Chapter 1

Introduction

It is estimated that 75% of people experience some level of anxiety when asked to

speak publicly, and yet language teachers ask students to speak publicly in high-risk

settings frequently, without building students speaking confidence first (Hamilton, 2008).

We expect foreign language students to publicly speak successfully in a brand new

language despite the fact that most students do not do well with public speaking in their

native language. This means that our students do not have the prior experience to be able

to successfully complete oral presentation tasks in foreign language classrooms. This issue

applies to InTASC standard #1, the teacher uses understanding of how learners grow and

develop (in cognitive, linguistic, social, emotional, and physical areas) to design and

implement developmentally appropriate and challenging learning experiences, because it

pertains to Spanish student development. Spanish students are developing language skills

all over again, in an even more challenging setting, and so they need all the support they

can get from their teachers.

It is not surprising that many students feel doubtful about their speaking ability

when they are forced to speak in their non-native language for a grade, especially when one

considers how the risk of embarrassment is very important to high school-aged students.

For this reason, speaking anxiety decreases student confidence, which in turn decreases

student performance, regardless of ability. When students cannot perform at full capacity

because of anxiety, educators cannot accurately evaluate their proficiency; this principle

applies to more than just language classes, but is especially important for language

teachers to consider because speaking in the most important form of communication in

foreign language. Nobody wants to fail in front of their peers, least of all adolescents, and so

the anxiety associated with high-risk speaking activities in front of classmates is

understandable, as well as sufficient to keep students from participating in important

learning experiences.

I chose this topic because speaking in the target language is essential to foreign

language study and many students struggle with speaking anxiety, which prevents them

from participating in speaking activities and improving their skills. It is essential that

language teachers utilize speaking activities that encourage comfort and confidence in

students so that they may succeed. Traditionally, language classes have measured oral

proficiency by asking students to perform speeches in front of the class on a predetermined

subject. Research shows that this can cause students great anxiety, which reduces their

ability to perform well. Self-perceived failure further decreases a students speaking

confidence and perpetuates the problem. Instead, teaching techniques that utilize comfort

and low-risk methods of practicing and assessing oral proficiency in students, such as

small-group presentations and the use of communication technology that students can use

at home, has been shown to reduce speaking anxiety and therefore increase speaking

confidence (Dunn, 2012).

My rationale for choosing this topic as my action research is that speaking is an

integral, but traditionally challenging, part of language acquisition, and previous teaching

techniques have not encouraged speaking confidence in students. I am researching this

because I felt self-conscious about speaking in Spanish when I was a student, I think our

language methods could use improvement in this area, and it will help me become the

teacher I want to be. The problem I have identified is that Spanish students, on average,
have lower proficiency levels in speaking than they do in reading, writing and listening.

One of the main reasons for this is that many students feel anxious about speaking in front

of a group.

Speaking is the most important language skill when communicating face-to-face

with peers, but in traditional language classrooms students are asked to speak in front of

the whole class for verbal assessments, which creates anxiety and self-doubt in students.

This is a high-stakes situation for them where they are likely to make a mistake and

become embarrassed in front of their peers. Based on my research, I argue that there

should be a change in the way we require students to demonstrate speaking proficiency

because the traditional method creates unnecessary anxiety in students. This anxiety

diminishes their ability to perform and often prevents demonstration of students true

proficiency. As teachers, we can create situations in which students feel confident in low-

risk situation so that they will perform at their best and then we can more effectively

measure their ability.

Throughout my research thus far, I have discovered a few important questions that

I want my action research topic to answer: How can I improve my instruction so that my

students feel confident speaking? What activities can I use in order to reduce speaking

anxiety? I hope to improve my ability to encourage my students participation in speaking

activities. I want to use this research to strengthen my ability to embody InTASC Standard

#1, developing student learning, so that I can help my students develop their language

confidence from day one in my class all the way until they finish taking Spanish classes.

Because I know what it is like to struggle with speaking anxiety as a high school

Spanish student, I desire to reduce these feelings of anxiety and low confidence in my
students through purposeful alteration of my instruction. Studying this topic for my action

research will help me discover in what ways I can make students comfortable and

confident when they speak in class so that they may become fluent Spanish speakers and

hopefully have an enjoyable experience, as well.