The Experience of English Speaking Anxiety and Coping Strategies: A Transcendental Phenomenological Study
Keywords:
Emotional Tension, English Speaking Anxiety, Transcendental Phenomenology, Physiological Effects, Mental DifficultiesAbstract
The study investigates the speaking anxiety and strategies that second language learners use to deal with their anxiety when they speak English. The researcher conducts semi-structured interviews to collect data. There were 55 students in a state university in the Philippines who participated in the study, and the top five students with the highest level of anxiety were interviewed for data collection. Transcendental phenomenology was used as a method of the research. The results showed that learners have emotional tensions, physiological symptoms, and mental difficulties when they speak English. The fear of losing face or negative feedback was also attributed to the anxiety of the students. The researcher also found that the students use some strategies to cope with their nervousness by utilizing helpful tools such as reading books in English and consulting a dictionary. The strategies enabled the students to put their thoughts into writing, overcome their shyness, and become open-minded with the teacher’s corrections or feedback.
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