The Alleviation of the Language Anxiety of English as Second Language (ESL) Learners through Communicative Language Teaching

International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS) | Volume IV, Issue VI, June 2020 | ISSN 2454–6186

The Alleviation of the Language Anxiety of English as Second Language (ESL) Learners through Communicative Language Teaching

H.H Senevirathne*, Harsha Amarasinghe, I. Jayasundara
 Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka
*Corresponding Author

Abstract: Language anxiety is identified by many scholars as a significant aspect that inhibits the language acquisition of English as Second Language (ESL) learners. Student-centered approaches are widely practiced in ESL context as they are acknowledged and accepted as highly effective in foreign language acquisition. In Sri Lanka, most of the institutes implement teacher-centered approaches in ESL classrooms due to various practical issues such as insufficient resources and consumption of longer time. Thus, this research is an attempt to trace whether the communicative language teaching, which is one of the most popular student-centered approaches, can be utilized in order to alleviate the English language anxiety of the respective learners. The nature of the research demanded a mixed approach in order to validate the implications. Thus, the sample included 40 students who follow Diploma in English at E-SOFT, which is a renowned private institute. The study utilized an abbreviated form of Foreign Language Anxiety Scale developed by Horwitz and Cope in order to calculate the language anxiety encountered by the ESL learners. The quantitative data were accumulated by conducting interviews with academics and students. The research findings bear testimony that students feel less anxious in classrooms that practice communicative language teaching while they had an unfavorable attitude towards teacher-centered classrooms. The results also manifested that communicative language teaching method is an effective strategy that could be utilized in order to alleviate the English language anxiety of the ESL learners that will eventually have a significant impact on their language achievements.

Keywords: Language Anxiety, ESL Learners, Communicative Language Teaching, Language achievement, Student – Centered approach.

I. INTRODUCTION

English, which is considered as a lingua franca, today has become vital for individuals to be connected with the world. Even though the government has taken many measures in order to enhance the language skills of the ESL learners, still the students lag behind their language competencies, notably in communication skills. This could mainly be because of foreign language classroom anxiety which is described as “a distinct complex construct of self – perceptions, beliefs, feelings and behaviours related to classroom language learning arising from the uniqueness of the language learning process” (Horwitz, 1993) that has a significant impact on learners’ achievements. Many studies reveal that the learning setting is a major source of LA. In Sri Lanka teacher – centered approach which is in question, is most commonly used in ESL classrooms due to various practical issues. In contrast, Communicative Language Teaching is widely practiced and considered to be a successful and an innovative method in enhancing the communicative competence of the learners. Thus, this research was conducted with the objective to find out whether there is a relationship between language anxiety and teaching approaches utilized in ESL classrooms and further it projects on how communicative language teaching could be implemented to enhance the language skills of the students.

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