Profiling English Language Learning Anxiety among Selected Rural Area Secondary School Students in Malaysia: A Case Study (Published)
Malaysians’ English proficiency is on a decline, and this phenomenon is extensively debated on its possible causes. With this come renewed interest towards English language anxiety as it is an internal factor of the learners which sometimes can be overlooked. An investigation was conducted on rural area secondary school students in Selangor, where the schools are already impeded by facility and resource deprivations. A total of 311 non-examination students from three different schools in Kuala Selangor, one of the rural areas in the state, were administered a questionnaire which adopted a composite of Foreign language anxiety surveys, measuring their level of anxiety towards the English language classroom according to the four language skills (reading, listening, speaking, writing). Results indicated students in the rural area secondary schools experience moderate to high levels of anxiety inside the English language classroom, in tandem with Horwitz, Horwitz and Cope (1986) definition and classification of Foreign Language Anxiety along with other pioneering works in the field. The result demonstrated the commonality of language anxiety across different demographic settings. By gauging the level of anxiety among rural area secondary school learners, targeted interventions can be implemented in order to reduce its effect on the students who already face limitations on learning resource and infrastructure.
Citation: Faizah Idrus and Tuan Muhammad Hanif Tuan Ab Hamid (2021) Profiling English Language Learning Anxiety among Selected Rural Area Secondary School Students in Malaysia: A Case Study, International Journal of English Language Teaching, Vol.9, No.1, pp.1-20
Keywords: English Language anxiety, English as a second language, Rural Area, issues in second language learning, profile, second language learning
Nigerian Learners and the Global Language: Impediments In Pursue Of English as a Second Language (ESL) (Published)
This paper looks at the advent of English language in Nigeria, its role, and importance as well to the Nigerians and the country at large. It dwells on some of the factors hampering the Nigerian learners in learning the language despite its global acceptance as second language, social and economic value. Such factors include: mother tongue influence, overcrowding in classrooms, lack of qualified and sufficient English language teachers and technological advancement among others. The paper therefore suggests that English language classes should be reduced to the right teacher-learner ratio, more competent and adequate English language teachers should be recruited, English language teachers should possess and utilize the skills of modern hi-tech resources in teaching the language.
Keywords: English as a second language, Global Language, Nigerian Learners