Abstract:

The fear of speaking a foreign language, also known as the language barrier, appears to be a frequent and significant problem for many English language students. This fear can be challenging to overcome and hinder language acquisition, leading to inefficient foreign language studies. Foreign language anxiety is generally associated with the inner fear of speaking a foreign language (Horwitz, Horwitz, and Cope, 1986), including state anxiety (unpleasant emotional arousal in response to threatening demands) and situational anxiety (resulting from new or changing events) (Malini, Rajkumar, 2018).

The present study aims to delve deeper into the fear of speaking a foreign language and identify its root causes. Data was collected from 700 respondents of Russian origin who studied English or another foreign language at a school or institute. Most respondents reported experiencing a language barrier, with 64% experiencing substantial barriers and 27% reporting mild barriers. Only 8% claimed to have no fear of speaking at all. Many respondents attributed their fear of speaking to their harsh educational experiences, including mistakes in grammar and incorrect pronunciation, resulting in low grades, criticism, shaming, and laughing in class. Others noted a wrong approach in education, where translation from their native language was the primary teaching tool, resulting in a limited vocabulary and difficulty expressing in English. Old and unrealistic textbooks contributed to fear and lack of confidence in speaking a foreign language.
Only 20,5% of respondents claimed to have overcome the fear of speaking, whereas 54,5% stated they did not get rid of it completely.

Understanding the initial reasons behind language anxiety is crucial in finding potential solutions. Not only speaking and listening might appear to be frustrating (Gardner, 1994). These solutions could include creating positive situations and increasing stimulus, improving language acquisition, raising problem awareness among teachers, and creating a solid foundation in the language before school starts. Discussing this issue is vital as many learners do not believe this is a common problem. It is, therefore, essential to work with each reason for language anxiety carefully.

Keywords:

Language barrier.