The predictor roles of age, self-efficacy, and teaching experience on EFL teachers’ speaking anxiety

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

Faculty of Humanities, University of Mohaghegh Ardabili, Ardabil, Iran

Abstract

Speaking is one of those stress-prone areas in learning and teaching a foreign language, and speaking anxiety is influenced by a host of factors. This study explored the predictor roles of age, self-efficacy, and teaching experience of Iranian English as a foreign language (EFL) teachers on their speaking anxiety. Furthermore, it examined the relationship between teachers’ gender and their level of self-efficacy and anxiety in speaking English. The participants of the research consisted of 109 male and female Iranian teachers teaching in different language institutes and public schools in three provinces of Iran. The Teacher Self-efficacy Scale developed by Bandura (1997) and the Public Speaking Anxiety Scale developed by Bartholomay and Houlihan (2016) were used in this research as the data collection instruments. The data were analyzed by SPSS software (Version 24) using regression and one-way ANOVA. The findings revealed that only self-efficacy was a predictor of speaking anxiety. Moreover, the participants’ level of self-efficacy and speaking anxiety did not change relying on their gender.

Keywords


Addison, P., Clay, E., Xie, S., Sawyer, C. R., & Behnke, R. R. (2003). Worry as a function of public speaking state anxiety type. Communication Reports, 16(2), 125−131.
Bailey, K.M. (1983). Competitiveness and anxiety in adult second language learning. In H.W. Seliger, & M.H. Long (Eds.), Classroom oriented research in second language acquisition (pp. 67−102). Newbury: New York House.
Bandura, A. (1984). Recycling misconceptions of perceived self-efficacy. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 8, 231−255.
Bandura, A. (1986). Social foundations of thought and action: A social cognitive theory. Engelwood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
Bandura, A. (1997). Self-efficacy. New York: W. H. Freeman and Co.
Bandura, A. (2001). Social cognitive theory: An agentic perspective. Annual Review of Psychology, 52, 1–26.
Bartholomay, E. M., & Houlihan, D. D. (2016). Public speaking anxiety scale: Preliminary psychometric data and scale validation. Personality and individual differences, 94, 211–215.
Bozkirli, K. Ç. (2019). An analysis of the speaking anxiety of Turkish teacher candidates. Journal of Education and Training Studies, 7(4), 79−85.
Chao, C. N. G., Sze, W., Chow, E., Forlin, C., & Chuen Ho, F. (2017). Improving teachers’ self-efficacy in applying teaching and learning strategies and classroom management to students with special educational needs in Hong Kong. Teaching and Teacher Education, 66, 360−369.
Cheng, Y. K. (1994). The effects of attitudinal, motivational, and anxiety factors on the English language proficiency of Taiwanese senior high school students (Unpublished doctoral dissertation), University of Georgia, Athens.
Cheng, Y. K. (2001). Learners’ beliefs and second language anxiety concentric. Studies in English Literature and Linguistics, 27(2), 75−90.
Chiu, C. Y., Chang, K. C., Chen, K. Y., Cheng, W. Y., Li, P. S., & Lo, Y. C. (2010). College students’ English-speaking anxiety at the foreign language corner. Journal of National Formosa University, 29(1), 105−116.
Dellinger, A., Bobbett, J., Olivier, D., & Ellett, C. (2008). Measuring teachers’ self-efficacy beliefs: Development and use of the TEBS-Self. Teaching and Teacher Education, 24, 751−76.
Dembo, M. H., & Gibson, S. (1985). Teachers’ sense of efficacy: An important factor in school improvement. The Elementary School Journal, 86, 173−184.
Demir, A., Yurtsever, A., & Çimenli, B. (2015). The relationship between tertiary level EFL teachers’ self-efficacy and their willingness to use communicative activities in speaking. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 199, 613−619.
Frykedal K. F., & Chiriac E. H. (2014). Group work management in the classroom. Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research, 58(2), 222−234.
Hatch, E., & Farhady, H. (1982). Research design and statistics for applied linguistics. Tehran: Rahnama Publication.
Horwitz, E. K., Horwitz, M. B., & Cope, J. A. (1986). Foreign language classroom anxiety.
Modern Language Journal, 70(2), 125−132.
Karabiyik, B., & Korumaz, M. (2014). Relationship between teachers’ self-efficacy perceptions and job satisfaction level. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 116, 826–830.
Karatas, H., Alci, B., Bademcioglu, M., & Ergin, A. (2016). An investigation into university students’ foreign language speaking anxiety. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 232, 382–388.
Khalili Sabet, M., Dehghannezhad, S., & Tahriri, A. (2018). The relationship between Iranian EFL teachers’ self-efficacy, their personality and students’ motivation. International Journal of Education & Literacy Studies, 6(4), 7−15.
Kuru, O. (2018). Analysis of classroom teaching candidates’ speaking self-efficacy in terms of different variables. International Journal of Education & Literacy Studies, 6(3), 76−83.
Leeming, P. (2017). A longitudinal investigation into English speaking self-efficacy in a Japanese language classroom. Asian-Pacific Journal of Second and Foreign Language Education, 2, 1−18.
MacIntyre, P. D., & Gardner, R. C. (1991). Methods and results in the study of anxiety and language learning: A review of the literature. Language Learning, 41(1), 85−117.
Marzec-Sttawiarska, M. (2015). Investigating foreign language speaking anxiety among advanced learners of English. In M. Pawlak, & E. Klimczak (Eds.), Issues in teaching, learning, and testing speaking in a second language (pp. 103−120). New York: Springer.
Mede, E., & Karaırmak, Ö. (2017). The predictor roles of speaking anxiety and English self-         efficacy on foreign language speaking anxiety. Journal of Teacher Education and   Educators, 6(1), 117−131.
Mercer, S., Ryan, S., & Williams, M. (2012). Psychology for language learning. London: Palgrave Macmillan.
Moafian, F., & Ghanizadeh, A. (2009). The relationship between Iranian EFL teachers’ emotional intelligence and their self-efficacy in language institutes. System, 37(4), 708–718.
Moradkhani, S., Raygan, A., & Moein, M. S. (2017). Iranian EFL teachers’ reflective practices and self-efficacy: Exploring possible relationships. System, 65, 1−14.
Moslemi, N., & Habibi. P. (2019). The relationship among Iranian EFL teachers’ professional identity, self-efficacy, and critical thinking skills. H.O.W. Journal, 26(1), 107−128.
Onwuegbuzie, A. J., Bailey, P., & Daley, C. E. (1999). Relationship between anxiety and achievement at three stages of learning a foreign language. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 88, 1085−93.
Page, S., Pendergraft, B., & Wilson, J. (2014). Examining elementary teachers’ sense of efficacy in three settings in the southeast. Journal of Inquiry & Action in Education, 5(3), 31−41.
Saeidi, M., & Kalantarypour, M. (2011). The relationship between Iranian EFL teachers’ self-efficacy and students’ language achievement. World Applied Sciences Journal, 15(11), 1562−1567.
Shohani, S., Azizifar, A., Gowhary, H., & Jamalinesari, A. (2015). The relationship between novice and experienced teachers’ self-efficacy for personal teaching and external influences. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 185, 446−452.
Ucgun, D. (2007). The factors affecting the speaking education. Erciyes Universitesi Sosyal Bilimler Enstitusu Dergisi, 1(22), 59−67.
Veisi, S., Azizifar, A., & Gowhary, H. (2015). The relationship between Iranian EFL teachers’ self-efficacy and gender. International Research Journal of Applied and Basic Sciences, 9(1), 140−144