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Title LANGUAGE APPREHENSION IN ENGLISH LEARNERS AND ITS IMPACT ON THEIR AFFECTIVE OUTCOMES

Author(s) SAIRA RAHMAN

Abstract English as a second or foreign language has remained a problem for the people of different age groups and especially for the English language learners. The problem gets even more serious when communication in a second language is required. Learners feel great stress and anxiety when they communicate or present something in English. It in turn affects their academic performance in the form of fewer marks and lower grades. In order to see the effect of communication apprehension (CA) on oral communication skills of the learners, the researcher has tried to investigate the causes of communication apprehension in Pakistani learners studying English language at Diploma level at NUML and IIUI. The researcher has also tried to investigate the effects of CA on affective side of language learning. Mixed method approach has been used to collect data for the present research. Quantitative data were collected through questionnaires from 350 students which were analyzed through SPSS while qualitative data were collected from 18 students and eight teachers through interviews which were analyzed thematically. After analyzing the data it has been found that learners feel communication apprehension (CA) when they speak in English. This communication apprehension acts as a hurdle in the process of learning to speak in English and affects their communication skills. The research has shown many causes and effects of CA which present the problematic nature of CA as in many cases learners either completely leave communication in English or try to avoid it to escape insult and embarrassment. Also, it has been found that CA affects learners’ affective factors like motivation, attitude and self-esteem which play a vital role in any learning situation. These affective factors are crucial as they decide the amount of input in any learning situation. If these affective factors are affected due to CA, then it can result in issues in the form of lower outcomes and poor performance. For this purpose, syllabus should be designed with more speaking activities through which students could be involved in maximum speaking. Furthermore, teachers should motivate their students to speak in English. They can help their students to come out of negative attitude towards English language by involving them in maximum usage of English in a relaxed environment.

Type Other Special Item Type

Faculty Languages

Department English

Language English

Publication Date 2019-09-24

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