See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.

net/publication/342134152

LEVELS OF LANGUAGE ANXIETY TOWARD ENGLISH: A SAMPLE FROM DAVAO

DEL NORTE

Article · July 2018

CITATIONS READS

21 8,044

1 author:

Annie Mae CRUDA Berowa

Mindanao State University Main Campus
10 PUBLICATIONS 124 CITATIONS

SEE PROFILE

All content following this page was uploaded by Annie Mae CRUDA Berowa on 12 June 2020.

The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file.

 The Online Journal of New Horizons in Education - July 2018 Volume 8, Issue 3

LEVELS OF LANGUAGE ANXIETY TOWARD ENGLISH: A SAMPLE FROM

DAVAO DEL NORTE
Annie Mae C. Berowa
Mindanao State University, Main Campus
[email protected]
[email protected]

Abstract. This study was conducted to provide insights on the levels of language
anxiety experienced by learners of English as a second language (ESL) in Davao del
Norte, Philippines. Additionally, it tried to determine the significant relationship
between anxiety vis-à-vis gender and year level variables that could be influential
factors in the success or failure in learning English. The data were obtained from 60
university students using a two-part questionnaire which contained Park’s (2014)
modified version of the 33-item Foreign Language Anxiety Scale (FLCAS). The
results showed neutral level of language anxiety among the respondents in all areas.
Furthermore, no significant relationship between English language anxiety vis-à-vis
gender and year-level of the students was found. Since all the aspects that could
provoke anxiety are kept to their adequate level, it could be a good indication of the
learning and teaching environment of the students since neutral level of anxiety is
believed to perform a positive role in keeping the motivation of the learners to
maintain their efforts in language learning.

Introduction
Philippines is a linguistically, culturally, socially and religiously diverse country which is composed of 7,107
islands. In 2017, the Philippine Ethnologue reported that the country is the home of 187 individual languages. Of
these Philippine languages, 183 are said to be living while the other 4 are already extinct (Lewis, Fennig &
Simons, 2017). Additionally, 41 Philippine languages are already institutionalized, 72 are developing, 45 are
vigorous, and 14 are sadly in trouble while 11 are already dying. From all these Philippine languages, the
Department of Education (DepEd) identified 12 major languages to be used as a medium of instruction in the
currently implemented Mother-Tongue Based Multilingual Education (MTBMLE) policy in the educational
system of the country particularly in public schools. These languages include Tagalog, Kapampangan,
Pangasinense, Iloko, Bikol, Cebuano, Hiligaynon, Waray, Tausug, Maguindanaon, Maranao, and Chabacano
(DepEd, 2013).

However, it is the English language which is considered as the language of power and of progress in the country
that has played a major role in the lives of the Filipinos in improving their socio-economic status and in
achieving a much better life. In fact, it has become the lingua franca in the country even before the world treated
English as such because of the country’s great linguistic diversity (Wa-Mbaleka, 2014b). But even if it is highly
valued because of its functional and practical use in the Philippines and in many countries around the world,
learning the English language is still found to be very challenging since the process goes through complicated
tasks that involves psychological as well as social factors (Berowa, 2016). In fact, a large number of
investigations in the fields of English as a Second Language (ESL) and English as a Foreign Language (EFL)
have emphasized the roles of different variables that could facilitate or impede language learning. It has been
stressed that affective factors like language anxiety have an effectual role in language achievement and
proficiency.

Anxiety performs an important role in the success of learning or the lack of it. Over the years, language
educators have placed great interest in investigating language anxiety as it is believed to hamper learning (Elaldi,
2016). As claimed by Horwitz (2001), a significant portion of the total population of foreign language learners
feels some level of anxiety. This may suggest that even Filipino ESL learners are not exempted from
experiencing such anxiety.

Thus, this study was conducted to provide insights on the levels of English language anxiety among ESL
learners in Davao del Norte, Philippines. Furthermore, it explored the gender and year-level variables that may
predict English anxiety that could be significant in the success or failure in learning the target language.
Moreover, the author hopes to provide an additional resource to the very limited literature about the topic which
examined those students who come from Mindanao.

www.tojned.net Copyright © The Online Journal of New Horizons in Education 118

 The Online Journal of New Horizons in Education - July 2018 Volume 8, Issue 3

1.2 Review of Related Literature

The idea of language anxiety is illustrated as the emotive reaction and the fear that is stimulated when one learns
or uses a target language (MacIntyre, 1998 as cited in Zheng, 2008). Anxiety is seen to be a very prevalent
phenomenon in the acquisition and learning of a language which is found to be a negative variable (Elaldi,
2016). Since there is a high possibility that it may hinder the attainment of the fundamental aim in language
learning, researchers have conducted several studies to discover the different causes of anxiety in order to
properly address its occurrence.

It was in 1986 when Horwitz, Horwitz and Cope made an important notion to theorize and to measure anxiety in
language learning. They maintained that factors like apprehension in communication, anxiety to a test and fear to
be negatively evaluated play great roles in creating anxiety in the context of target language learning. From this
investigation, a thirty-three item Foreign Language Anxiety Scale (FLCAS) was formulated that was also
thought to be the most vital aspect of the study. In the analysis, the FLCAS instrument was able to show that a
significant level of language anxiety affects the performance of the students in learning the second language. In
spite of this result, the authors failed to identify the most influential factor of anxiety.

Since the creation of the anxiety model of Horwitz et al. in 1986, the framework has been constantly challenged
by the researchers in the different contexts. Aside from seeking the vital factor that contributes to language
anxiety in which the three-factor model failed to identify, several investigations were also carried out to test the
validity of the FLCAS.

1.2.1 English language anxiety among university students

One of the investigations that aimed to test the validity of the proposed anxiety model of Horwitz et al. in
language learning was made by Aida in 1994 that involved 96 students in the university who were learners of the
Japanese language in the University of Texas, USA. It was an exploratory study that was meant to know the core
structure of the FLCAS and to investigate whether the structure mirrors the three kinds of anxiety that were
previously distinguished or otherwise. Furthermore, the research was aimed to assess the reliability of the
FLCAS instrument and to show the relationship between the levels of anxiety of the students and their
performance in Japanese. Based on the analysis of the data gathered, it was found that the adapted FLCAS was
highly reliable with regard to evaluating the level of anxiety level among learners in the university who were
learning the Japanese language. It was also discovered that anxiety associated to tests was established only in the
aspect of learning in general but not in a more specific area just like in foreign language learning. The author
further asserted that the test factor must be eliminated as this component was not supported based on the results
of the study in contrast to the claim previously made. Such results lead the researcher to devise a model of
anxiety which included the fear of being negatively evaluated, the fear of experiencing failure in the class, the
degree of comfort in speaking with native speakers, and the attitude toward the class which is negative. The
researcher also added that anxiety toward speech and the fear to be negatively evaluated are the components
found to be part of the cause of anxiety.

Another research was made in 1999 by Cheng, Horwitz and Schallert who explored the relationship between
anxiety toward classroom and writing in the target language and tried to know their connections to their
achievement in writing and speaking. It was conducted in the four universities in Taiwan in which 433 English
major students took part as participants. For the instrument, a modified FLCAS questionnaire was used to gather
the data along with the adapted SLWAT. The instrument was translated to Chinese and the pilot test was
conducted before the research was formally performed. The results indicated that anxiety in classroom and
writing in the target language are two independent but related constructs. Furthermore, it was illustrated that
classroom anxiety is an overall type of anxiety which is relevant to the speaking task in the target language while
in writing, anxiety was seen to be specific in the language skills. Nevertheless, the study was able to demonstrate
that self-confidence which is low appeared as a vital aspect of anxiety both in speaking and writing.

In the context of the Philippines, Mamhot, Martin and Masangya (2013) conducted a comparative study on the
language anxiety of Filipino ESL and EFL learners from two (2) institutions based in the Philippines. The study
aimed to determine the language anxiety as experienced by both groups of learners and to discover the causes
and effects of these anxieties. The investigation included a total of 40 respondents where there were 20 ESL and
20 EFL students. The data were gathered through a two-part questionnaire in which one contains the 33-item
FLCAS developed by Horwitz et al. (1986) while the other part comprises a 2-item questionnaire adapted from
Williams and Andrade (2008). The results showed that Filipino ESL learners have neutral level of language
anxiety while the fear of negative evaluation in the area of low self-perceived linguistic competency was
displayed. As regards EFL learners, they reported no level of language anxiety. In the end, both groups
expressed they are the one responsible for the language anxiety that they experienced.

www.tojned.net Copyright © The Online Journal of New Horizons in Education 119

 The Online Journal of New Horizons in Education - July 2018 Volume 8, Issue 3

1.2.2 Anxiety vis-à-vis gender and year-level

In 2001, Kitano investigated the anxiety toward foreign language among university students enrolled in Japanese
language in the context of the United States. The study aimed to examine two (2) potential sources of anxiety of
the students in Japanese oral tasks. These identified sources include the individual students’ fear of negative
evaluation and the self-perceived speaking ability. A survey was conducted that included 212 students in
Japanese courses. It was found that the individual student’s anxiety was higher as his or her fear of negative
evaluation was stronger, and the strength of this tendency is dependent on the instructional level and experience
of going to Japan. Additionally, an individual student’s anxiety was higher as he or she perceived his or her
ability as lower than that of peers and native speakers. Also, male participants reported higher level of anxiety as
compared to females and that anxiety was stronger for advanced-level students than those students from
intermediate and elementary levels.

Still on language anxiety, Matsuda and Gobel (2004) investigated anxiety in classroom and reading, and
explored gender, classroom performance, and overseas extended experience variables. The study was
accomplished in a Japanese university in Kyoto that was joined by 252 students from the English classes of the
first semester. The year level of the students was represented through random sampling by year level. There were
89 first-year students, 85 second-year and 78 third-year participants respectively. The students had mixed-
English proficiency levels that ranged from beginner to high intermediate. For the instruments, FLCAS and
FLRAS were employed to determine the anxiety self-reports of the students that could either be influenced by
different aspects of reading or by anxiety in the foreign language class in general. The MANOVA was employed
to analyze the data. The results of the study demonstrated that self-confidence in the use of English was
significantly influenced by the ability to travel abroad. This means that lower anxiety level was found among
students who had gone abroad. It was also found that among first year students, self-confidence, gender, and
proficiency performed vital roles in their actual performance in the classroom. However, unlike the other studies,
gender was not found to be significant as to its effect on the overall reading/general anxieties, although among
first year students, gender was discovered to be one of the vital elements in achieving language learning success.
Moreover, it was shown that self-confidence when one speaks the English language was a predictor in the
performance of the female participants for the content courses and in the four skills which are basic language
learning.

Apart from the university students, the conception of second language learning anxiety was also examined
among high school students. Na (2007) explored the level of anxiety experienced by high school students in
China who were learners of English as a foreign language (EFL). The researcher surveyed the participants that
involved 115 students from Shandong. The instruments employed included a questionnaire and an achievement
test to gather the data necessary to attain the aims of the investigation. The questionnaire, the Chinese version of
FLCAS, was used to collect the demographic information of the students and the English language anxiety they
encountered. The participants were found to possess level of English learning anxiety which is high and it was
the males who were found to have higher anxiety toward English classes. In the end, the researcher claimed that
high level of anxiety somehow hindered the language learning of the students.

The English language anxiety among students was also explored by Elaldi (2016) in Turkey. Aside from
exploring the anxiety of the English learners, the research also compared the anxiety experienced by the students
when they were in the preparatory class and when they were already in fourth grade. Additionally, it also tried to
determine if gender variable influence language anxiety. Through the use of FLCAS questionnaire, it was found
that students have moderate level of anxiety both in preparatory and fourth grades. It was also illustrated that the
anxiety of the students increased as they advance to higher level. Moreover, the results showed that males were
found to have higher language anxiety as compared to the female participants.

From the trends in language learning anxiety research, there is an indication that different factors contribute to
anxiety from one context to another. This means that one cannot exactly determine the factors that may predict
language anxiety in various language communities. Thus, the theoretical model devised by Horwitz et al. in 1986
cannot be always found to be truthful as shown in the previous studies and it should not be taken as one size fits
all anxiety predictors. Some language learners may likely suffer anxiety in the second language while some may
suffer anxiety depending on the language skill that has to be performed. The literature discussed also showed
that gender and the year level of the students play a part in the anxiety experienced in language learning.

However, it must be emphasized that previous research projects had participants who were mostly learning
intensive English courses and appeared to be homogenous in terms of linguistic backgrounds. Less is known as
to the factors that may predict the anxiety among second language learners of English in a multi-cultural context.

www.tojned.net Copyright © The Online Journal of New Horizons in Education 120

 The Online Journal of New Horizons in Education - July 2018 Volume 8, Issue 3

Thus, the researcher of this current study believes that it would be interesting to discover the levels of English
anxiety of the participants in diverse environment, particularly in Davao del Norte in the Philippines, where
students come from extremely different linguistic, social, cultural and religious backgrounds.

1.3 Research Questions

This study aimed to determine the levels of English language anxiety of the students from Tagum City, Davao
del Norte in the Philippines. Specifically, it tried to answer the following questions.
1. What are the levels of anxiety of the respondents toward English based on gender and year-level?
2. Is there a significant relationship between the levels of English language anxiety and the gender of the
respondents?
3. Is there a significant relationship between the levels of English language anxiety and the year-level of
the respondents?

1.4 Theoretical Framework

This study is anchored on the Foreign Language Anxiety Theory as postulated by Horwitz, Horwitz and Cope in
1986. Horwitz et al. (1986) provides that language anxiety is composed of and a combination of the following
components: communication apprehension, test anxiety and fear of negative evaluation. The first component
pertains to the anxiety experienced by the students when they communicate with the use of the target language to
others. Additionally, the second component refers to the concept of fear in taking the examination, while the
third component concerns the worry of the students that they may be misunderstood. It has been frequently
argued by Horwitz et al. (1986) that anxiety toward a language happens in a particular situation. Thus, a
language learner may experience anxiety every time he/she speaks with fellow students, or when talking to
teachers of native speakers of the language. It is also possible that students feel uneasiness during class
recitations, reports, presentations or dialogues among others.

The theory of Horwitz et al. (1986) is used to analyze the anxiety level of the respondents for this present study.

Methodology
The study employed a quantitative research method to investigate the levels of English language anxiety of the
ESL learners from Tagum City, Davao del Norte, Philippines. The quantitative method was an appropriate
research approach since it involves the measurement of the data gathered to examine the levels of English
language anxiety of the respondents and to discover the significant relationship between the respondents’ anxiety
vis-à-vis gender and year-level. The data were collected through a questionnaire that reflects the thirty-three item
Foreign Language Anxiety Scale (FLCAS) which uses a five-point Likert scale adopted from Park in 2014.

This study was conducted in a university in Tagum City, Davao del Norte, Philippines. The setting was chosen
since it is the largest university in the locality that is assumed to have students from different backgrounds
linguistically, culturally, socially and religiously that could provide a good representation of the tri-people from
Mindanao. The investigation included 60 undergraduate students, 30 males and 30 females, who were enrolled in
the different degree courses in the university who were chosen through systematic sampling method. From the
number of respondents, each level from second to fourth year were represented by 20 students.

To obtain the necessary data, the researcher made use of a-two part survey questionnaire. The first part was
intended to collect personal information about the participants such as gender and year-level. The second part
was on the purpose of gathering the data on language anxiety using the 33-item Foreign Language Classroom
Anxiety Scale (FLCAS) adapted from Park (2014). The scale is a self-report measure of the learner’s feelings of
anxiety as a specific reaction to English language learning as a second language in the classroom (Wang, 2010).
From the 33 statements which are found in the FLCAS, different statements pertain to different components that
could provoke English language anxiety as shown in Table 1.

www.tojned.net Copyright © The Online Journal of New Horizons in Education 121

 The Online Journal of New Horizons in Education - July 2018 Volume 8, Issue 3

Table 1
Statements in the FLCAS based on different components
Area Number Statement

Communication
Anxiety
1 I never feel quite sure of myself when I am speaking in my English
class.
9 I start to panic when I have to speak without preparation in English
class.
14 I would not be nervous speaking English with native speakers.
18 I feel confident when I speak in English class.
24 I feel very self-conscious about speaking English in front of other
students.
27 I get nervous and confused when I am speaking in my English class.
29 I get nervous when I don’t understand every word the English
teacher says.
32 I would probably feel comfortable around native speakers of English.
Test Anxiety
2 I don’t worry about making mistakes in English class.
8 I am usually at ease during tests in my English class.
10 I worry about the consequences of failing my English class.
19 I am afraid that my English teacher is ready to correct every
mistake I make.
21 The more I study for an English test, the more confused I get.
Fear of Negative
Evaluation
3 I tremble when I know that I’m going to be called on in English
class.
7 I keep thinking that the other students are better at English than I
am.
13 It embarrasses me to volunteer answers in my English class.
15 I get upset when I don’t understand what the teacher is correcting.
20 I can feel my heart pounding when I am going to be called on in
English class.
23 I always feel that the other students speak English better than I do.
25 English class moves so quickly, I worry about getting left behind.
31 I am afraid that the other students will laugh at me when I speak
English.
33 I get nervous when the English teacher asks questions which I
haven't prepared in advance.

As regards the other 11 remaining items, they were put in a group which was named anxiety of English
classes (Na, 2007) as the following statements found in Table 2.

www.tojned.net Copyright © The Online Journal of New Horizons in Education 122

 The Online Journal of New Horizons in Education - July 2018 Volume 8, Issue 3

Table 2
Statements in the FLCAS grouped as anxiety of English classes
Number Statement

4 It frightens me when I don’t understand what the teacher is saying in the

foreign language.
5 It wouldn’t bother me at all to take more foreign language classes.
6 During language class, I find myself thinking about things that have nothing
to do with the course.
11 I don’t understand why some people get so upset over foreign language
classes.
12 In language class, I can get so nervous when I forget things I know.
16 Even if I am well prepared for language class, I feel anxious about it.
17 I often feel like not going to my language class.
22 I don’t feel pressure to prepare very well for language class.
26 I feel more tense and nervous in my language class than in my
other classes.
28 When I’m on my way to language class, I feel very sure and relaxed.
30 I feel overwhelmed by the number of rules you have to learn to speak a
foreign language.

The FLCAS uses a 5-point Likert scale with 33 items, ranging from strongly agree (5) to strongly disagree (1).
Total anxiety scores for the scale range from 33 to 165 points. While the answer strongly agree (5) indicates
high level of anxiety, strongly disagree (1) indicates low level of anxiety that students feel (Horwitz, 2008). As
reported by Park (2014), the Cronbach's coefficient alpha of all 33 items in the FLCAS was .93 which is
excellent. Thus, the instrument is a valid and a reliable scale that has been consistently used in various studies to
measure anxiety.

The data gathered through the use of the questionnaire were then coded. For gender, male is coded as 1 while
female is coded as 0. With regard to the year level of the respondents, 1-first year, 2- second year, 3-third year,
and 4-fourth year. The statements were anxiety coded based on the scale of 1-5. The null and alternative
hypotheses were formulated in this study.
A. English language anxiety and gender

Null Hypothesis:

H 0= There is no significant relationship between the English language anxiety of the respondents
vis-à-vis gender.
Alternate Hypothesis:

H 1= There is a significant relationship between the English language anxiety of the respondents
vis-à-vis gender.
B. English language anxiety and gender

Null Hypothesis:
H 0= There is no significant relationship between the English language anxiety

of the respondents vis-à-vis year level.

Alternate Hypothesis:

H 1= There is a significant relationship between the English language anxiety of

the respondents vis-à-vis gender.

For the statistical analysis of the data, mean was used to determine the levels of English language anxiety of the
respondents. After the mean and the standard deviation were determined for each statement, the interpretation
was based on the following scheme.

www.tojned.net Copyright © The Online Journal of New Horizons in Education 123

 The Online Journal of New Horizons in Education - July 2018 Volume 8, Issue 3

Table 3
Mean interpretation
Mean Interpretation

4.20-5.0 Very High

3.40-4.19 High
2.60-3.39 Neutral
1.80-2.59 Low
1.0-1.79 Very Low

Additionally, Pearson r correlation was employed to determine the significant relationship between English
language anxiety and gender and year level, the.

Results and Discussion

3.1 Level of Anxiety toward English language
The overall mean of all the level of English anxiety among the respondents is as shown in Table 4 is 3.0518
while the standard deviation is 0.17746 which implies that these university students experience neutral level of
anxiety toward English language.

Table 4
Levels of English anxiety among respondents
Item Mean Standard Deviation Description
1 2.90 0.933 Neutral
2 3.10 1.085 Neutral
3 3.02 0.948 Neutral
4 2.85 1.039 Neutral
5 3.35 0.899 Neutral
6 2.92 1.094 Neutral
7 3.30 1.109 Neutral
8 3.10 0.817 Neutral
9 3.27 0.821 Neutral
10 3.22 1.059 Neutral
11 3.00 0.921 Neutral
12 3.02 0.930 Neutral
13 2.67 0.857 Neutral
14 2.98 0.892 Neutral
15 2.96 1.006 Neutral
16 3.33 1.036 Neutral
17 2.62 1.091 Neutral
18 2.95 0.999 Neutral
19 3.00 1.193 Neutral
20 3.17 0.924 Neutral
21 2.85 1.039 Neutral
22 2.97 0.843 Neutral
23 3.20 0.971 Neutral
24 3.10 0.896 Neutral
25 3.15 0.917 Neutral
26 2.92 1.030 Neutral
27 2.98 1.000 Neutral
28 2.98 0.725 Neutral
29 3.15 0.917 Neutral
30 3.35 0.860 Neutral
31 3.15 1.055 Neutral
32 3.03 0.823 Neutral
33 3.18 0.892 Neutral
OVERALL 3.0518 0.17746 Neutral
Note: Scale: 1.0-1.79= Very Low; 1.8-2.59= Low; 2.6-3.39=Neutral; 3.40-4.19=High; 4.20-5.0= Very High

www.tojned.net Copyright © The Online Journal of New Horizons in Education 124

 The Online Journal of New Horizons in Education - July 2018 Volume 8, Issue 3

As clearly shown in Table 4, respondents experience certain level of anxiety toward English. Although there are
variations, the mean of each statement and the overall mean results generally suggest that respondents have
neutral level of English language anxiety. The findings largely differ from the previous investigations which
recorded either high or low language anxiety (Horwitz et al., 1986; Aida, 1994; Cheng et al, 1999). Instead, the
result appears to be consistent with the findings made by Mamhot et al. (2013) that Filipino ESL students
generally do not acknowledge nor deny that they feel certain level of anxiety toward the English language.
Similar to their finding, the respondents of this investigation provide the impression that they have adequate
level of anxiety, not high but not also low. This could be a very good indication since according to Na (2007),
the real task of English teachers is to provide students with just enough level of anxiety in learning the English
language. Such adequate amount of anxiety plays a significant role in keeping students’ motivation and in
maintaining their efforts in the target language learning. With this, teachers should not try to completely help
students to get away from English anxiety.

The anxiety as reported by these students from Mindanao may be influenced by different factors. Horwitz et al.
(1986) provide that foreign language anxiety is caused by communication apprehension, test anxiety and fear of
negative evaluation. As they argued, communication apprehension happens when the learner is challenged not
only in speaking but also in comprehending messages from the other. In the context of the present study, it could
be possible that respondents do not find the use of English to be very or less difficult particularly in oral
communication activities. It is very likely that they have enough self-confidence as they do not seem to show
extreme anxiety or confidence when they need to communicate with people especially that English oral
communication subject performs dyadic interaction, group discussions and even public speaking. This line of
argument is supported by the statements referring to the aspect of communication anxiety in the FLCAS just like
statement number 1 that goes “I never feel quite sure of myself when I am speaking in my English class” in
which neutral level is reported.

Furthermore, it was theorized that anxiety is predicted to happen during language test when there is fear of
negative evaluation. As asserted by Horwitz et al. (1986), test anxiety happens when students fear of getting a
failing grade or that they could not achieve unrealistic expectations. Based on the scores, the students may have
maintained neutral level of anxiety as they may not have erroneous expectations and beliefs about language
standards during test or language tasks that are identified to bring the feeling of anxiety among second language
learners. As evident in statement number two (2) that pertains to test anxiety, “I don’t worry about making
mistakes in English class,” it could be speculated that these learners do not feel extremely anxious or otherwise
as they have been exposed to the language since childhood. They have been learning the English language and
probably been into different communication interactions with teachers and classmates that in turn, allow them to
feel neutral toward English language learning situations (Mamhot et al., 2013).

As regards fear of negative evaluation, Elaldi (2016) explained that it happens when high expectations and
standards are set as learners communicate and speak in public. The fear of not meeting these expectations
worries the students that would tend to hinder their learning process. In this investigation, it seems that students
hold tolerable level of fear as seen on the mean results of the statements pertaining to negative evaluation such as
in statement number three (3) that says, “I tremble when I know that I’m going to be called on in English class.”
It could be possible that students have friendly classroom and learning environment where teachers and peers are
supportive, and where language evaluation are done in a constructive manner, and activities are encouraging that
do not provoke high or low anxiety. As asserted by Na (2007), the more friendly and informal the language
classroom environment becomes, the less likely it causes anxiety.

Still on English anxiety, previous studies illustrated that gender variable was found to predict the level of anxiety
among ESL learners. However, the current study shows otherwise as both gender groups reported the same level
of language anxiety toward English as presented in Table 5. The results show that the mean score of language
anxiety among female students is 3.0737 while males reported 3.0292. Although females appear to have higher
mean scores, results from both gender groups are similarly interpreted as neutral.

Table 5
English anxiety by gender
Gender Mean Standard Deviation Interpretation

Female 3.0737 0.43534 Neutral

Male 3.0292 0.27619 Neutral

www.tojned.net Copyright © The Online Journal of New Horizons in Education 125

 The Online Journal of New Horizons in Education - July 2018 Volume 8, Issue 3

As described in Table 5, the results point to the same direction as both male and female research participants are
found to have adequate level of English language anxiety. This finding disputes numerous investigations in the
past as cited in this study that overwhelmingly assert that males have higher level of anxiety toward English as
compared to females (Kitano, 2001; Matsuda & Gobel, 2004; Na, 2007; Elaldi, 2016). Females have always
been regarded as more adept in language learning than males as they have been found to achieve higher score in
English exams than males (Cui, 2011). With such trend in English language performance, it is assumed that
females are more confident in learning the language and they are more ready in approaching threatening
situations in language learning. As a result, females are less anxious than the males.

However, such is not the case in this research as male and female respondents have shown the same level of
anxiety. This may be due to the fact that they have somehow shared almost the same experience and knowledge
about English especially that all of them come from the same school. In the study of Kitano (2001), it was found
that Japanese male students had higher anxiety as they view their spoken Japanese competence to be less than
the others that was not actually experienced by females. In this context, male and female respondents possibly
share the same language competencies, perception and motivation in learning English language competencies
that might have influenced the same level of anxiety regardless of gender.

Aside from gender, the aspect of year-level was also explored to determine the level of language anxiety toward
English among the respondents. As illustrated on Table 6, the year-level of the students do not generate different
results.

Table 6
English anxiety by year-level
Year-Level Mean Standard Deviation Interpretation

2 2.8139 0.24605 Neutral

3 3.0879 0.46655 Neutral
4 2.9394 0.22734 Neutral

The respondents of this study from different year-level yield similar results in relation to English language
anxiety as shown in Table 6. All the students reported a neutral level of language anxiety regardless of their
academic standing. These findings are inconsistent with the previous investigations that illustrate an increase of
anxiety as the learner advances to higher level of study (Kitano, 2001; Aydemir, 2011; Liu, 2006; Elaldi, 2016).
According to Kitano (2001), the level of anxiety toward foreign language learning tend to increase as the
students progress to advanced-level because they may fear the possibility of being negatively evaluated more
strongly by their teachers and peers as compared to the those in the lower levels. The same line of argument was
presented by Elaldi (2016) who revealed that language anxiety in foreign language of the students progressed
from preparatory to grade four. These researchers maintain that the increase of language anxiety among students
as they progress to higher year-level is associated with the belief that their additional knowledge in English
might increase the chances of noticing their own errors in speaking that will make them more anxious.

Another assumption that is offered for such increase of anxiety has something to do with the expectation that
their teachers in the higher level may not be as considerate as those in the lower level. It is very likely for
students to feel more anxious as teachers may become stricter and less generous with praise than teachers in the
lower level, and that also increase their fear of being negatively evaluated in the advanced level. In contrast, Liu
(2006) maintained that there is a decrease of the level of English language anxiety as one increases proficiency
and learning experience that can happen as the learner proceed to higher year level.

However, the result of this research in relation to the year-level of the respondents cannot support these previous
findings since this study offers a different perspective. As shown in the table above, there are no variations as to
the anxiety experienced based on the year-level of the students. This means that the year-level of the students do
not show an increase or a decrease of language anxiety instead, the level of anxiety is being maintained.
Although they feel anxious, such similar results from different year-levels could be attributed to their almost
similar knowledge, experience and exposure to the target language. The situations that encourage anxiety in
language learning as mentioned in the previous studies might have been felt by these students, but it appears that
they are able to maintain just an adequate level of anxiety which is evident in the mean scores.

www.tojned.net Copyright © The Online Journal of New Horizons in Education 126

 The Online Journal of New Horizons in Education - July 2018 Volume 8, Issue 3

3.2 Significant relation between English anxiety and gender

The Pearson r Correlation analysis was carried out to determine if there is a significant relationship between
anxiety and gender. The result of the correlation analysis is illustrated in Table 7.

Table 7
Correlation of English anxiety vis-à-vis gender
Variables p-value Interpretation

ANXIETY Gender 0.639 Not Significant

As presented in Table 7, the correlation analysis indicates that the p-value is 0.639 which is greater than the
alpha (0.05). Therefore, the NULL hypothesis (H 0 ) should not be rejected. This implies that there is no
significant relationship between English language anxiety and the gender of the respondents. This finding
supports the investigation made by Matsuda and Gobel (2004) who advocated that gender was not significant in
relation to the gender of the Japanese university respondents. This means that gender variable does not determine
the level of English language anxiety of the respondents because, as previously mentioned, both gender groups
have the same level of anxiety. It could be a possibility that anxiety is not determined by the gender of the
learners as they may have the same level of experience, exposure and knowledge as regards English language
that explains the result.

3.3 Significant relation between English anxiety and year-level

Aside from gender, Pearson r Correlation was also employed to determine the significant relationship between
English anxiety and the year-level of the respondents. As shown in Table 8, consistent result is generated as
compared to gender variable.

Table 8
Correlation of English anxiety vis-à-vis year-level
Variables p-value Interpretation

ANXIETY Year-level 0.270 Not Significant

Table 8 shows that the correlation analysis between English anxiety and year-level has the p-value of 0.270
which is greater than the alpha (0.05). Therefore, the NULL hypothesis (H 0 ) should not be rejected. This implies
that there is no significant relationship between English language anxiety and the year level of the respondents.
This means that the year level of the students does not have anything to do with the level of their English
language anxiety. In line with this idea, the present study provides that as an individual proceeds to an advanced
level, it does not mean that their anxiety would also increase or decrease. The students may have perceived and
approached English language learning similarly regardless of the year level.

Thus, the results of this current research generally dispute previous findings that second language learners of
English experience high anxiety as influenced by gender and year-level variables.

Conclusion
This study illustrates that ESL learners from the south tend to maintain enough self-confidence and balanced
emotions toward English language learning. It appears that their anxiety is just enough for them not become very
anxious nor very relaxed that may actually prevent them from achieving the ultimate success in their language
learning. It is very likely that they are able to handle communication tasks, tests and evaluations in relation to
English fairly well that resulted to an adequate amount of anxiety. It gives the impression that their peers,
teachers, administrators, curriculum and institution are welcoming and understanding. In line with this, it seems
that the people and the institution involved in their language learning are doing a good job in just keeping the
right amount of anxiety.

Although speculations are the only option that could be provided in this study, this investigation sustains the
assertion that the respondents experience certain level of anxiety. Nevertheless, all aspects that could provoke

www.tojned.net Copyright © The Online Journal of New Horizons in Education 127

 The Online Journal of New Horizons in Education - July 2018 Volume 8, Issue 3

anxiety are kept to their adequate level that seems to provide a very good indication of their learning and
teaching environment. As Na (2007) believes, neutral level or adequate level of anxiety performs a positive role
in keeping the motivation of the learners to maintain their efforts in language learning.

References
Aida, Y. (1994). Examination of Horwitz, Horwitz, and Cope's construct of foreign language anxiety: The case
of students of Japanese. The Modern Language Journal, 78 (2), 155-168.
Berowa, A. M. (2016). The nose-bleed Syndrome: A study on the attitude of the college students towards
English language learning and their linguistic self-confidence in a multi-cultural context. JPAIR
Multidisciplinary Research, 24, 92-110.
Cheng, Y. S., Horwitz, E., & Schallert, L. (1999). Language anxiety: Differentiating writing and speaking
components. Language Learning, 49, 417-466.
Cui, J. (2011). Research on high school students’ English learning anxiety. Journal of Language Teaching and
Research, 2 (4), 875-880.
Department of Education (2013). Guidelines on the implementation of the mother tongue-based multilingual
education (MTBMLE). Manila, Philippines.
Elaldi, S. (2016).Foreign language anxiety of students studying English language and literature: A sample from
Turkey. Educational Research and Reviews, 11 (6), 219-228. DOI: 10.5897/ERR2015.2507.
Horwitz, E. K., Horwitz, M. B., & Cope, J. (1986).Foreign language classroom anxiety. Modern Language
Journal, 70 (2), 125-32.
Kitano, K. (2001). Anxiety in the college Japanese language classroom. The Modern Language Journal, 85, 549-
566.
Lewis, P., Fennig, C., & Simons, G. (2013). Ethnologue: Languages of the World. 17th ed. Dallas, Texas: SIL
International. Retrieved from http://www.ethnologue.com.
Mamhot, A. M. A., Martin, M. H. V., & Masangya, E. M. (2013). A comparative study on the language anxiety
of ESL and EFL learners. Philippine ESL Journal, 10, 200-231.
Matsuda, S., & Gobel, P. (2004). Anxiety and predictors of performance in the foreign language classroom.
System, 32, 21-36.
Na, Z. (2007). A study of high school students’ English learning anxiety. The Asian EFL Journal, 9 (3), 22-34.

Philippine Ethnologue (2017). Retrieved from http://www.ethnologue.com/P.H.

Wa-Mbaleka, S. (2014). English teachers’ perceptions of the mother tongue-based
education policy in the Philippines. European Journal of Research and Reflection in Educational Sciences, 2 (4),
17-32.
Wang, Q. (2003). A relative study of foreign language learning anxiety and classroom atmosphere and its
teaching significance. Northwest Normal University Journal (social science edition), 6, 27-3.
Zheng, Y. (2008). Anxiety and second foreign language learning revisited. Canadian Journal for New Scholars
in Education, 1 (1), 1-12.

www.tojned.net Copyright © The Online Journal of New Horizons in Education 128

View publication stats