Assessing the language anxiety of Malaysian undergraduate English language learners

Assessing the language anxiety of Malaysian undergraduate English language learners

Learning English language in Malaysian formal classroom learning is similar to learning other subjects. The formal learning of English language begins at the age of seven and continues until seventeen, at the end of secondary school. The subject of English language is taught by skills, namely reading, listening, writing and speaking. English language is continuously assessed at the school level as well as the national level. Malaysian University English Test is an indicator of the learners’ English language proficiency as well as to determine the number of English language courses they need to take during their undergraduate programmes at higher education institutions in Malaysia. Nevertheless, Malaysian graduates limited incompetence in English communication skills is cited as a reason for their unemployment. Research has established that language anxiety is a consistent phenomenon in second language acquisition classrooms and presents an obstacle restricting learners from learning or acquiring a foreign language. This paper presents the research methodology on assessing the English language anxiety of first year Malaysian undergraduate learners. The study employed a mixed methods approach using the foreign language classroom anxiety scale as the quantitative research instrument, followed by the learners’ reflective journals as a supportive secondary role to the data collection. There is no single best design to favour in every case but the selection of any research approach should be appropriate to research problem(s) of any study.

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