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Foreign Language Speaking Anxiety: A Study of Employees

at POSCO Thailand Company Limited

by

MS.CHADAPRON AOIBUMRUNG

AN INDEPENDENT STUDY PAPER SUBMITTED IN

PARTIALFULFILLMENT OF

THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF

MASTER OF ARTS IN

ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING

LANGUAGE INSTITUTE

THAMMASAT UNIVERSITY

ACADEMIC YEAR 2016

COPYRIGHT OF THAMMASAT UNIVERSITY

Ref. code: 25595821042594QHD

Foreign Language Speaking Anxiety: A Study of Employees at

POSCO Thailand Company Limited

BY

MS.CHADAPRON AOIBUMRUNG

AN INDEPENDENT STUDYPAPER SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL

FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF

MASTER OF ARTS IN

ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING

LANGUAGE INSTITUTE

THAMMASAT UNIVERSITY

ACADEMIC YEAR 2016

COPYRIGHT OF THAMMASAT UNIVERSITY

Ref. code: 25595821042594QHD

1

Independent Study Paper Title Foreign Language Speaking Anxiety: A Study of

Employees at POSCO Thailand Company

Limited

Author Ms. Chadapron Aoibumrung

Degree Master of Arts

Major Field/Faculty/University English Language Teaching

Language Institute

Thammasat University

Independent Study Paper Advisor Ajarn Alisa Ratanapruks, Ph.D.

Academic Years 2016

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ABSTRACT

Foreign language speaking anxiety was studied among employees of POSCO

(Thailand) Company Limited (POSCO), a firm founded in 1997 and based in Rayong and

Chacheongsao, Thailand, which manufactures and sells steel products. Data on degree of

anxiety was gathered by questionnaires. Elaine Horwitz’s Foreign Language Classroom

Anxiety Scale (FLCAS) was used, assessing responses according to a 5-point Likert scale from

strongly agree to strongly disagree. Samples were 50 POSCO office employees who use

foreign languages in daily work.

Results were a moderate level of speaking anxiety, heightened when a feeling existed

among samples that colleagues spoke better English better than they. Among the respondents’

anti-anxiety approaches were taking deep breaths before speaking; smiling; not thinking too

much; and listening with concentration. These findings suggest that for second language

speakers, confidence about individual tasks is relative. What is comfortable for some may be

stressful for others. To resolve this, employers might encourage more study of English speech,

preparation, self-efficacy, and practice among employees, leading to altered views.

Keywords: Employees, POSCO (Thailand) Company Limited, Foreign language speaking

anxiety, Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (FLCAS).

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Firstly, I would like to strongly thank my advisor, Alisa Ratanapruks ,Ph.D., in the

deepest part of my mind, for she always gave me great suggestions in this study and encouraged

me to the right path in my independent study. Without her assistance, this study might not be

completely successful.

Secondly, I am really proud that I have had a really good chance to study in Master

Degree in English Language Teaching, Language institute at Thammasat University.

Therefore, I would like to show gratitude to all staff and all instructors, including my dearest

graduate friends who always supported me throughout the time I have studied here, especially

my best friend, Ms.Sawanya Asawapannarai, who kindly helped me to find my weakest point

and my mistakes and led me to pass the difficult time in the program.

Thirdly, I am thankful to my colleagues, my management team at POSCO (Thailand)

Company Limited, who assist me as much as they can. They are the greatest team and I am

really happy to work with them.

Fourthly, I feel gratitude for my cozy family who always encourage me to move

forward; despite if the way is dark but they are my light. Also, my kind partner who supports

me in everything, without her, I could not finish my independent study. I really thank her to

build my faith that I could do it.

Fifthly, I would like to thank all respondents who helped to complete my independent

study for their important opinions. It is really worth a lot to me.

Finally, I am grateful to myself that I still believe in myself and try hard to do my best

as much as I can.

Thammasat University Ms.ChadapronAoibumrung

Bangkok, Thailand April 2017

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

ABSTRACT 1

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 2

LIST OF TABLES 7

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 8

1.1 Background 8

1.2 Research Question 9

1.3 Objectives of the Study 9

1.4 Definition of Terms 10

1.5 Scope of the Study 10

1.6 Significance of the Study 10

1.7 Organization of the Study 11

CHAPTER 2 REVIEW OF LITERATURE 12

2.1 The Definition of Foreign Language Speaking Anxiety 12

2.2 Anxiety in Foreign Language Speaking 13

2.3 The Components of Foreign Langague Anxiety 14

2.4 The Effect of Language Anxiety on Speaking Ability 15

2.5 The Effect of Background Knowledge on Speaking Ability 16

2.6 Relevant Research 17

2.7 Summary of the Chapter 18

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CHAPTER 3 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 19

3.1 Subjects 19

3.2 Materials 19

3.3 Procedures used in the collection 20

3.4 Data Analysis 20

CHAPTER 4 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 23

4.1 Personal Information of the Respondents 24

4.2 English Speaking Anxiety Measurement in the Workplace

4.3 The Best Way of coping with Anxiety in Speaking English 27

in the Workplace in Respondents’ opinions

4.4 The Possible method to get rid of Speaking English Anxiety 27

in the Workplace of the Respondents

CHAPTER 5 CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 29

5.1 Summary of the Study 29

5.2 Summary of the Findings 30

5.3 Discussion of the Findings 31

5.4 Conclusion 34

5.5 Recommendations for Further Research 35

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REFERENCES 36

APPENDICES 42

APPENDIX A 43

(Introduction of Questionnaire in English and Thai)

APPENDIX B 44

(Questionnaire in English and Thai)

BIOGRAPHY 45

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LIST OF TABLES

Tables Page

1.1 Gender 23

1.2 Age 23

1.3 Department 24

1.4 Foreign Language Speaking Competency Level 24

1.5 English speaking anxiety Measurement in the workplace for 25

Negative Statement

1.6 English speaking anxiety Measurement in the workplace for 26

Negative Statement

1.7 English speaking anxiety Total Measurement in the workplace 27

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CHAPTERONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 BACKGROUND

Significantly, English language is crucial and has been widely accepted as the most

influential language in today’s world. It is undeniable that it is the global language, known as

lingua franca. People from different countries use the very language to communicate to one

another, including in business communication; some of them even apply it in their daily

working life. As it is clearly seen, English has played a crucial role in any communication i.e.

face-to-face, one on one or even via telephone calls. In terms of English communication, most

foreigners need to carry out international business and usually have some conversations in

English language because it is convenient to negotiate or retrieve information among oversea

business. Therefore, English language is very important in working life.

Nevertheless, most companies expect their efficient workers who are in dire need of

this English communication to be able to use English in all communication channels owing to

career development and the development of long-term relationships with their oversea partners.

POSCO (Thailand) Company Limited, is a leading company in South Korea and always uses

English communication for coordinating and presenting, with executives and the company

firmly believing that being equipped with English skills enables employees to climb up the

ladder of occupation success and earn more salaries from work.

Therefore, there are many main problems which one can find in the company, for

example, most employees are afraid to speak English with executives directly and avoid having

communication with other foreigners in the company; they believe that they are not fluent in

English speaking and are shy to speak with other colleagues. Thus, employees always are in

the circumstance of speaking anxiety in English language and anxiety is another reason which

can make them avoid speaking with foreigners. Referring to Minghe and Yuan (2013), anxiety

in speaking English language is a common perception, which is standing as an obstacle for

success in English language.

On the other hand, the cause of speaking anxiety usually happens to all employees in

POSCO (Thailand) Company Limited who are concerned with receiving telephone calls from

foreigners, presenting reports to foreign general managers directly or coordinating with

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overseas customers as well as contacting with the parent company in Korea, because they are

not self-confident with their English speaking skills, and they might not know how to speak

with foreigners. Some believe that it can be very scary when they cannot see the person’s face

when they are talking to them. These can be the main reasons why some employees can

experience the feeling of speaking anxiety all the time.

According to Young (1990, as cited in Occhipinti, 2009), English speaking is always

mentioned as the second language which can produce the most anxiety experience. That is why

most employees cannot decrease the level of English speaking anxiety degree in their working

life. In addition, referring to Burden (2004, as cited in Alrabail, 2014) some educators believe

they cannot achieve success in English and this creates negative expectations, which directs

them to reduce their effort and miss opportunities to improve their communication skills. Some

might be pessimistic and force themselves to sink in the weak points.

On the contrary, there are some researchers who believe that even though, anxiety

might be unsatisfactory, and sometimes it is a good thing which can support us and motivate

us to concentrate to solve the problem. (Smith, Segal, Segal 2010). This will be the good

example of positive thinking and encourage them to develop themselves and find the way to

decrease their English speaking anxiety.

Hence, I would like to study whether employees at POSCO (Thailand) Company

Limited have English speaking anxiety or not and find the possible methods to support other

employees to cope with their English speaking anxiety.

1.2 RESEARCH QUESTION

1.2.1 Do employees at POSCO (Thailand) Company Limited have English speaking

anxiety? If so, what is their level of anxiety?

1.2.2 How do employees at POSCO (Thailand) Company Limited cope with their

English speaking anxiety?

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1.3 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

1.3.1 To examine whether employees at POSCO (Thailand) Company Limited have

English speaking anxiety or not.

1.3.2 To find out how the employees at POSCO (Thailand) Company Limited cope

with their anxiety and how they can get rid of their anxiety when speaking with

foreigners.

1.4 DEFINITION OF TERMS

The definition of the terms of this study is as follows:

1.4.1 Employees of POSCO (Thailand) Company Limited refers to employees who use

English language at work.

1.4.2 Foreign language speaking anxiety refers to the deepest feeling in the

participants’ mind which can happen when anyone must speak in English in

unplanned situations or without preparation before speaking. This speaking

anxiety feeling might affect how they convey the message to foreigners.

1.4.3 Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (FLCAS) refers to the instrument

database, adopted by Horwitz, Horwitz, and Cope (1986), which is assessed on a

1 to 5 -point Likert scale and ranging from strongly disagree to strongly agree.

1.5 SCOPE OF THE STUDY

This study aims to examine level of English language speaking anxiety and focuses

only on 50 participants of POSCO (Thailand) Company Limited who frequently contact

foreigners. The participants were selected from their job description which must be concerned

with foreign language in their routine work. The Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale

(FLCAS) is adapted to evaluate the most significant level of speaking anxiety. Moreover, open-

ended questions were used to retrieve feedback and their opinions about how they cope with

their anxiety.

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1.6 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

This study focuses only on employees of POSCO (Thailand) Company Limited. The

study of this could be helpful for the Human Resources Department of the company or of other

companies to understand their employees’ anxiety and find ways to help them cope with their

anxiety.

1.7 ORGANIZATION OF THE STUDY

This study is divided into five chapters as follows:

Chapter one describes background, research questions, objectives of the study,

definition of terms, and scope of the study and the significance of the study.

Chapter two presents a review of literature and relevant research concerning foreign

language speaking anxiety

Chapter three contains the subject, materials and procedures used for collecting and

analyzing the data.

Chapter four presents the data analysis and the findings of the study.

Chapter five provides the summary of the study, summary of the findings, discussion

of the findings, conclusion, and recommendations for further research.

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CHAPTERTWO

REVIEW OF LITERATURE

This chapter reviews the literature in five main areas along with a summary: (1) the

definition of foreign language speaking anxiety, (2) anxiety in foreign language speaking, (3)

the components of foreign language anxiety, (4) the effect of language anxiety on speaking

ability, (5) the effect of background knowledge on speaking ability, (6) relevant research, and

(7) summary of the chapter.

2.1 THE DEFINITION OF FOREIGN LANGUAGE SPEAKING ANXIETY

Spoken English is part of the communication process, in which the interlocutor must

know how effectively to convey messages from one to others.

In the process of communication, there are senders (Encoding) who convert information

from one format or code to another one and recipients (Decoding) who convert audio or video

signals into a different form. Therefore, the important roles are both receiver and sender who

have a responsibility to communicate and convey the message to each other. If any learners do

not prepare to be encoder or decoder, they might meet with anxiety and affect their

communication process.

ANXIETY

The definition of anxiety in general is feeling pressure, tension, seriousness and upset,

which stimulate the nervous system (Spielberger, 1983). Nevertheless, Gregersen (2005)

challenged that the anxious feeling in a student’s foreign language learning might affect them

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to be less effective in their studying. In many studies of the conducted research on English

language anxiety (e.g., Aida, 1994; Macintyre and Gardner, 1989; Matsuda and Gobel, 2004),

the review of the literatures has presented that anxiety in English language is negatively

affecting English language learning.

According to Leibert and Morris (1967), anxiety reaction can be divided to be

emotionality and anxiety. Zeidner (1998) and Naveh-Benjamin (1991) asserted that the term

of emotionality refers to physiological reactions i.e. rapid heartbeat, rather than behavioral

reaction i.e. fidgeting and stammering. Anxiety refers to the worry or hardship in learners’

minds, which is caused by fear of trouble or unluckiness. The general meaning of anxiety is

the over-sensationalized anxiety in everything daily.

However, the speaker who is speaking English as a second language has a debilitating

effect on their second language anxiety and the study claimed that the main factor which

influenced the participants’ anxiety was interacting with foreigners, so this research confirmed

that a significant portion of oral success is the second language speaking anxiety (Woodrow,

2006).

2.2 ANXIETY IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE SPEAKING

There are many researchers who tried to study many kinds of terms in English language

anxiety; for example, Horwitz (2001) claimed that English speakers claimed that English

speakers have felt comfortable in personal activities, but this is a relative idea; some activities

seen as easy for some are also regarded as stressful by others.

In addition, many educators have suggested that negative effects on English speakers

might come from FL anxiety. For example, an existing study of anxiety shows English

language anxiety can negatively affect learning in various senses and the fluency of speakers'

speech (Jiao & Onwuegbuzie1998). As well, Na (2007), and Spielmann and Radnofsky (2001)

have investigated anxiety in English language among different English speakers and confirmed

that anxiety in English language can negatively affect English language speakers' performance.

MacIntyre (1999) indicated anxiety as having influences on behavior, emotions and

cognition. He claimed that the effects in the form of a palm that sweats or a rapid heartbeat are

behavioral effects of the state of anxiety influencing the speaker who is avoiding a situation as

well as speaking in front of a large audience.

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On the contrary, there are some scholars who strongly believed that there will be a

positive role for anxiety in English language (see for example, Alpert and Haber, 1960;

Chastain, 1975; Kleinmann, 1977). In general, the anxiety can influence their comprehension

of communication, their fear of negative evaluation and their concern about tests. Finally, the

study conducted showed good feedback by formation of facilitative anxiety in speakers.

2.3 THE COMPONENT OF FOREIGN LANGUAGE ANXIETY

Furthermore, there is a study referring to the points contributing to English language

anxiety, which consists of the concepts: (1) communication apprehension or anxiety, (2) fear

of negative evaluation, and (3) test anxiety (Horwitz, et. al. 1986; MacIntyre and Gardner,

1989). Therefore, these factors might influence anxiety creation in English speakers. Mc

Croskey (1987) indicated that the term of communication apprehension in general is a kind of

experience of anxiety for individuals in communicative settings, which is clearly related to

employees who are having English communication anxiety.

2.3.1 COMMUNICATION APPREHENSION

Communication apprehension is a type of embarrassment causing worrying about

interacting with people. As well, some white collar workers of POSCO Thailand Company try

to avoid speaking English with executives or in front of other colleagues. The difficulty in

public speaking, listening or learning is the demonstration of communicative apprehension.

Aside from communication apprehension in English language speaking, acquired from

personal knowledge, it can be the way one tries to make oneself understood (Cubukcu, 2007).

2.3.2 THE FEAR OF NEGATIVE EVALUATION

According to the fear of negative evaluation, as Watson and Fried (1969, as cited in

Horwitz & Young,1991) asserted that, “apprehension about others’ evaluations, avoidance of

evaluative situations and the expectation that others would evaluate oneself negatively” (p. 31).

Some employees are embarrassed to make a mistake and will be corrected by other colleagues.

However, Kitano (2001, as cited in Tsiplakides & Keramida, 2009) suggested that trainers

should find methods to support English speakers in the workplace to deal with fear of negative

evaluation. In this case, the subjects should be provided with positive reinforcement, such as

positive opinions.

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2.3.4 TEST ANXIETY

Test anxiety is defined as a type of anxiety coming from a fear of failure. Referring to

the speaking test of the company, any employees who get above the fifth level of TOEIC

speaking can add more language payment in their salaries. Thus, many of the employees of

POSCO Thailand Company can feel strong pressure when they must perform English speaking

on the test because they are challenged by the fact that they need to recall and apply many

grammatical structures in tandem during the limited time of the speaking test. Thus, they might

speak the incorrect answer or easily freeze up due to their worry, even if they already know the

right answer (MacIntyre and Gardner, 1994; Price, 1991).

2.4THE EFFECT OF LANGUAGE ANXIETY ON SPEAKING ABILITY

Horwitz, E., Horwitz, M. and Cope (1986), investigated that anxiety in English

language is an identifiable variable in studying. The goal of studying English language

speaking under anxieties are specific cognitive characteristics i.e. feelings, self-perceptions,

beliefs, and behaviors.

For the social aspects of other listeners, the anxious speakers always focus on this factor

when speaking in front of them (MacIntyre, 1995). The speaker’s anxiety about colleagues

strongly affects the speaker’s ability to speak. Horwitz and his colleagues claimed that various

anxiety-provoking reactions concerned with studying language included forgetfulness,

apprehension, sweating, and strong heartbeat along with concentration. Pappamihiel (2002)

indicated that strategic speakers try to reduce their anxiety by avoiding responding in a foreign

language, writing instead, and recruiting friends as “intermediaries.” (p. 723 )

Referring to Gardner (1985), he argued that some of the English speaking workers

could flee from situations when they feel unavoidably tense. Horwitz, et al. (1986) asserted

that self-consciousness also takes a part in forming anxiety as speaking in front of others might

be considered as a risk. He believed that speakers fear that they might misunderstand all

languages, are compared with their colleagues in terms of language, and are afraid of being

corrected in a language in front of others. Therefore, in order for the importance of language

anxiety to be obviously noticed, a survey has been conducted by Horwitz, et al. (1986) together

with the Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (FLCAS), the results were presented and

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supported the theory of language anxiety.

Yan and Horwitz (2008), who conducted research on anxiety, unveiled the fact that

anxiety relating to personal affairs strongly affects employees’ speaking skills. However, there

were other qualities dealing with employees’ speaking skills such as, “good memory,

sensibility to language, an inability to imitate and good listening and mental abilities” (p. 159).

In order to soothe anxiety, these researchers firmly suggested that employees should not

compare their speaking ability with that of other colleagues and remain interested and

motivated. Pappamihiel (2002), conducting another study on speaking anxiety, shifted focus

from individuals to group discussion. He proposed that colleagues are laughing at other

employees resulting in the increasing level of anxiety of speaking. To solve the problem,

Pappamihiel (2002) proposed that most employees deal with this situation by finding excuses

to leave a place immediately. Young (1990) also found anxiety in speaking “on the spot” within

speakers ‘views.(p.539).

Yan and Horwitz (2008) strongly believed it is the speakers’ perspectives that

encourage or discourage speaking anxiety. However, analyzing the research above, it is

possible that there are various factors leading to speaking anxiety. To truly discover the real

factors leading to the feeling of speaking anxiety, speakers should focus more on the factors

affecting speakers’ decision to start a conversation.

2.5 THE EFFECT OF BACKGROUND KNOWLEDGE ON SPEAKING ABILITY

There are many studies which indicate that previous knowledge affects speaking ability.

Some educators have examined the effects of previous knowledge for improving language

anxiety as determining points which affect and influence language components, specifically

comprehension.

According to Gebhard (2000), our expectation and experience in the real world are

related to previous knowledge, which is very significant when we think about the processing

of student language problems. Moreover, there are two more studies concerned with

background knowledge. Schmidt-Rinehart (1994, as cited in Sadighi & Zare, 2006) point out

the main objective of his research is about finding the effects of topic familiarity on English

listening conversation; he concludes that a powerful factor in facilitating listening

comprehension is background knowledge.

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As well, Othman and Vanathas (2006) claimed that previous knowledge has a high

effect on listening comprehension. Therefore, the main results of these studies are compatible

with the effects of listening comprehension (William & Thomas, 1991; Schmidt–Rinehart,

1995). However, there are some studies indicated that applying appropriate instructions can

improve the listening comprehension and that teachers need to concentrate on the listening

process more than listening tests. However, as a guideline to teachers, and curriculum planners,

including writers, these studies would result in more effective teaching approaches, materials

and classroom activities in language learning (Shabani, 2013).

2.6 RELEVANT RESEARCH

Regarding anxiety, many researchers have extensively studied it to identify the level of

participants’ anxiety and the participants’ cause of anxiety.

Referring to Patricia and Felix (2012), their study focused on individual differences in

anxiety in English language students by completing the Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety

Scale and the Test Anxiety Scale (Horwitz, Horwitz, & Cope, 1986). The participants were

216 students in a Spanish university context. They determined the anxiety level and the

relationship between English language anxiety and language level, grade, gender and age.

There are four results in this study. Firstly, the participants were in average level of anxiety.

Secondly, males experienced less anxiety than females. Thirdly, others who have higher grade

tended to have lower anxiety than lower grade students. Lastly, lower language level students

tended to be more anxious than others.

Salehi and Marefat (2014), investigated the foreign language anxiety’s effect and test

anxiety on foreign language test performance by adapting the Foreign Language Classroom

Anxiety Scale and the Test Anxiety Scale (Horwitz et al.1986). The participants were 200

students of pre-intermediate level in English as a foreign language. However, both second

language anxiety and tests had an analytically significant negative correlation with the exam

grades. Thus, the teachers are suggested to decrease anxiety of the language and test anxiety

by creating a supporting and friendly atmosphere in class and motivate learners to participate

in activities’ class.

Lerttawisub (2015) examined English speaking anxiety of students in classroom. The

researcher also selected the Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale and the Test Anxiety

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Scale (Horwitz et al. 1986) in her study. The participants were 86 Thai junior high school

students at Nongreeprachanimit School in Kanchanaburi province. The main purpose of this

study was to identify possible causes of anxiety and determine the degree of anxiety. The

finding of this study presented the degree of anxiety in moderate level which indicated “the

participants were less capable than others” and “the participants were afraid that others would

laugh at them when they spoke English”. Furthermore, the causes of the participants’ anxiety

were their perceptions. Therefore, teachers could reduce the students’ anxiety by creating a

positive classroom atmosphere.

The studies from other researchers, i.e. Patricia and Felix,Salehi and Marefat and

Lerttawisub, adopted the Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale and the Test Anxiety

Scale (Horwitz et al. 1986) as this present study did. This evidence shows that the instrument

is effectively used to measure the degree of anxiety, and it is easily understandable to the

public. By adapting the questionnaire to the present study, the researcher aims at discovering

the level of anxiety of POSCO employees. Although, the participants are white collar workers

who are working in a workplace which is quite different from the participants of other studies

i.e. junior high school students, pre-intermediate level student or university student, this

questionnaire can effectively explore workplace language anxiety by selecting the appropriate

questions for testing the nature of English speakers outside a classroom.

2.7 SUMMARY

This chapter presented foreign language speaking anxiety concepts based on Horwitz

et al. (1968) and the definition of foreign language speaking anxiety. Moreover, the discussion

of cause and effect in language anxiety and background knowledge as well as the review of

anxiety in speaking English is presented.

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CHAPTER THREE

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

This chapter describes: (1) the participants, (2) the materials, (3) the procedures used

in the collection of the data, and (4) the data analysis.

3.1 PARTICIPANTS

The study was conducted on 50 Thai participants who were selected based on their job

description and have worked at POSCO (Thailand) Company Limited. They were white collar

workers who frequently used English speaking skill in the workplace and were routinely

concerned with foreign speaking. The participating students are Thais whose mother tongue is

Thai.

3.2 MATERIALS

Cohen, Manion, and Morrison, 2011 they believe that the tool which is considered to

be easy and quick when generating data in large numbers of participants is questionnaires.

Therefore, a questionnaire was used in this study as the main data collection instrument. In the

study, the researcher aims to shed light on the foreign language speaking anxiety’s level. Data

was collected using the questionnaire of Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (FLCAS)

by Horwitz, M. B., and Cope, J. (1986) which was developed for this purpose and a Thai

translated version of the questionnaire was adopted by the researcher. Moreover, this

questionnaire selected only 12 out of 33 items because of relevance to the anxiety of employees

at POSCO (Thailand) Company Limited in the workplace. The 12 items were chosen based on

anxious feelings related to white collar workers who have speaking anxiety in a workplace

setting only.

The study had two sources of data; quantitative data from the questionnaire Foreign

Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (FLCAS) by Horwitz, M. B., and Cope, J. (1986) and

qualitative data from open-ended questions. The questionnaire was categorized into two parts

as follows:

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Part I: Personal Information

This part composed of 4 items on gender, age, department and self-perception of English

proficiency

Part II : Anxiety measurement

This part composed of 12 five-point Likert scale items aiming to investigate the participants’

level of English speaking anxiety in two main areas: (1) positive statement, and (2) negative

statement. Moreover, two open-ended questions were employed to examine the participants’

opinions and suggestions on how to cope with their foreign language speaking anxiety.

3.3 PROCEDURES

This study used a pilot study which could identify the validity and reliability of the

instrument developed for the study. The questionnaire was piloted to ensure its content validity,

appropriateness, correctness and quality. The participants in POSCO (Thailand) Company

Limited were taken into consideration. Ambiguous terms were clarified and irrelevant ones

were excluded. Before the actual data collection period, the questionnaire was piloted to test

the validity and to get feedback and suggestions from the participants.

Before the survey, the researcher would inform participants about the main objective

of the survey, and the needed instructions were given to them as to the process of doing the

research. In order to support the participants in answering the questions honestly, the researcher

told them that they do not have to put their names in the survey and the information they put

in the survey would be kept confidential.

3.4 DATA ANALYSIS

The data obtained from the questionnaires was analyzed using Microsoft Excel 2010.

The analyzed data was collected as below:

PART I: A table of frequency was used as a measurement to present the general characteristics

of the participants in terms of age, gender, and language proficiency level and was analyzed

using frequency distribution and percentage.

PART II: In order to survey the participants’ level of anxiety, descriptive analysis was used.

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Arithmetic mean and standard deviation was adapted to find out whether there was a significant

difference in the participants’ anxiety level.

However, the questions were divided into two parts. The first one is negative statement

which contained the questions in a negative direction i.e. their anxiety, their embarrassment,

and their nervousness, including their excitement in speaking English. The second one is

positive statement which included the questions in positive directions such as their self-

confidence, their relaxation and their courage in speaking English. All of these mixed questions

would lead to all participants expressing their real feelings as to their English speaking.

Therefore, the computation is different between negative statement and positive

statement. The schedules of computation of both statements are below:

Items 1,3,4,6,9,10,11,12 are negative statement (NS), which will be computed from strongly

agree to strongly disagree and used the point rating scale 5 to 1 as follows:

Strongly

Agree Agree Normal Disagree

Strongly

Disagree

5 4 3 2 1

Items 2,5,7,8 are positive statement (PS), which will be computed from strongly agree to

strongly disagree and used the point rating scale 1 to 5 as follows:

Strongly

Agree Agree Normal Disagree

Strongly

Disagree

1 2 3 4 5

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The average scores of the level of anxiety were classified into five levels as follows:

Mean of the participants’ anxiety level

Mean Level of Anxiety

4.50-5.00 Highest

3.50-4.49 High

2.50-3.49 Moderate

1.50-2.49 Low

1.00-1.49 Lowest

The average score of the items above indicates high score equals high anxiety. On the

other hand, if the mean of score is low, it means the respondents have low anxiety.

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CHAPTER 4

RESULTS

This chapter reports the results of the study on the level of anxiety found in the

employees at POSCO (Thailand) Company Limited. The results are divided into 4 parts as

follows: (1) personal information of the participants (2) speaking English anxiety measurement

in the workplace (3) the best way of coping with anxiety when speaking English in the

workplace (4) The possible methods to get rid of speaking English anxiety in the workplace.

4.1 Personal information of the participants

This section reports the personal information of the 50 participants: gender, age,

department participants worked in, and self-perception of English proficiency are presented.

Table 4.1 Gender

Gender Frequency Percentage

Female 39 78 %

Male 11 22 %

Total 50 100 %

Table 4.1 indicates that the 78% of the participants were female and 22% of the

participants were male.

Table 4.2 Age

Age Frequency Percentage

18-26 21 42 %

27-35 19 38 %

35 Above 10 20 %

Total 50 100 %

Table 4.2 shows that 42 % of the participants were 18-26 years old, 38% of the

participants were 27-35 years old, and 20% of the participants were above 35 years old.

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Table 4.3 Department participants worked in

Department Frequency Percentage

SALES 13 26 %

PRODUCTION 6 12 %

MANAGEMENT 31 62 %

Total 50 100 %

Table 4.3 shows that 62 % of participants have worked in MANAGEMENT

department, 26 % of respondents have worked in SALES department and 12 % of participants

have worked in PRODUCTION department.

Table 4.4 Foreign language speaking competency level

Competency Level Frequency Percentage

Excellent 3 6 %

Good 19 38 %

Fair 15 30 %

Poor 13 26 %

Total 50 100 %

Table 4.4 shows that all respondents indicate their foreign language speaking

competency level as follow: 38 % of participants were in Good level, 30 % of participants were

in Fair level and 26% of participants were in Poor level. Lastly, 6 % of participants were in

excellent level.

4.2 English Speaking Anxiety Measurement in the Workplace

This section presents the percentages of English Speaking Anxiety Measurement in the

Workplace including frequency, mean and standard deviation of 50 employees in POSCO

(Thailand) Company Limited.

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Table 4.5 English speaking anxiety measurement in the workplace for Negative Statement

For item 1,3,4,6,9,10,11,12 are negative statement (NS), which will be computed from

strongly agree to strongly disagree and use the point rating scale 5 to 1 as follows:

FLCAS

Statement

Strongly

Agree Agree Normal Disagree

Strongly

Disagree Mean

x̅

S.D

σ

Anxiety

Level Negative Statement (NS) 5 4 3 2 1

NS

1. I never feel quite sure of

myself when I am

speaking English.

5 16 13 11 5 3.1 1.16 Moderate

10% 32% 26% 22% 10%

NS

3. It frightens me when I

don't understand what the

foreigner is saying.

7 11 13 14 5 3.02 1.22 Moderate

14 % 22 % 26 % 28 % 10 %

NS 4. I panic when I have to

speak without preparation.

5 18 9 12 6 3.08 1.23 Moderate

10 % 36 % 18 % 24 % 12 %

NS

6. Even if I am well

prepared for speaking, I

feel anxious about it

8 12 13 12 5 3.12 1.24 Moderate

16 % 24 % 26 % 24 % 10 %

NS

9. I always feel that my

colleagues speak English

better than I do.

7 19 15 7 2 3.44 1.03 High

14 % 38 % 30 % 14 % 4 %

NS

10. I get nervous when I

don't understand every

word the foreigner says.

10 9 16 13 2 3.24 1.17 Moderate

20 % 18 % 32 % 26 % 4 %

NS

11. I am afraid that my

colleagues will laugh at

me when I speak English.

4 7 11 21 7 2.6 1.14 Low

8 % 14 % 22 % 42 % 14 %

NS

12. I get nervous when I

have to answer questions

in English without being

prepared.

5 18 10 11 6 3.1 1.22 Moderate

10 % 36 % 20 % 22 % 12 %

Total Score 3.09 1.199 Moderate

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Table 4.5 presents the result of English speaking anxiety on employees in POSCO

(Thailand) Company Limited in Negative Statement. These are the top three highest mean

scores: Firstly, the participants believed that they always feel that their colleagues speak

English better than they do (x̅ = 3.44). Secondly, the participants claimed that they get nervous

when they do not understand every word the foreigner says (x̅ = 3.24). Thirdly, the participants

accepted that even if they are well prepared for speaking, they feel anxious about it.(x̅ = 3.12)

Table 4.6 English speaking anxiety Measurement in the workplace for Positive Statement

Items 2,5,7,8 are positive statement (PS), which will be computed from strongly agree to

strongly disagree and use the point rating scale 5 to 1 as follows:

FLCAS

Statement

Strongly

Agree Agree Normal Disagree

Strongly

Disagree Mean

x̅

S.D

σ

Anxiety

Level

Positive Statement (PS) 1 2 3 4 5

PS

2. I am not worried

about making

mistakes in speaking

English.

5 9 16 17 3 3.08 1.08 Moderate

10 % 18 % 32 % 34 % 6 %

PS

5. I am not nervous

when speaking

English with native

speakers.

9 9 12 19 1 2.88 1.17 Moderate

18 % 18 % 24 % 38 % 2 %

PS

7. I feel confident

when I speak

English.

4 11 16 15 4 3.08 1.08 Moderate

8 % 22 % 32 % 30 % 8 %

PS

8. I'm not under

pressure when I am

well prepared in

speaking English.

12 11 15 11 1 2.56 1.15 Low

24 % 22 % 30 % 22 % 2 %

Total Score 2.90 1.141 Moderate

Table 4.6 presents the result of English speaking anxiety on employees in POSCO

(Thailand) Company Limited in Positive Statement; the lowest anxiety level ranking of four

statements for employees in POSCO Thailand Company, is item 8 (mean x̅ = 2.56, S.D σ =

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1.15). The result showed the statement of “I'm not under pressure when I am well prepared in

speaking English.”

Table 4.7 English speaking anxiety Total Measurement in workplace

Total Score of Negative Statement 3.09 1.199 Moderate

Total Score of Positive Statement 2.90 1.141 Moderate

Total Average Score of both Positive and negative statement 3.025 1.183 Moderate

In conclusion of the result of foreign speaking anxiety on employees in POSCO

Thailand Company: the average total score in mean is 3.025 (S.D σ = 1.183), which is moderate

level in foreign speaking anxiety.

4.3 THE METHODS TO COPE WITH EMPLOYEES’ SPEAKING ANXIETY

4.3.1 THE BEST WAY OF COPING WITH ANXIETY IN SPEAKING ENGLISH IN THE

WORKPLACE IN RESPONDENTS’ OPINIONS

In the open-ended question, the participants were asked about the best way of coping

with anxiety in English speaking in the workplace. Most of the participants suggested that

studying foreign language and preparing before speaking are the best way to cope with

speaking anxiety. Furthermore, some participants believe that increasing self-confidence can

decrease their level of speaking anxiety and finding opportunities to speak with foreigners for

practice themselves will help.

4.3.2 THE POSSIBLE METHODS TO GET RID OF ANXIETY WHEN SPEAKING

ENGLISH IN THE WORKPLACE

In the second open-ended question the participants were asked about how they cope

with their English speaking anxiety when having conversations with foreigner directly. The

majority of respondents use the method of listening carefully when the foreigners are speaking

or asking questions. Some of them try to speak slowly to decrease their excitement and always

practice by themselves. Moreover, they also introduced another way, which is to take a deep

breath before having a conversation with a foreigner.

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This chapter presents the results of the study on the level of anxiety found in the

employees at POSCO (Thailand) Company Limited., the findings of the study are summarized

and discussed in the next chapter

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CHAPTER 5

CONCLUSIONS, DISCUSSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

This chapter presents (1) a summary of the study, (2) a summary of the findings, (3)

discussions of the findings, (4) conclusions, and (5) recommendations for further research.

5.1 SUMMARY OF THE STUDY

This section summarizes three topics, which consists of objectives of the study, subject,

and materials and procedures.

5.1.1 Objectives of the Study

This study examined the level of anxiety in speaking a foreign language of employees

at POSCO Thailand Company and also found out the best way to cope with employees’ anxiety

and the possible methods to get rid of their speaking anxiety before having conversations with

foreigners.

5.1.2 Subjects, Materials, and Procedures

The subjects of this study were selected by purposive sampling, which were 50

employees at POSCO (Thailand) Company Limited. Then, the researcher used a questionnaire

to measure the speaking anxiety, which is the Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale

(FLCAS) created by Horwitz, M. B., and Cope, J. (1986) and developed by the researcher. The

questionnaire had two parts. In the first part, personal questions, such as age, gender,

department, and speaking competency were asked. In the second part, 12 questions on a 5-

point Likert scale and 2 open-ended questions were used. The data collected was analyzed

using Microsoft Excel version 2010 and was shown in percentage, mean and standard

deviation. Finally, this study also analyzed and interpreted the information from the open-

ended questions.

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5.2 SUMMARY OF THE FINDINGS

The results of the study can be summarized as follows:

5.2.1 Personal Information of the Respondents

The result in the survey showed that 78% of the participants were female and 22% of

the participants were male. Moreover, 42 % of participants are 18 to 26 years old, 38% of

respondents are 27 to 35 years old and 20% of participants are 35 above respectively. 62 % of

participants in this survey work in MANAGEMENT department and 26 % work in SALES

department well as 12 %, work in PRODUCTION department. In POSCO (Thailand) Company

Limited, 38 % of the respondents believe that their own foreign language speaking competency

level is at good level. Then, the second highest percentage is 30 percent, in which the

respondents believe that they are in fair level of speaking foreign language competency. The

third highest percentage is 26 percent, in which the respondents believe that they are in the

level of poor and the lowest percentage of all is excellent level, which has only 6 percent.

5.2.2 English Speaking Anxiety Measurement in the Workplace

The computation data in the survey shows that English-speaking anxiety of employees

at POSCO (Thailand) Company Limited has 3.025 in total mean score (S.D = 1.183), which is

in the level of moderate. However, in the negative statement, the highest mean score of all is

item 9, the respondent always feel that their colleague speaks English better than them which

has the 3.44 mean score (S.D = 1.03). The lowest mean score in positive statement is 2.56 mean

score in item 8, which the respondents are not under pressure when they are well prepared in

speaking English. Nevertheless, the other items are in the moderate level, which are concerns

about their confidence, their preparation and their nervousness.

5.2.3 The best way of coping with anxiety in speaking English in the workplace and the

possible methods to support the respondents to get rid of their English speaking anxiety in the

workplace

The content in the open-ended question showed that most of them thought that the best

way to cope with their anxiety in speaking English are study more in English speaking, be well-

prepared before speaking, increasing their self-confidence, practice frequently and changing

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their vision about English speaking, because POSCO (Thailand) Company Limited employees

still have some anxiety when they start speaking English.

The possible methods to support them to get rid of their anxiety which they have

suggested in the survey are taking a deep breath before speaking, smiling at the interlocutor,

not thinking too much and pressuring themselves, concentrate and listen. They need to

concentrate on what the interlocutor said and listen clearly before speaking.

5.3 DISCUSSION

This section related the findings in correlation to the research questions and objective.

However, the findings are discussed within the review of literature and theory in Chapter two,

which is concerned with anxiety, anxiety in foreign language, the effects of language anxiety

on speaking ability and the other relevant researches

5.3.1 Do employees at POSCO Thailand Company have English speaking anxiety? If so, what

is their level of anxiety?

The result shows that employees at POSCO (Thailand) Company Limited have English

speaking anxiety in moderate level, however, the highest score of the survey is in item 9 which

indicates “employees always feel that their colleague speak English better than them” That

means that they always are worried that other colleagues can speak English better than them

and that might affect them and make them too shy to speak English in front of others. Although,

most employees in POSCO (Thailand) Company Limited believe that their own foreign

language speaking competency level is in good level they still have some anxiety in English

speaking which is in moderate level. Nevertheless, the result seemed to confirm the findings

of a study by Horwitz (2001) claimed that English speakers have felt comfortable in personal

activities which are considered stressful for some may not be stressful for other. Other

colleagues might be the main factor that makes them have increasing anxiety.

In addition, the highest anxiety level in the moderate level is in item 10, in the statement

“I get nervous when I don't understand every word the foreigner says.” Communication in the

workplace is very important; therefore, all employees need to communicate clearly with

foreigners about their work. In this statement, the study confirmed that the main factor which

influences the participant’s anxiety was interacting with foreigners, so this research confirmed

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that a significant portion of oral success is the second language speaking anxiety (Woodrow,

2006).

5.3.2 How do employees at POSCO (Thailand) Company Limited cope with their English

speaking anxiety?

The highest score of the survey, is 3.44 in item, indicate that employees always feel

that their colleague speaks English better than them. According to Burden 2004 (as cited in

Fakieh Alrabai,2014) some educators believe they cannot achieve success in English and create

negative expectations, which causes them to reduce their effort and miss opportunities to

improve their communication skills. Moreover, a speaker’s anxiety regarding peers

significantly affects a speaker’s efforts to speak. Horwitz and colleagues claimed that various

anxiety-provoking reactions include forgetfulness, apprehension, sweating, and strong

heartbeat along with challenges of concentrating, among others. Therefore, they try to find the

best way to cope with their anxiety in speaking English; they suggest that they should learn

more in the foreign language because they would like to have the ability to speak English

fluently like their colleagues. Moreover, there are six statements which most respondents

similarly suggested as follows:

1st statement “Mind control, we cannot speak perfectly in English because it is our

second language”

Therefore, controlling thought of mind control and having good preparation might be

the better way to decrease their anxiety in speaking English. Furthermore, another respondent

also suggested that

2nd statement “You have to get used to it, practice and then use English, even the English

people themselves sometimes make mistakes.”

Most of the participants still are afraid to make a mistake. Thus, do not be afraid and

dare to be open-minded in speaking English, our experience will teach everyone. Another

respondent also introduces another best way to cope with the anxiety.

3rd statement “Always speak to foreigners when you have a chance and you will be

comfortable with the language”

The main point to decrease the anxiety in speaking English is practice and practice.

However, there are some researchers who believe that it is difficult to begin speaking with

foreigners directly, the anxious speakers always focus on this factor when they are responding

in front of them (MacIntyre, 1995)In addition, another method to search for language anxiety

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in second language anxiety is by considering the main points that affect employees’ decisions

to start conversations. Therefore, all employees need to practice more and more

Furthermore, this finding also finds the possible methods which employees used to get

rid of their anxiety in speaking English with foreigners directly when they indicated that

4th statement “Smile and keep move forward. Do not blame because blaming is useless”

This is one of the most popular recommendations because most employees always

blame themselves when they could not do it. There is related research of Zeidner 1998;Naveh-

Benjamin 1991, who also claimed that anxiety is the feeling of uneasiness in speakers’ minds,

which caused by fear of misfortune. Therefore, it is useless to worry about your fear and calm

yourself, keep going and develop yourself.

5th statement “Listening carefully and concentrate on what they’re speaking, If I do not

understand, I will ask again and again.”

Listening is the one skill that each employee is afraid about and might lead to wrong

communication. Schmidt-Rinehart (1994,as cited in Sadighi & Zare, 2006) pointed out the

main purpose of his research is about finding the effects of topic familiarity on English listening

conversation, he concluded that a powerful factor in facilitating listening comprehension is

background knowledge. So, background knowledge is the supporting tool to make them get

their words easily. Hence, all employees need to listen carefully and concentrate, it might be

difficult in the first time but if they do not understand some speech, they can just ask and do

not be afraid because this method will lead them to have more effective communication.

6th participant “Walk away”

This is a big problem in both communication and interaction. There is the related study

by Pappamihiel (2002) which indicated that a strategy speakers use to try to reduce anxiety

level is by leaving a situation, concentrating in a foreign language and recruiting friends as

“intermediaries.” Most of them try to avoid the situation of confrontation with a foreigner

directly. It is the better possible method for them. Young (1990) also found that speaking “on

the spot” within the view of the speaker causes anxiety (p.539). All employees need to adjust

too many things, beginning with their vision in speaking English because they have the highest

anxiety in their mind.

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However, Yan and Horwitz (2008) strongly believed the significance of the study from

employees’ perspectives as a new avenue of research. Considering the above study, the main

factor to find their perspective is by asking them open-ended questions about their thoughts

and how the researcher can support them to decrease their anxiety in speaking English

effectively.

5.4 CONCLUSION

The following conclusions can be drawn from the discussion above.

5.2.1 The employees at POSCO (Thailand) Company Limited speaking anxiety was at

a moderate level. Of the top three highest levels of anxiety, the first one is “they always feel

that their colleagues speak English better than they do”. Then, the second one is “they get

nervous when they don't understand every word the foreigner says”. The third one is “Even if

they are well prepared for speaking, they feel anxious about it.”

5.2.2 The best way for employees at POSCO (Thailand) Company Limited to cope with

anxiety in speaking English in the workplace is study more English speaking, be well-prepared

before speaking, increasing their self-efficacy, practice frequently them and changing their

vision about English speaking. Other possible methods which employees at POSCO (Thailand)

Company Limited used to get rid of their anxiety in speaking English with foreigners directly

were taking a deep breath before speaking, smiling at the interlocutor, not thinking too much

and pressuring themselves, concentrate and listen carefully.

5.4 RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH

Based on the findings and conclusions of this study, the following recommendations

are made for future research.

5.4.1 A further study should be conducted with other companies having foreign workers as

employees and that require their Thai workers to use English language when working.

5.4.2 A further study should adopt more thorough experimental research so as to test the level

of speaking anxiety of workers when speaking English.

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5.4.3 A further study should be conducted using interviews to obtain in-depth information

about the participants’ English speaking anxiety.

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emotions. In D. J. Young (Ed), Affect in foreign language and second language

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Zeidner, M. (1998). Test anxiety: The state of the Art. New York: Plenum.

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APPENDICES

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APPENDIX A

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13 In your opinion, what is the best way to cope with your anxiety when speaking with foreigners? Why?

คณุคดิวา่วธิใีดเป็นวธิทีีด่ทีีส่ดุทีจ่ะชว่ยในการจัดการกับความกังวลทีเ่กดิขึน้เมือ่ตอ้งสือ่สารกับชาวตา่งชาตแิละเพราะเหตใุด

14 How do you cope with your English speaking anxiety?

คณุจัดการกับความกังวลทีเ่กดิขึน้เมือ่ตอ้งสือ่สารกับชาวตา่งชาตโิดยวธิใีด

APPENDIX B

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BIOGRAPHY

Name Ms. Chadapron Aoibumrung

Date of Birth Apri30, 2017

Educational Attainment

2012: Bachelor of Business Administration,

Assumption university.

Work Position Human Resource Development

POSCO Thailand Company Limited

Work Experiences 2014-Present : Human Resource Development

POSCO Thailand Company Limited

2013-2014 : Shipping coordinator

POSCO Thailand Company Limited