CHAPTER I TH PROBLEM AND ITS BACKGROUND

English is the language of international communication and it is used in the Philippines. It is anticipated that with the trend of globalization, this country will face more stiff competition from other foreign countries. These education students should be well equipped with a solid education foundation and in training to remain competitive, including the ability to communicate in English. As a second must important in language in the Philippines, English is extremely used in education system from the primary up to tertiary level. It is also widely used in various professions such as the medical, engineering, legal and business. Of the free macro skills in English (listening, speaking reading and writing), speakers seems intuitively the most important as language learners are often referred to as speakers of that target language (Ur 2000:120) Today both teachers and students attach more importance to the development of speaking skills. Teachers want to develop student speaking ability so that students can actively participate in classroom activities. The ability to speak in English in a variety of contexts and for different purposes is the goal that both teachers and students aim for. Daril and Pearse (2000) maintain that competent use of the language is acquired through extended exposure and realistic use of language. Despite having learning English for years in schools, students still have difficulty to use the language effectively. Most of the students have problem in speaking the second language especially in the English class. It can be more stressful when they are expected to speak in the second language before the fluency is achieved. Therefore, it is very crucial for education students to be proficient in English so that they can use the language efficiently for academic purposes and later in professional setting. Students who are proficient in English will have better chances to be employed by multinational companies after they have graduated. Students with anxiety will have difficulty in concentrating and processing input in class and consequently the output of the language is negatively affected. They tend to withdraw from voluntary participation and are unwilling to take risks. They are apprehensive, worried and even fearful in the classroom (Macintyre and Gardner, 1991). Such conditions interfere with learning and anxious students are there deprive of many opportunities to practice the target language.

Anxiety is therefore considered a major obstacle to develop language skills and particularly speaking skills. There, in this study, the researchers want to determine students perceptions towards the feeling of anxiety they experienced. The second language are to make a survey about anxiety tends towards speaking to English as a second language.

RELATED LITERATURE Language is a formal system of signs governed by grammatical rules of combination to communicate meaning. This definition strives the fact that human language can be distributed as closed structural systems consists of rules that relate particular signs to particular meanings ( Bloomfield, 1914). Language is basically speech. Its written form developed later on. it is universal among human beings who use it for carrying out activities of life. According to Gardner and Macintre, language anxiety is fear or apprehension occurring when a learner is expected to perform in the second or foreign language. In other words, lowering anxiety can be a challenging task for both; learners and teachers. As studied by Hadley (1992), moderate feelings of anxiety is second language leaning might help students to create the desire to learn, to motivate and to get the students realize that they have to work harder in order to acquire the target language. On the other hand, if the students experience low level of anxiety, they may be so relaxed that they do not really learn or acquire any new things and as a result, the process of language acquisition will not be successful. For students who experience high anxiety, they may perceive a second language learning situation as learning situation and may respond to their threatening situation by showing prior learning performance. Speaking a foreign language in public can be a traumatic experience for most learners. Learning a new language but at the same time observing others improving while getting stuck can be frustrating and a huge drawback for learning. Fear, stress and feelings of being diminished by others are variables for blocking learning and consequently not being able to communicate effectively. Learners who resist to perform the language in front of an audience may have different reasons for doing such so such as protruding self image or not having enough confidence with the language which combined with a high affective filter impede speaking skills development. Nevertheless, training students on learning strategies can have a positive impact on students views upon attitudes for learning and foreign language learning itself. People live in the world of communication. According to the Oxford Dictionary of Current English (Moore, 1997), communication is defined as, The activity or process of

expressing ideas and feelings or of giving people information. The significance of communication can be found within the context of a human existing as a social being. As a human manages his/her life in the course of the interaction between other members of the entire society, communication is inevitable. Communication occurs through the medium of a language and it is presented in two different forms which are written and spoken (Brown & Yule, 1983: 110). The importance of spoken performance of a language is becoming more prominent over the written performance capability. it is because the ability to speak a language reflects a persons personality, self image, knowledge of the world, ability to reason, skill to express thoughts in real time (Luoma, 2004: ix). These days, due to the global trend of internationalization, the ability to communicate in English is needed as an essential skill. Whenever the international exchange happens, the use of spoken English entails. However, it is not always an easy task for people who use English as a second language to be able to speak to the level of a native speaker. They have to perfectly understand the sound system of English, have almost instant access to proper vocabulary and be able to place words together intelligibly without hesitation. Moreover, they also have to perceive what is being said to them and need to be able to respond appropriately to acquire amiable relations or to accomplish their communicative goals (Luoma, 2004: ix)

RELATED STUDIES Anxiety is defined as the subjective feeling of tension, apprehension, nervousness and worry associated with an arousal of the autonomic system (Horwitz, Horwitz and Cope 1986: 125). Nascente (2001: 18) identifies anxiety as a group of feelings of resistance, insecurity and discomfort associated with the process of learning English. Anxiety has been considered a very negative factor in learning a foreign language especially in learning to speak the language. in Horwitz et.al (1986: 125) words, anxiety is a major obstacle to be overcome in learning to speak another language. Speaking is problematic because the spontaneity allows the speaker so preparation time in which to monitor and correct what he or she wants to say, thus the risk of being wrong in an oral class is high. Mc Croskey (1983: 37) indicates that if we are fearful or anxious about something, we are not given to liking it. On the other hand, things that are not threatening are more likely to . positive effect. it is generally believed that language acquisition cannot take place in a high anxiety context CELEA Journal65 (Oxford, 1999), therefore, efforts must be made to alleviate the anxiety levels of students by providing a non-threatening learning atmosphere in the oral English classroom. Alleviating anxiety in students is the top priority for oral classes. Define to make the acquisition of a second/foreign language as efficient as possible is the one common aim of the numerous approaches and theories of language teaching. One such approach of teaching English language is task-based approach, wherein the learners have to

actively engage in the process of acquiring the language in order to achieve a good or complete a given task. Tasks can easily be related to learners real-life language. They create contexts that facilitate second/foreign language acquisition and focus on form. Learners are most likely to develop intrinsic motivation in a task-based approach. This enables the teaching to see the progress in the learners ability to communicate in English. According to Mary Spratt, Alan Pulverness and Melanie Williams: Tasks and less controlled practice activities give more opportunity than controlled activities for learners to practice, communicate, interact and become fluent Their approach, when used in teaching speaking skills enables in minimizing teacher talk time and maximizing learners talk time, resulting in the progress in learners speaking skills. As said by, Sarah Philpot: Learners learn better when they are engaged, relaxed and having fun. thus the entire learning process . enjoyable and efficient. According to Peter