An action research on reducing English classroom anxiety and improving attitudes towards the course with cooperative speaking activities

This study aimed to research the effect of collaborative activities on EFL learners' anxiety and attitude levels. A six-week study is carried out with nine preparatory school students who are enrolled in English Language and Literature Department. It is an action research. Foreign Language Anxiety Scale developed by Horwitz and adapted to Turkish by Aydoslu (2001) and Attitudes Towards English Course Scale developed by Aydoslu (2005) were carried out as a pre-test and post-test. Students filled weekly evaluation forms to express their opinions. Moreover, focus group interview was made. The content analysis was used to analyze the qualitative data. Results showed that students' anxiety level decreased and they developed positive attitudes towards speaking skill thanks to collaborative activities in group work. It is identified that the fear of making mistakes, wrong vocabulary choice, mispronunciation and probable peer mocking cause to anxiety. Students thus seek for a confident and enjoyable learning atmosphere which reduces or sweeps anxiety away. Group work requiring collaboration enables them to learn more effectively in such an atmosphere. Students think group work is an advantageous method which contributes them to improve their speaking skills.