Strategies and Factors Influencing Speaking Anxiety Perceived by Parallel Students at Esa Unggul University

Abstract

Language is the important source of communication. For that, communication skills become
important skills in language learning. However, making the students speak up in English is
not always easy. There may be several obstacles to speak such as speaking anxiety and its
effects on second language acquisition. The study aims to analyze the factors influencing
speaking anxiety of Parallel Students at Esa Unggul University in the synchronous online
learning and the strategies they employed to cope with it. The data were collected through the
structured interviews with six Parallel Students at Esa Unggul University. The findings of this
research show that almost all students who faced speaking anxiety demonstrate signs of
restlessness in their speaking performance in the synchronous online learning. To cope with
the anxiety, it is important to strive for communication activities using English in the
classroom with a pleasant atmosphere where every student can feel relaxed and motivated to
communicate verbally.
Keywords: speaking anxiety, synchronous online learning, strategies