The impact of xenoglossophobia in speaking on EFL learners

Abstract

This study aims to identify the anxiety and irrational fear of public speaking in English among Algerian Arabs. It provides insight into some important headlines, notably the factors that cause this phenomenon and its impact on learners' academic achievements, as well as how can L2 learners and English teachers cope with the situation. Both questionnaire and interview are used as tools to of research. This paper absolutely depends on an efficient technique to establish the results and causes of this phenomenon, which is the use of a "questionnaire" addressed to 30 male and female students from the Department of Foreign Languages at Boussila Maammar High School. Whereas, 9 other questions are intended for the interview with the education and guidance counselor. The Foreign language Classroom anxiety scale (FLCAS) that is developed by Horwitz, is used as a means to measure the level of anxiety perceived by EFL learners while taking parts in classrooms. It is also approved as a theoretical framework for the study. The results obtained indicate that the majority of the students suffer from xenoglossophobia, which negatively affects the remarkable development of the student, as well as their academic achievement and performance within the English class.