WAYS OF REDUCING ANXIETY IN UKRAINIAN SECONDARY LEARNERS WHEN SPEAKING ENGLISH
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.31499/2306-5532.1-2.2025.346713Keywords:
language learning anxiety, Ukrainian secondary learners, speaking English, strategies to reduce anxiety.Abstract
The paper highlights the significance of addressing the issue of anxiety in language learning, especially when it comes to speaking English as a foreign language by Ukrainian secondary learners. The aim of this small-scale classroom research is to investigate the secondary learners’ language anxiety levels when speaking English, and to suggest ways to reduce it. The levels of language anxiety were defined by means of a self-report questionnaire, ‘The Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale’ (FLCAS), which uses a Likert scale to assess issues related to communication apprehension, test anxiety, and fear of negative evaluation. The intervention rested on exploiting the following strategies: encouraging gradual exposure to speaking situations, providing interactive and creative speaking practices, using positive reinforcement and confidence building, and fostering a supportive learning environment. Throughout the intervention, specific strategies were used to develop fluency, confident body language, and active participation towards the group of learners with a high level of language anxiety. To trace the impact of the intervention on the participants, the focused observation on the behavioural changes, such as participation levels in speaking activities, changes in body language, fluency and willingness to speak.
The intervention helped reduce severe speaking anxiety and led to noticeable positive changes in fluency, body language, and participation. The findings suggest that the implemented strategies helped reduce anxiety and improve engagement. It also proves that understanding language anxiety levels serves as a premise for providing necessary help and support to anxious foreign language secondary learners.
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