Investigating English language anxiety among UiTM Sarawak undergraduates / Vicky Chin, Ting Hie Ling and Yeo Jiin Yih

Second or foreign language learning can be a demanding task for many language learners. One
of the essential factors is the existence of anxiety. In relation to this, the present study aims to
investigate the level of English language anxiety experienced by university students as well as to
identify the factors that lead to such anxiety. The Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale
(FLCAS) which is developed by Horwitz et al. (1986) was administered to 149 first year Diploma
students. Data analysis on the FLCAS items were analysed using SPSS 22. The findings revealed
that majority of the students experienced a moderate level of English language anxiety with
anxiety of English classes being the main factor which contributed to the respondents’ language
learning anxiety, followed by fear of test, communication/ speech apprehension and finally fear
of negative evaluation. The study also indicated that most of the students were unmotivated to
attend English classes and unproductive in preparing language tests. Nevertheless, majority of
the students perceived themselves as confident and not anxious when speaking with native
English speakers. The findings from this study provide pedagogical implications to the English
as second language (ESL) practitioners and could potentially assist instructors in alleviating
debilitating anxiety which in turn can yield better learning outcomes.