Foreign language anxiety has been recognized as one of the foremost challenges for language learners. The present study intended to discover the levels and sources of non-English freshmen’s anxiety in ESP speaking class, coupled with the strategies employed by both freshmen and instructor to mitigate this anxiety.
An exploratory case study design was applied to enrich insight and better understand the phenomena. The participants of this study were 32 non-English freshmen and one ESP instructor in an Islamic private university in Malang. Questionnaire, interview, and observation were conducted to gather the data, which were further analyzed using thematic analysis.
The findings of the study revealed that; (1) most non-English freshmen experienced a moderate to high level of anxiety in ESP speaking class, (2) speaking anxiety frequently felt by non-English freshmen was caused by some sources, namely personal mentality, linguistic capability, and classroom activity, (3) several strategies adopted by non-English freshmen to cope with speaking anxiety, such as do preparation and practice, think positively, connect with peers, hold notes, avoid eye- contact, and increase out-of-class exposure to English, (4) various approaches implemented by the instructor to reduce non-English freshmen’s anxiety in ESP speaking class, they were, attempt to be understanding and friendly, utilize gamification for pre-activity, create group discussion, bring a familiar topic, allow access to machine translation, and tolerate the use of L1 when needed.
The results of this study could be used as a reflection to comprehend deeper foreign language speaking anxiety as a complex psychological phenomenon influenced by many factors. Both educator and learners need to participate in what they can contribute to lessening anxiety. The strategies found in this study are expected to give practical implications to establish a better language teaching and learning atmosphere, especially in training English speaking skills.
