FOREIGN LANGUAGE SPEAKING ANXIETY AND ANXIETY COPING STRATEGIES EMPLOYED BY TURKISH EFL LEARNERS

Anxiety plays a vital importance in language learning and it can affect language learning process especially language learners' productive skills. Some studies on speaking anxiety have indicated that there is a strong relationship between anxiety and success in speaking in foreign language classrooms and speaking has been recognized as one of the most anxiety-provoking skill. Learners of foreign language use some coping strategies to overcome this anxiety. For this purpose, this study was designed to investigate the levels of speaking anxiety of 232 Turkish EFL learners (124 females and 108 males) at tertiary level and the strategies they are using to cope with the English speaking anxiety. Two scales (Foreign Language Speaking Anxiety Scale and Anxiety Coping Strategies Scale) were used to gather data. The findings revealed that the majority of Turkish EFL learners, experienced foreign language speaking anxiety in varying degrees and many of them also applied particular strategies to overcome their foreign language speaking anxiety. Based on the results of the study the researchers made some recommendations.