Exploring the Effects of Gender Related Anxiety on EFL Students’ Speaking Skills:

Abstract

Speaking is one of the most important skills in English learning. It can help EFL students improve their academic performance by facilitating language learning. However, many students suffer from a serious issue called “foreign language anxiety” that prevents them to reach the level of speaking fluency. This research aimed at investigating the possible differences between male’s and female’s foreign language anxiety and who is the most affected, exploring the major factors of foreign language anxiety and Finding solutions for EFL learners to overcome the issue of anxiety. For this purpose, a case study was conducted with first year English students at Medea University. This study adopted a mixed method, it is the most adequate one to deal with this topic, and to confirm or reject our hypotheses. Moreover, two main questionnaires were designed for both teachers and students as the best instrument to collect a considerable amount of data. The results show that anxiety affects females more than males due to several factors including fear of making mistakes, fear of negative evaluation, and shyness. Most importantly, teachers are required to use effective strategies, provide adequate activities to help EFL students reducing their level of anxiety and improve their oral skills.