Tendencies for Future Research on English Speaking Anxiety in Confucian Heritage Culture (CHC) Students and Teachers

Abstract

This paper examines the causes and consequences of Foreign Language Anxiety (FLA) in Second Language Acquisition (SLA). Speaking was the skill that contributed most to a high FLA level and that approximately one-third of students presented a moderate FLA level. Confucian Heritage Cultures (CHCs) students’ experiences were chosen as the focus of our research because they have higher FLA rates of all ethnic groups. The aim of this work is to shed light on English Speaking Anxiety and observe the tendencies to enable future research in this field. The research is based on a series of papers collected from journals. The findings are related to the influence of emotional factors that contribute to anxiety in the classroom and teachers’ attitudes. A high anxiety rate may be related not only to a natural propensity to anxiety, but also to factors related to teachers’ activities and attributes. The studies showed that the tone of voice, gender and the teacher's dress code had an effect on students’ levels of anxiety.