An investigation on teachers' attitudes towards speaking anxiety of efl students

While speaking is considered one of the prominent sources of anxiety for many foreign language learners, teachers are the individuals who observe this issue most closely. Within this context, this study aims to address teachers' viewpoints on their students' anxiety during language learning and to investigate the extent of teachers' awareness concerning the underlying factors contributing to students' speaking anxiety, as well as to explore their attitudes towards this issue. The study has been designed as qualitative research based on semi-structured interviews conducted with 20 instructors working at the School of Foreign Languages of a foundation university. The data analysis focuses on shedding light on participants' firsthand experiences of students' foreign language speaking anxiety while highlighting commonalities and patterns in participants' statements during the interviews. The findings of the data reveal that speaking is notably the most anxiety-inducing skill compared to other language skills. Furthermore, anxiety levels are significantly high when students forget words, address a classroom audience, or handle impromptu questions. Mispronunciations evoke less anxiety compared to grammatical errors. Additionally, allowing time before delivering the speech is an anxiety-reducing method, particularly for anxious students. Establishing a non-intrusive environment to cultivate a harmonious learning atmosphere and fostering a sense of trust in the student-teacher relationship play a significant role in reducing anxiety.