in
speaking and speaking scores.
In order to test the hypotheses of this study, if p>0.05 H0 would be
accepted because it shows that there is no correlation between students’ learning
anxiety in speaking and speaking scores. However, if p
LEARNING ANXIETY AND THEIR SCORES IN SPEAKING
CLASS
THESIS
Submitted in Partial Fulfillment
of the Requirements for the Degree of
Sarjana Pendidikan
Savira Putri Mayasari
112005072
ENGLISH DEPARTMENT
FACULTY OF LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE
SATYA WACANA CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY
2013
1
CORRELATION BETWEEN STUDENTS’ LANGUAGE
LEARNING ANXIETY AND THEIR SCORES IN SPEAKING
CLASS
THESIS
Submitted in Partial Fulfillment
of the Requirements for the Degree of
Sarjana Pendidikan
Savira Putri Mayasari
112005072
ENGLISH DEPARTMENT
FACULTY OF LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE
SATYA WACANA CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY
2013
2
CORRELATION BETWEEN STUDENTS’ LANGUAGE
LEARNING ANXIETY AND THEIR SCORES IN SPEAKING
CLASS
THESIS
Submitted in Partial Fulfillment
of the Requirements for the Degree of
Sarjana Pendidikan
Savira Putri Mayasari
112005072
Approved by:
Prof. DR. Gusti Astika, M.A.
Hendro Setiawan H., M. A.
Supervisor
Examiner
3
COPYRIGHT STATEMENT
This thesis contains no such materials as has been submitted for examination in
any course or accepted for the fulfillment of any degree or diploma in any
university. To the best of my knowledge and my belief, this contains no material
previously published or written by any other person except where due reference is
made in the text.
Copyright@2013. Savira Putri Mayasari and Prof. DR. Gusti Astika, M.A.
All rights reserved. No part of this thesis may be reproduced by any means
without the permission of at least one of the copyright owners or the English
Department, Faculty of Language and Literature, Satya Wacana University,
Salatiga.
Savira Putri Mayasari
4
PUBLICATION AGREEMENT DECLARATION
__________________________________________________________________
As a member of the (SWCU) Satya Wacana Christian University academic
community,
I verify that:
Name
: Savira Putri Mayasari
Student ID Number
: 112005072
Study Program
: English Department
Faculty
: Language and Literature
Kind of Work
: Undergraduate Thesis
In developing my knowledge, I agree to provide SWCU with a non-exclusive
royalty free right for my intellectual property and contents therein entitled:
CORRELATION BETWEEN STUDENTS’ LANGUAGE LEARNING
ANXIETY AND THEIR SCORES IN SPEAKING CLASS
along with my pertinent equipment.
With this non-exclusive royalty free right, SWCU maintains the right to copy,
reproduce, print, publish, post, display, incorporate, store in or scan into a
retrieval system or database, transmit, broadcast, barter or sell my intellectual
property, in whole or in part without my express written permission, as long as my
name is still included as the writer.
This declaration is made according to the best of my knowledge.
Made in
: Salatiga
Date
: January 11, 2012
Verified by signee,
_______________________
Approved by:
Prof. DR. Gusti Astika, M.A
Hendro Setiawan H., M. A.
Supervisor
Examiner
5
CORRELATION BETWEEN STUDENTS’ LANGUAGE LEARNING
ANXIETY AND THEIR SCORES IN SPEAKING CLASS
Abstract
The purpose of the present study was to find out whether there was any
correlation between students’ language learning anxiety and their scores in
speaking class. The participants of this research were 70 students of English
Department of Satya Wacana Christian University who were taking Speaking
course. The students were asked to fill the questionnaires about speaking anxiety.
The questionnaire was adopted from Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale
(FLCAS) developed by Horwitz (1986).The data of the research were also taken
from the students’ final scores in the speaking course. The result of the study
shows that there was no correlation between students’ language learning anxiety
and their scores in speaking class.
Keywords: correlation, anxiety, speaking performance
Introduction
Speaking is one of the four major skills that students should master in
English language learning. As an ESL/EFL learner, the student should be able to
speak English in every condition. In English language teaching and learning
process, speaking is one of the most important subject for students to cope with
because it examines oral production. Unfortunately, there are some problems
which occurred especially in the performance goals on Target Language (TL). For
example, teachers deal with students who have difficulties to speak fluently when
they feel anxious in performing the target language (TL).
One of the key successes of learners to study second language (L2) is
when they can develop oral skill as their way to communicate with other people.
Speaking skill in English language learning is very important for learners whether
as speakers; consciously or unconsciously people use their speech to create an
image of themselves to others (Luoma, 2003). Here, the sound of speech is one of
6
an important factor to consider in assessing speaking. As the result, people might
easily judge the speakers’ performance as they use a good pronunciation or not. In
other words, Bryant and Wallace (1974) mentioned three kinds of responses when
someone deliver a speech, such as the knowledge and understanding, opinions or
attitudes, and action of one kind or another by the listeners. In addition to that,
Harmer (2001) noted down that there are two major aspects in speaking which are
accuracy and fluency, in which learners should consider their correct use of
vocabulary, grammar and pronunciation; and fluency. Thus, the inability to
pronounce words correctly or use correct grammar can lead to negative evaluation
by others that might lead to a confusion and embarrassment by the speakers
(Horwitz &Young, 1991). Furthermore, Bygate (1987) mentioned that language
teaching, learning, and testing process in speaking L2 has its own right and that
oral L2 performance had identified the accuracy and fluency in which learners
communicative performance can be influenced through communication practice.
According to Levelt (1989), there are four points to consider in speech
production: conceptualization, formulation, articulation, and self monitoring.
Conceptualization relates with planning the message content such as background
knowledge, knowledge about topic, while formulation deals with how to find
words and phrases to express meaning and thus prepares the sound patterns of the
words to be used. Next process is articulation which involves the motor control of
the articulatory organs; lips, tongue, teeth, alveolar palate, velum, glottis, and
mouth cavity. Finally, self-monitoring is concerned with the learners’ ability to
self identify their mistakes.
7
Furthermore, Bygate (1987) points out that there are two aspects by the
context of speaking skills which is production and interaction skills. Productions
skills are related with making the oral production easier and sound naturally. This
skill is connected with the knowledge of the learners in producing the language in
different situations. Interaction skills, on the other hand, relates with the routines
and negotiation skills. For example, when there are many participants involve in it
such as in doctor-patient, teacher-pupil, professor-student, examiner-examinee,
parent-children, and adult-child interactions.
To master speaking skill in English language learning, the students should
consider those aspects discussed above as their asset to succeed in performing the
target language (TL). However, there is one common obstacle for L2 learners due
to their performance grades, that is anxiety in language learning. Language
anxiety according to Horwitz, Horwitz, and Cope (1986) is defined as “the
subjective feeling of tension, apprehension, nervousness, and worry associated
with an arousal of the autonomic nervous system” (p.125). For example, language
anxiety might lead students to their disabilities to express their ideas and opinions
during their performances in target language. As the result, it can affect their
grades. Furthermore, Horwitz, Horwitz, and Cope (1986) also stated that anxiety
can undermine self-esteem and threaten one self-image. In accordance to that, it
becomes one of a problems expressed by ESL/EFL learners in their speaking
class.
Some studies have been done in relation with foreign language classroom
anxiety and came with the mixed results. For example; Tanveer, (2007)
8
investigated the factors that caused language anxiety for ESL/EFL learners in
learning speaking skills and the influence on communication in the target
language. His result indicate that the most anxiety provoking skill in L2 learning
was speaking skill. Another study also done by Williams and Andrade, (2008) in
Japanese EFL university classes that contained causes, coping, and locus of
control foreign language learning anxiety. The findings indicated that anxiety was
often associated with the output and processing stages of the learning process and
that students attributed the cause of anxiety to the teacher or other people. A study
by Kondo and Ying-Ling, (2004) examined about strategies for coping with
language anxiety in the case of students of English in Japan. The findings
suggested 70 basic tactics for coping with language anxiety that cohered into five
strategies: preparation, relaxation, positive thinking, peer seeking, and resignation.
Anyadubalu, (2010) also studied self-efficacy, anxiety, and performance in
the English Language among Middle-School Students in English Language
Program in Bangkok. The study concluded that English language anxiety and
general self-efficacy were significant predictors of English language performance
among middle-school students in Satri Si Suriyothai School.
Feeling of anxiety would create some negative effects such as
discouragement to speak and feeling lack of confidence in speaking class. Horwitz
et al. (1986) stated that students might be good to learn other skills in English
language learning but they will have many failures when it comes to their
performance to speak. Language learning anxiety according to Horwitz et al.
(1986) formed three points which are related with performance evaluations i.e.
9
communication apprehension, test anxiety, and fear of negative evaluation.
Communication apprehension occurs when people are easier to get anxious in a
public speaking or even in a small group. Meanwhile, test anxiety and fear of
negative evaluation are dealing with the final scores since anxious students would
evaluate others negatively. Thus, language learning anxieties concern on the poor
test performance results and might lead to inaccurate grading by the teachers.
Based on the recent studies above, it has been proven that there is relationship
between language learning anxiety and L2 learners’ performances on target
language (TL).
In addition to that, some previous research also found several effects of
anxiety on language learning. Kleinmann, (1977) found that ESL students with
high level of anxiety attemped different types of grammar constructions than did
less anxious ESL students. Besides, learners also dealing with clinical experience
as Horwitz, Horwitz, & Cope, (1986) mentioned that the learners might deal with
such experiences such as apprehension, worry, even dread, and moreover they
have difficulty concentrating, become forgetful, sweat, and have palpitations.
Since language learning anxiety could influence student’s performance
goal on target language (TL), it gives enough reason for this study to investigate
the correlation between anxieties with their performances on the target language.
This study believes that every student who deals with language learning anxiety
might have unsatisfying result of his or her achievement.
Therefore, the scope of this study is to find out the levels of anxiety that
the learners might experience by discover the percentage of students’ feeling
10
anxious before their performance in speaking class. Still, this study is also aimed
at finding out whether there is any significant correlation between students’
learning anxiety and their performance scores in Speaking class. Additionally,
later on we might expect that this study will bring advantages for teachers and
students in English Department of Satya Wacana Christian University. Hopefully,
it will help teachers in evaluating students’ performances and also help students to
improve their performances. Thus, the research question that followed this study
is “Is there any significant correlation between the student’s anxiety and their
performance scores?”
THE STUDY
A. Method
This study used a descriptive method because it analyzed the numerical
data of students’ speaking performance scores and anxiety levels that they
experienced in learning English. This study used a correlational research in order
to answer the research question. This study analyzed the correlation between
students’ learning anxiety and their test scores in Speaking classes.
B. Participants
The author selected the participants of this research who were students of
Transactional Speaking class of English Department of Satya Wacana Christian
University from the 2011 academic year. There were 70 students from group A,
B, C, E, and G of Transactional Speaking class which comprised 55 females and
15 males. The reason why the author selected class from 2011 because in this
11
class students’ were trained to develop their communication skills especially
speaking in front of the class or in the daily conversations.
C. Data of the study
In this research, the first set of data was collected from the questionnaires
about language learning anxiety levels. The questionnaire had 10 questions where
the items were adopted from Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale
(FLCAS) developed by Horwitz (1986). The questionnaires used 4 Likert scale
items (1 = strongly disagree, 2 = disagree, 3 = agree, and 4 = strongly agree).
The other set of data for this research was speaking scores of Transactional
Speaking of group A, B, C, E, and G, obtained from the speaking teachers at the
end of the semester.
D. Data Collection
The first step was administering the questionnaires to the students outside
the class after they finished their speaking class. Then, the students were asked to
put circle of their answer choices; 1 (strongly agree), 2 (disagree), 3 (agree), or 4
(strongly disagree).
Next, the second data of this study was students’ speaking scores. It was
obtained by the end of the semester through the speaking teachers after the
questionnaires were collected. The speaking scores consisted of the total grade
which was 25% of daily performance including attendance and participation, 20%
individual presentations, and 55% group presentations.
12
There were 14 meetings in this Transactional speaking courses and the
presentations were taken individually or in groups. Individual presentations in this
course were about Personal Opinions, Interviews and Reports. The group
presentations were about Current Affairs, Advertising, Campaign, TV Talk Show,
and Radio Broadcaster. Generally, either individual presentations or groups would
only took about 15-20 minutes as the maximum of speech performances.
E. Data Analysis
The data of this research were analyzed using SPSS 19.0 Spearman’s rho
correlation analysis in order to find out the correlation between students’ learning
anxiety in speaking and speaking scores. The data type of the questionnaire was
ordinal and the data of the speaking scores was interval data. However, the
speaking scores data need to be converted into an ordinal data in order to analyze
it (Brown, 1988). Therefore, Spearman rho was used to find out the correlation of
the two variables. The questionnaire data of this research was ordinal data and
below is a table to show the scales of the questionnaire.
Table 1. Questionnaire
Questionnaire Categories
Scale
Strongly disagree
1
Disagree
2
Agree
3
Strongly agree
4
13
The questionnaire data was calculated based on the scales to get the
average score from each student (Appendix A). After getting the average score for
each student then the correlation analysis was carried out.
The data of the speaking scores was interval data and therefore they had to
be converted into ordinal data as the requirement of Spearman rho correlation
analysis. Thus, the speaking scores data were categorized into 4 groups in order to
make them ordinal. Below is the table to show the scales of speaking anxiety.
Table 2. Speaking scores from interval into ordinal scale
Speaking Scores Categories
Scale
0-25
1
26-50
2
51-75
3
76-100
4
The speaking scores had an interval of 25 points after they were converted
into ordinal data. For example, if a student scored 77.1 then the score would be
put into a scale of 4. After all questionnaires data and speaking scores data had
same ordinal scales, then it was analyzed using Spearman rho correlation analysis.
Result and Discussion
The purpose of this study was to find out the correlation between students’
learning anxiety in speaking and speaking scores. Further, there had been two sets
data used by this study, which was ordinal data from the speaking anxiety
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questionnaire and ordinal data of speaking final scores, the result of conversion
from interval data (Appendix B). They were correlated using Spearman’s rho
correlation analysis.
Thus, the hypotheses of the study were formulated as follow:
H0 : There is no significant correlation between students’ learning anxiety in
speaking and speaking scores.
H1 : There is significant correlation between students’ learning anxiety in
speaking and speaking scores.
In order to test the hypotheses of this study, if p>0.05 H0 would be
accepted because it shows that there is no correlation between students’ learning
anxiety in speaking and speaking scores. However, if p