Dealing with Stage Fright

Abstract

For many English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners, stage fright ? the fear of nervousness about speaking before an audience ? plays a major role in determining the success or failure of a presentation. Payne and Carlin (1994) even go so far as to claim that public speaking is the most anxiety-provoking classroom activity. This may result in physical reactions, such as shaking hands, a general unsteadiness and tension, blushing, sweating, a dry mouth, a queasy stomach, or in the worst case a complete breakdown of the speaker. Such an acute state of anxiety can have a detrimental effect on how the audience perceives the speaker in terms of their language competence but also their professional expertise. Research carried out by Kant (2000) found that audiences are indeed inclined to negatively appraise those speakers who overtly demonstrate their fears towards public speaking. These physical signs of anxiety, which are experienced by many speakers, can in some cases turn into unsurmountable barriers as far as achieving one?s personal or professional goals is concerned. This can also be seen in the classroom. As teachers, we all know that those learners who manage to cope with anxiety more effectively are likely to receive a better grade than those who apologise in the middle of the talk by saying ?I am sorry. I am so nervous.? It is therefore essential for EFL teachers to point out that knowing how to help English language learners deal with speech anxiety and stage fright should be a major concern of EFL teachers (e.g., Verderber & Verderber, 2003).