한국 초등학생들의 영어 말하기 불안에 대한 연구

Abstract

A Study on Factors of Korean Elementary Students' English Speaking Anxiety

Kweon, So Young

Graduate School of Education Pukyong National University

Abstract

Different from previous studies on English speaking anxiety, whichfocusedon either college or high school levels, this study analyzed the English speaking anxiety of EFL elementary students in Korea. The sample of this study consisted of 292 students from third to sixth grade. The subjects were asked to complete a survey on English speaking anxiety. The results were as follows: (1) the analysis of the questionnaires showed that students' speaking anxiety level in English class was slightly higher than their anxiety in other classes, (2) boys experienced more anxiety than the girls when they spoke English. Also, the third graders felt the mostanxiousamong the grades, (3) students with low English proficiency showed the least English speaking anxiety, (4) verbal English responses for tests made the students more anxious than during other situations, (5) students showed the same level of English speaking anxiety when they spoke English in front of their classmates and in groups. It was also found that the students' English speaking anxiety was the lowest in pair work activities. Some findings from this study didn't corresponded to previous studies, in which students with high language proficiency felt less anxious compared to those with low language proficiency, and younger learners showed less language anxiety tendency than the older ones. It is, therefore, valuable for an English teacher to find out possible factors that affect students' speaking anxiety. Teachers should enforce positive motivation and attitudes, as well as develop strong relations with students and design relevant educational methods to relieve their speaking anxiety.