People’s Democratic Republic of Algeria

Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research

Larbi Ben M’hidi University-Oum El Bouaghi

Faculty of Letters and Languages

Department of English

Investigating Teachers’ and Students’

Attitudes toward the Effect of Anxiety on Students’ Fluency of

Oral Presentation

The case of Master One LMD Students of English at Larbi Ben Mhidi University

Oum-El Bouaghi

A Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the

Degree of Master in Language Sciences and Language Teaching

By: Aicha MEBAREK Supervisor: Samira ARROUF

Board of Examiners

President:

Examiner: Nadjiba ALYOUCH

2015-2016

Dedication

In the Name of God, Most Merciful, Most Compassionate

This work is dedicated to:

My family:

My parents,

My sisters: Sara, Khadidja, Requia and Chaima

My brother: Abdellah

My dear friends:

Afaf, Amina, Meriem, Sarah, Amel and Mauna

To everyone who helped me with this work

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

First of all, praise is to Allah the Almighty for giving me health, strength to accomplish this work

I would also like to express my sincere thanks to my supervisor, Miss. Samira.Arouf , for her guidance,

support and patience

throughout the accomplishment of this work.

My special gratitude also goes to my examiner who provided

me with valuable comments and

remarks.

I would like to thank all teachers and students who accepted to cooperate and answer my questionnaires

ABSTRACT

The present study is mainly concerned with investigating Algerian EFL teachers‟ and

students‟ attitudes about the effect of anxiety on students‟ fluency of oral presentation.

.Accordingly, we hypothesized that teachers and students would perceive anxiety as an

affective variable which has a negative effect on students fluency of oral presentations .In

order to test the hypothesis, a descriptive method has been conducted; thus, two

questionnaires were designed. The first questionnaire was administered to (40) Master one,

LMD students and the second was administrated to (20) teachers who use the oral

presentation activity at the English Department, Larbi Ben M‟hidi University. The results

revealed that both teachers and students assume that anxiety has a negative effect on students‟

fluency of oral presentation. Therefore, the obtained results have confirmed the suggested

hypothesis.

Key words

Anxiety , oral presentation ,fluency , teachers‟ and students‟ perceptions ,effectiveness.

List of Abbreviations:

EFL: Foreign Language Learners

FLA: Foreign Language Anxiety

FLCAS: Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale

OPA: Oral Presentation Anxiety

Q: Question.

LIST OF TABLES

Table 1: Teachers‟ Qualification……………………………………………………………..31

Table 2: Teachers‟ Experience……………………………………………………………….31

Table 3: Teachers Attitudes toward the Implementation of Oral Presentations in Language

classroom………………………………………………………………………………..……32

Table 4: Teachers‟ Perceptions towards the Frequency of Using Oral Presentation……..….33

Table 5: Modules in which Teachers Prefer to Use Oral Presentations……………………...34

Table 6: Teachers Attitudes toward the Appropriate Number of Students in One

Presentation……………………………………………………………………………….….35

Table 7: Teachers‟ Opinions about the Suggestion of the Topic………………………….…36

Table 8: Teachers‟ Attitudes toward the Importance of the Oral Presentations………….….37

Table 9: The Advantages of Oral Presentations………………………………………….…..38

Table 10: Teachers‟ Opinion about the Oral Presentations‟ Difficulties…………………….39

Table 11: Problems Faced by Teachers While Using the Oral Presentation Task………...…40

Table 12: Teachers‟ Attitudes about the Assessment of Oral Presentations…………………41

Table 13: Teachers‟ Attitudes towards their Students‟ Fluency Level in Oral

Presentations..42

Table 14: Teachers‟ Opinions about the Existence of Students‟ Oral Presentation Anxiety...43

Table 15: Teachers‟ Perceptions about the Time on Which the Students Get more Anxious.44

Table 16: Teachers Ability of Noticing Students‟ Anxiety ……………...…………………45

Table 17: Teachers Attitudes toward the Signs of Students‟ Oral Presentation Anxiety…....46

Table 18: Teachers‟ Opinions about the Sources of Oral Presentation Anxiety……………..47

Table19: Teachers‟ Attitudes about the Ability of Reducing Oral Presentation Anxiety……48

Table 20: Teachers‟ Perceptions about the Appropriate Ways of Lowering Students‟ Oral

Presentation Anxiety Level ………………………………………………………………..…50

Table 21: Teachers Attitudes about Raising the Students‟ Awareness of the Negative Effect

of Anxiety……………………………………………………………………………………51

Table 22: Teachers‟ Opinions about the Effect of Anxiety on the Fluency of Oral

Presentation……………………………………………………………………………..……52

Table 23: The Students‟ Gender…………………………………………………………….55

Table 24: Students‟ Attitudes about their Aim Behind Studying English…………………...56

Table 25: Students‟ Attitudes toward the Implementation of Oral Presentations in Language

Classroom…………………………………………………………………………………….56

Table 26: Students‟ Perceptions towards the Frequency of Using Oral Presentation………..57

Table 27: Students‟ Attitudes towards the Modules in which Teachers Prefer to Use Oral

Presentations …………………………………………………………………………..……..58

Table 28: Students‟ Attitudes about whether they prefer to present individually or with a

group………………………………………………………………………………….………59

Table 29: Students‟ Opinions about the Suggestion of the Topic……………………………60

Table 30: Students‟ Perceptions toward the Importance of the Oral Presentations………….61

Table 31: The Advantages of Oral Presentations…………………………………………….62

Table 32: Students‟ Opinion about the Oral Presentations‟ Difficulties…………………..…63

Table 33: Problems Faced by Students in Oral Presentations…………………………..……64

Table 34: Students‟ Attitudes about the Assessment of Oral Presentations…………...……..65

Table 35: Students Attitudes about their Fluency Level ……………………………….……67

Table 36: Students‟ Attitudes about their Ability to Present Successfully According to their

Fluency Level …………………………………………………………………………….… .67

Table 37: Students‟ Opinions about the Existence of Students‟ Oral Presentation Anxiety...68

Table 38: Students‟ Perceptions about the Time on Which they Get more Anxious…...……69

Table 39: Students‟ Ability of Noticing their Anxiety……………………….………………70

Table 40: Students‟ Attitudes toward the Signs of Oral Presentation Anxiety………………71

Table 41: Students‟ Opinions about the Sources of Oral Presentation Anxiety……………..72

Table 42: Students‟ Attitudes about the Ability of Reducing Oral Presentation Anxiety...…73

Table 43 : Students‟ Perceptions about the Appropriate Ways of Lowering Students‟ Oral

Presentation Anxiety Level

………………………………………………………………………………………….……74

Table 44: Students‟ Attitudes about Raising their Awareness of the Negative Effect of

Anxiety………………………………………………………………………………………75

Table 45: Students‟ Opinions about the Effect of Anxiety on the Fluency of Oral

Presentation…………………………………………………………………………………75

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1: Teachers‟ Qualification…………………………………………..………………31

Figure 2: Teachers‟ Experience…………………………………………………………….32

Figure 3: Teachers Attitudes towards the Implementation of Oral Presentations in Language

classroom…………………………………………………………………………………….33

Figure 4: Teachers‟ Perceptions towards the Frequency of Using Oral Presentation………34

Figure 5: Modules in which Teachers Prefer to Use Oral Presentations……………………35

Figure 6: Teachers Attitudes toward the Appropriate Number of Students in One

Presentation…………………………………………………………………………………..36

Figure 7: Teachers‟ Opinions about the Suggestion of the Topic…………………...………37

Figure 8: Teachers‟ Attitudes toward the Importance of the Oral Presentations……………38

Figure 9: The Advantages of Oral Presentations…………………………………...……….39

Figure 10: Teachers‟ Opinion about the Oral Presentations‟ Difficulties……………………40

Figure 11: Problems Faced by Teachers While Using the Oral Presentation Task………….41

Figure 12: Teachers‟ Attitudes about the Assessment of Oral Presentations………………..42

Figure 13: Teachers‟ Attitudes towards their Students‟ Fluency Level in Oral

Presentations…………………………………………………….……………………………43

Figure 14: Teachers‟ Opinions about the Existence of Students‟ Oral Presentation

Anxiety…………………………………………………………..……………………………44

Figure 15: Teachers‟ Perceptions about the Time on Which the Students Get more

Anxious………………………………………………………………………………………45

Figure 16: Teachers Ability of Noticing Students‟ Anxiety ………………………..…...…46

Figure 17: Teachers Attitudes toward the Signs of Students‟ Oral Presentation Anxiety…..47

Figure 18: Teachers‟ Opinions about the Sources of Oral Presentation Anxiety…………..48

Figure 19: Teachers‟ Attitudes about the Ability of Reducing Oral Presentation Anxiety…49

Figure 20: Teachers‟ Perceptions about the Appropriate Ways of Lowering Students‟ Oral

Presentation Anxiety Level ……………………………………………………………….…50

Figure 21: Teachers Attitudes about Raising the Students‟ Awareness of the Negative Effect

of Anxiety……………………………………………………………..……………………..51

Figure 22: Teachers‟ Opinions about the Effect of Anxiety on the Fluency of Oral

Presentation……………………………………………………………..…………………….52

Figure 23: The Students‟ Gender……………………………………………………………55

Figure 24: Students‟ Attitudes about their Aim Behind Studying English………………..…56

Figure 25: Students‟ Attitudes toward the Implementation of Oral Presentations in Language

Classroom……………………………………………………………………………………..57

Figure 26: Students‟ Perceptions towards the Frequency of Using Oral Presentation……....58

Figure 27: Students‟ Attitudes towards the Modules in which Teachers Prefer to Use Oral

Presentations ………………………………………………………..…………………….…59

Figure 28: Students‟ Attitudes about whether they prefer to present individually or with a

group………………………………………………………………………………….………60

Figure 29: Students‟ Opinions about the Suggestion of the Topic…………………..………61

Figure 30: Students‟ Perceptions toward the Importance of the Oral Presentations….……..62

Figure 31: The Advantages of Oral Presentations……………………………………….…..63

Figure 32: Students‟ Opinion about the Oral Presentations‟ Difficulties……………………64

Figure 33: Problems Faced by Students in Oral Presentations………………………………65

Figure 34: Students‟ Attitudes about the Assessment of Oral Presentations………………..66

Figure 35: Students Attitudes about their Fluency Level ……………………………………67

Figure 36: Students‟ Attitudes about their Ability to Present Successfully According to their

Fluency Level ………………………………………………………………..………………68

Figure 37: Students‟ Opinions about the Existence of Students‟ Oral Presentation Anxiety..69

Figure 38: Students‟ Perceptions about the Time on which they Get more Anxious………..70

Figure 39: Students‟ Ability of Noticing their Anxiety…………………………………...…71

Figure 40: Students‟ Attitudes toward the Signs of Oral Presentation Anxiety…………..…72

Figure 41: Students‟ Opinions about the Sources of Oral Presentation Anxiety…………....73

Figure 42: Students‟ Attitudes about the Ability of Reducing Oral Presentation Anxiety.…74

Figure 43: Students‟ Perceptions about the Appropriate Ways of Lowering Students‟ Oral

Presentation Anxiety Leve………………………………………………………………..…74

Figure 44: Students‟ Attitudes about Raising their Awareness of the Negative Effect of

Anxiety………………………………………………………………………………………75

Figure 45: Students‟ Opinions about the Effect of Anxiety on the Fluency of Oral

Presentation…………………………………………………………………………….……75

Table of Contents

Dedication …………………………………………………………………………………...…I

Acknowledgement …………………………………………………….………………………II

Abstract ………………………………………………………………………..…………...…III

List of Abbreviations ………...……………………………...……………………..…………IV

List of Tables ………...…………………………………………..……………………………V

List of Figures………...………………………………………………..……………...…...…VII

Introduction …………………………………………………………………………………..1

Statement of the Problem………...…………………………………………………………….1

Aim of the Research ………………...…………………………………………...…………….1

Research Questions ……………………………………………………………...…………….1

Research

hypotheses……………………………………………………………...……………..…..…1

Research Methodology………………………………………………………………………1

Population and Sampling....…………… …………………………………………........……2

Instruments …………………………………...………….......................................................2

Research Design ……………………………...………………...............................................2

Structure of the Study…………………...………………………..…...……………..………..3

CHAPTER ONE

SECTION ONE

ORAL PRESENTATION AND FLUENCY

Introduction…………………………………………………………………………..….…6

1.1.1. Oral Presentations …………………………………………………………………..6

1.1.1.1. Oral Presentation Definition………………….…………………….……….….6

1.1.1.2. The three Essential Components of an Oral Presentation…………..………..…7

1.1.1.2.1. The Audience …………………………………………….…….…....….7

1.1.1.2.2. The Presenter ………………………………………….….…….…….….8

1.1.1.2.2.1. Group Presentations………………..………..……………..…8

1.1.1.2.2..2. Individual Presentations………………………….…….……8

1.1.1.2.3. The presentation itself………………………………………………..……8

1.1.1.3. Types of Oral Presentations………………………………………………...……9

1.1. 1.3.1. Controlled………………………………………………………………9

1.1. 1.3.2. Guided……………………………………………….…………………9

1.1. 1.3.3. Free ……………………………………………………………………9

1.1.1.4. The Importance of Using Oral Presentations in the EFL classroom…….…………9

1.1.1.5. Problems Issues with Using Oral Presentations in the Language Classroom…..…10

1.1.1.6. Assessing Oral Presentations………………………………………………………11

1.1.2. Fluency ………………………………………………………………………...……11

1.1.2.1.Fluency Definition………………………………………………………………….11

1.1.2.2. Assessing and Measuring Speaking Fluency………………………………………12

1.1.2.3. Problems that Affect the Students′ Speaking Fluency during Oral Presentations.13

1.1. 2.3.1. External Factors…………………………………………………..……13

1.1. 2.3.2. Inappropriate Topic…………………………………………………..…13

1.1. 2.3.3. Teachers Feedback……………………………………..………….……13

1.1. 2.3.4. Internal Factors…………………………………………………………14

1.1. 2.3.5.Oral Proficiency ………………………………………..………..………14

1.1. 2.3.6. Psychological Factors……………………………………………………14

1.1. 2.3.7.Shyness …………………………………………………………………14

1.1. 2.3.8.Self-confidence………………………………………………...……………14

1.1. 2.3.9. Anxiety………………………….………………………………………15

Conclusion………………………………………………………………..…….15

Section Two:

ORAL PRESENTATION ANXIETY

Introduction …………………………………………………………….………….…….18.

1.2.1.Anxiety ……………………………………………………………………….…….18

1.2.1.1. What is Anxiety? ...............................................................................................18

1.2.1.2. Types of Anxiety………………………………………………………….….18

1.2.1.2.1. State Anxiety……………………………………………….……….19

1.2.1.2.2. Trait Anxiety…………………………………………….………….19

1.2.1.2.3. Situation-specific…………………………………………….……...19

1.2.1.3. Fear versus Anxiety: is there a Difference? .......................................................19

1.2.2. Foreign Language Anxiety…………………………………………………………....20

1.2.2.1. Forign Language Anxiety Definition………………………………………….20

1.2.2.2. Horwitz, Horwitz and Cope‟s Theory of Foreign Language…………………20

1.2.2.3. Facilitating versus Debilitating Foreign Language Anxiety:.............................21

1.2.3. Presentation Anxiety……………………………………………………………..……21

1.2.3.1. Definition of Presentation Anxiety……………………………………..………21

1.2.3.2. Sources of Oral Presentation

Anxiety…………………………………..………21

1.2.3.2.1. Negative Thinking……………………………………………….…….22

1.2. 3.2.2. Poor or Insufficient Preparation and

Practice………………….…..….22

1.2. 3.2.3. The Audience

1.2. 3.2.4. Negative Experience………………………………………..……..…..22

1.2. 3.2.5. Uncertainty………………………………………………..………..….23

1.2. 3.2.6. Novelty……………………………………………………….……….23

1.2. 3.2.7. Formality…………………………………………………….………23

1.2. 3.2.8. Lack of Self-Confidence……………………………………………23

1.2.3.3. Reducing Presentation Anxiety…………………………………..…………........23

1.2. 3.3.1. Think Positively ……………………………………………………..…23

1.2. 3.3.2. Reducing Anxiety through Preparation………………….……………..24

1.2. 3.3.3. Practice ………………………………………………….……………..24

1.2. 3.3.4. Using the Audience…………………………….………………………24

1.2. 3.3.5. Do not Expect Perfection………………………..……………………25

1.2. 3.3.6. Maintain Your Sense of Humour……………………………..………25

1.2. 3.3.7. Stress Management Techniques……………………………….……….25

1.2.4. The Relationship between Anxiety and Students‟ Oral Performance………..……26

Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………...……26

CHAPTER TWO

TEACHERS’ AND STUDENTS’ PERCEPTIONS ABOUT THE EFFECT OF

ANXIETY ON STUDENTS’ FLUENCY OF ORAL PRESENTATION

Introduction…………………………………...………..………........................................29

2.1. Choice of the Method …………………………………..…........................................29

2.2. Teachers Questionnaire …………...…………..............................................................29

2.2.1. The Sample…………...…………........................................................................29

2.2.2. Description of the Teachers‟ Questionnaire………….........................................29

2.2.3. Administration of the Teachers‟ Questionnaire ……..........................................30

2.2.4. Analysis of the Teachers‟ Questionnaire ……......................................................30

2.2.5. Discussion …….........................................……....................................................53

2.3. Students‟ Questionnaire …….............................................……..................................53

2.3.1. The Sample …….....................................……......................................................53

2.3.2. Description of the Students‟ Questionnaire ……................................................53.

2.3.3. Administration of the Students‟ Questionnaire ……...........................................54

2.3.4. Analysis of the Students‟ Questionnaire ……......................................................55

2.3.5. Discussion …….....................................................................................................77

2.4. Comparison between Teachers‟ and Students‟ Questionnaires………………………78

Conclusion ............................................................................................................................78

.Pedagogical Implication…………………………………………………….…………….....80

General Conclusion…………………………………………………….…….…………...….81

Limitations of the Study…………………………………………………..……………...…..81

REFERENCES………………………………………………………………..…....…..……82

APPENDIXES

- APPENDIX A: The Teachers‟ Questionnaire..

- APPENDIX B: The Students‟ Questionnaire

RESUME

_الملخص

.

.

General Introduction

Over the last decades, teachers and educational systems around the world are giving

more interest to oral presentations especially at university level. Mainly the aim behind that is

to promote students‟ oral proficiency and prepare them to be able to present effectively after

graduating and getting a job. As the developing countries such as Algeria have begun to open

to the world, the demand for English speaking has increased. Therefore, their universities

have started giving much interest to this oral activity as well. However, when oral

presentations are assigned in class, the teacher will get either complete silence or poor

presentations from students who find the idea of oral presentations frustrating and

intimidating. Anxiety is an affective variable that may affect the important skills, needed for

successful presentations, such as fluency. Accordingly, the focus of this research paper is to

draw the teachers‟ and students‟ attention towards anxiety and its‟ effects that might debilitate

the students oral presentations.

Statement of the Problem

Oral presentation is an important speaking task used by many teachers in order to enhance

students speaking skills including fluency and accuracy. This task is considered as an opportunity

for many students to practice their oral English. However, most of students think that presenting in

front of an audience is a big challenge that is fraught with difficulties such as anxiety .Anxiety as an

affective variable will be a great obstacle on the way of EFL learners speaking fluency .As it has

been noticed , many students of English department at Larbi Ben M‟Hidi University feel that they

are not able to speak spontaneously in the target language as usual .In addition, they do many

pauses in their speech even if they have prepared in advance .In fact ,the absence of fluency may

lead to poor performance ,thus, the pedagogical objectives of using oral presentation task will not

be achieved.

Aim of the Study

This research aims at investigating teachers‟ and students‟ views about the effect of anxiety

on learners‟ fluency in oral presentations ,whether it is negative or not .

Research Questions and Hypothesis

This study addresses the following questions:

Do EFL teachers perceive anxiety as a factor that has a negative effect on students‟

fluency during oral presentations?

Do EFL students think that anxiety has a negative effect on their fluency during oral

presentations?

In order to answer the research questions, the following hypothesis has been

formulated:

It is hypothesized that teachers and students would perceive anxiety as an

affective variable that has a negative effect on students‟ fluency during oral

presentations.

Research Methodology

In this study, investigation about teachers‟ and students‟ perception of the effect of

anxiety on learners‟ oral presentations fluency is targeted; thus, a descriptive method is

applied; for that reason, two questionnaires are given to both teachers and students from

English department of Larbi Ben M‟Hidi University.

Population and Sampling

We have dealt with teachers and students of English department, Larbi Ben M‟Hidi

University. The sample is made up of (20) teachers who are using oral presentation task and

(40) master one students who are selected randomly .The number of students represents more

than (20%) of the whole population (197). The determination of that number based on what is

suggested by Gay (as cited in Yount, 2006). He said that we should take (10%) of large

populations and (20%) of small populations as minimums.

Instruments

In this study, data collection is carried out through questionnaires .Two questionnaires

are distributed to both teachers and students at the Department of English in the University

Oum El Bouaghi. The questionnaires are administered to investigate their perceptions about

the effect of anxiety on students‟ fluency of oral presentations. The questionnaire of teachers

includes open-ended and close-ended questions .It is composed of five sections. The first

section seeks to gain information about teachers‟ experience and qualification. The second

section aims to find out the views of teachers about the use of oral presentations and the

factors that may affect the students‟ fluency during that activity. The third section asks

questions to know their views about students‟ oral presentation anxiety. The questions of

section four are designed to know whether teachers think that anxiety has a negative effect on

students‟ fluency of oral presentations or not. In the last section teachers are given the

freedom to add any relevant information or suggestions.

The students‟ questionnaire includes as well open-ended and close-ended questions. It

is composed of five sections. The first section includes questions about the students‟

background .The second section seeks to collect data about their perceptions about oral

presentations and fluency .The third chapter aims at knowing the students attitudes about oral

presentation anxiety. The fourth section tries to find out their opinion about the relationship

between anxiety and students‟ fluency of oral presentations. The last section gives them the

opportunity to add their comments or suggestions.

Structure of the Study

This research is divided into two chapters. The first chapter is the theoretical part and

the second is the practical part.

The first chapter is composed of two sections .The first section covers the definition of

oral presentations, its components, types, benefits and problems. In addition, it talks about

fluency, its assessment and the main factors that may affect it. The second section tackles the

concept of anxiety in general, its‟ definition, types and how it can be different from fear. In

addition, it includes a definition of the foreign language anxiety, its‟ theory and the main

difference between the debilitating and the facilitating anxiety in the foreign language context.

Finally, it discusses the definition of oral presentation anxiety, its sources and ways of

reducing it.

The second chapter is about the description of the teachers‟ and students‟ questionnaires

along with the analysis and interpretation of the results obtained. Finally, it suggests some

pedagogical recommendations.

CHAPTER ONE

SECTION ONE

ORAL PRESENTATION AND FLUENCY

Introduction…………………………………………………………………………..……6.1.1.

Oral presentations ………………………………………………………………….….6

1.1.1.1. Oral Presentation Definition……………………………………….………….….6

1.1.1.2. The three Essential Components of an Oral Presentation…………………….…7

1.1.1.2.1. The Audience ………………………………………………….….…….7.

1.1.1.2.2. The Presenter …………………………………………….……….…….8.

1.1.1.2.2.1. Group Presentations………………..……..…………….……8

1.1.1.2.2..2. Individual Presentations………………………….…………8

1.1.1.2.3. The Presentation Itself…………………………………………….….……8

1.1.1.3. Types of Oral Presentations………………………………………………………9

1.1. 1.3.1. Controlled……………………………………………………….………9

1.1. 1.3.2. Guided……………………………………………….…………………9

1.1. 1.3.3. Free …………………………………………………………….………9

1.1.1.4. The importance of Using Oral Presentations in the Language Classroom……..…9

1.1.1.5. Problems Issues with Using Oral Presentations in the Language Classroom……10

1.1.1.6. Assessing oral Presentations………………………………………………..……11

1.1.2. Fluency ……………………………………………………………………….….…11

1.1.2.1.Fluency Definition……………………………………………………………..….11

1.1.2.2. Assessing and Measuring Speaking fluency………………………………..……12

1.1.2.3. Problems that Affect the Students′ Speaking Fluency During Oral Presentations13

1.1. 2.3.1. External Factors………………………………………………………13

1.1. 2.3.2. Inappropriate Topic……………………………………………………13

1.1. 2.3.3. Teachers Feedback………………………………………..……………13

1.1. 2.3.4. Internal Factors…………………………………………………………14

1.1. 2.3.5.Oral Proficiency ………………………………….………..……………14

1.1. 2.3.6. Psychological Factors………………………..…………………………14

1.1. 2.3.7.Shyness …………………………………………………………………14

1.1. 2.3.8.Self-confidence………………………………………………...……………14

1.1. 2.3.9. Anxiety………………………….………………………………...……15

Conclusion………………………………………………………………….15

Introduction

English is a global language; it is the language of commerce, technology and science. In

addition, it is the lingua franca that facilitates communication between people around the

world. Hence, communicating in English becomes one of the very important needs especially

for EFL learners; therefore, EFL teachers strive to make their classes more communicatively

dynamic by encouraging students to take initiative using several tasks, one of them is the oral

presentation. The later is a marketable skill that is much needed in various jobs round the

world. Hence, presenting in the EFL classroom prepares students for the job market that they

will enter when they leave school. An effective oral presentation requires the mastery of

speaking skills such as fluency. Fluency is one basic criterion used to evaluate oral

presentations .A fluent learner who speaks in reasonable and intelligible way without too

much hesitations and pauses will deliver a good presentation; however, repeating words and

utterances and repairing them break down the communication because listeners will lose their

interest. Thus, the whole presentation will fail.

In this section, light is shed on the oral presentation as an essential task in language

classroom in addition to oral fluency that is regarded as a crucial element that influences the

quality of oral presentations‟ delivery. First, a definition of oral presentation, its types and the

three essential components of that task are provided .Second, the importance of using the oral

presentation , problems faced by the students while using that activity, as well as the ways of

assessing it are mentioned . Finally, a definition of fluency is given, the essential elements

researchers use to assess fluency are discussed, as well as the factors that affect fluency

during oral presentation including anxiety.

1.1.1. Oral presentations

1.1.1.1. Definition of Oral Presentations

Having students give oral presentations in front of the class is one of the most popular

activities in student-centered classroom (Truong & Storch, 2007). Oral presentation means

delivering a formal speech to an audience in a formal place in order to transmit knowledge or

to stimulate discussion. According to Levin and Topping (as cited in Al-Nouh, Abdul-

Kareem ,& Taqi, 2015), presentation is a planned and practiced speech that is not memorized

or read from notes but is introduced by a presenter to an audience. Joughin (2007) adds that

we can look at oral presentation from three perspectives: the first one implies that oral

presentation is the action of conveying ideas of others to a passive audience with anxiety at a

low level. However, presentation for the second perspective is seen as the transmission of

what the presenter understood from the others findings. The audience for that perspective are

allowed to ask questions and share their ideas. Hence, students experience some stress. In the

third perspective, the presenter should not only present what he understood from the previous

finding ,but also tries to convince the audience with that ideas using arguments and examples

.The audience job here is to discuss and criticize the presentation ,this will create even more

pressure than in the first two situations.

The oral presentation task also is seen as a form of assessment, where students present

pieces of information about topics chosen by the teacher or by themselves in a formal setting

(classroom). Usually students have the right to use aids like the projector, tape records or even

pictures to present and illustrate the points more effectively and to achieve the desired results.

Teachers grade oral presentations based on many criteria such as the quality of the

information presented as well as the method of presenting it (Truong & Storch, 2007).

Almost every oral presentation contains an introduction, main body and conclusion like a

short paper. According to Harmer (2007), oral presentations are not "designed for informal

spontaneous conversations; because they are prepared and well structured, they are more

writing like” (p. 351).

1.1.1.2. The Three Essential Components of an Oral Presentation

Siddons (2008) believes that there are three major components of an oral presentation:

the audience, the presenter and the presentation itself.

1.1.1.2.1. The Audience

The audience are the people who are watching the oral presentation .In the case of

classroom presentation the audience are students, teachers, inspector, and may be the director

.In addition to the supervisor and the examiners in the viva presentation. Audience could be

classified in to several categories .First, friendly audience, generally are people who want the

presenter to do a good job. Furthermore, they are usually not in violent disagreement with his

point of view .The Second category is the provocative audience who are just looking for the

presenters‟ weaknesses in order to criticize him; moreover, they ask a questions beyond the

presenters‟ level for the sake of humiliating them .The last category is the holistic audience

.The later are the most difficult audience to be convinced. That‟s why the presenter should

analyse his audience well before presenting so as to know how to deal with them.

1.1.1.2.2. The Presenter

The presentation could be prepared and delivered by one presenter, two or may be more.

1.1.1.2.2.1. Group Presentations

Searching, preparing and presenting together with a team is called group presentation.

There are substantial benefits to assign presentations in groups. The major benefit is that “

Groups encourage teamwork and help students get feedback from each throughout the process

of developing the presentation” ( Hall , 2007, p.2). In addition, it allows the team to bring a

number of perspectives to bear on the problem at hand. Furthermore, it makes the work

easier and entertaining because responsibilities are usually divided up. For instance, in a

group, each member will have a specific role: someone might design the frame work of the

presentation, someone else might bring pictures, …etc.

1.1.1.2.2.2. Individual Presentations

Generally, individualized presentation is the presentation that is completed by a person on

his or her own. Individual work can provide a sense of clarity and speed. One person,

working alone, can make decisions and implement them more quickly because there is no

need to discuss or explain. This allows the work to proceed quickly .Moreover, presenting

individually teaches students responsibility since the student has to prepare and present alone

besides he should critically understand and respond to the teachers‟ and classmates‟

questions. Individual presentations experience help students to become more confident when

talking alone with a large number of people (Hall, 2007).

1.1.1.2.3. The Presentation Itself

It means the delivery of the oral presentation .The presenter should take into

consideration many aspects such as body language, eye contact, the use of visual aids, the

level of voice, as well as, the correctness of language and fluency in order to have an effective

oral presentation.

For him these three constituents are so important organs of the oral presentation body .If

all of them are there it is stable and healthy, but if we remove or shorten one of them, the

whole body will get sick. In other words, even if the presentation is well-constructed, if it is

badly delivered it will fail .Similarly, although the presenter is creative, doing well and

delivering a perfect presentation, if the audience are not interested or do not interact with him,

then the presentation will certainly fail.

1.1.1.3. Types of Oral Presentations

Oral presentations can be divided in to three types: controlled, guided, and free.

1.1. 1.3.1. Controlled Oral Presentations

In a controlled oral presentation, students have a low level of language proficiency

.Hence; teachers should limit them with carefully chosen topics which are suitable to their

level. Most of time they are taken from their textbooks. Moreover, the time of presentation

should be short since beginners cannot be expected to present in a long period of time. For the

assessment, it is recommended that students must not be assessed during the controlled oral

presentation stage because they are not able yet to show skills that are taken into

consideration when evaluating (Al-issa & Al-Qubtan, 2010).

1.1. 1.3.2. Guided Oral Presentations

Unlike in the controlled oral presentation, students can be classified as at the lower-

intermediate or intermediate level of English proficiency. Thus, the teacher will only guide

them to choose the topic that he feels the students can present with ease. Teacher should

expect them to produce a simple language with errors from time to time and he must guide

them to the appropriate level of grammar and lexical items .In addition, although their

language level is better than that of beginners ,they should not be expected to present in a long

period of time (Al-issa & Al-Qubtan, 2010).

1.1. 1.3.3. Free Oral Presentations

Free oral presentations are done by advanced level students. Since students at that level

are competent enough to use all aspects of language appropriately and correctly, teachers then

let them free to choose the topic they would like to tackle, and present it in the way they

consider the most appropriate. In addition, their level of proficiency allows them to deliver

long and complex presentations in an extended amount of time (Al-issa & Al-Qubtan, 2010).

1.1.1.4. The Importance of Using Oral Presentations in the EFL Classroom

Numerous researchers agreed that there are many fruits got from using oral

presentation task. One of the main benefits of using oral presentation is that it requires the use

of all four language skills; writing, reading, speaking, and listening. Hence, it will enhance

and develop them. Writing and reading skills are used in the preparation step .During that step

the presenters read books and articles and write the suitable information for their presentation.

In addition, the delivery of the speech needs the use of spoken English. Students are also

supposed to listen to their classmates‟ and teachers‟ comments and questions after the

presentation .Moreover, another opportunity for students to practice their listening skill is

when they act as audience members and listen to other students‟ presentations (Živković

,2014).

Also, oral presentations, especially group presentations, give students chance to take

part in collaborative tasks which help them to put their language in practice such as using

English to explain their ideas or to negotiate meaning with the other members of the group

while planning and practicing their presentations. In addition, working in groups makes the

task easier since the workload is shared between many people (Hall, 2007).

Another benefit of oral presentations is that, using it in EFL classrooms is a good way to

prepare students for business presentations that they will likely be expected to carry out after

graduating. According to Živković (2014), presentations have also been shown to improve

students‟ abilities in ways that can be beneficial for their future employment.

1.1.1.5. Problems Faced by Students and Teachers while Using Oral Presentations

“Because oral presentations can be challenging and often include unfamiliar tasks for

many students, they can potentially present many problems for students if not properly

implemented in the classroom” (Meloni & Thompson, 1980, p.507). Many researchers notice

that things do not go smoothly and correctly when incorporating presentations in language

classroom. To illustrate, Chiu (2004) describes her experience with presentations in Japan,

she said “the presenters stumbled through their long and formally written presentation

speeches, while the rest of the class would try hard to stay awake” (p. 32). Meloni and

Thompson (1980) also found it hard to implement an oral presentation in their classrooms

because their students end up choosing inappropriate or uninteresting topics, which, in turn,

leads to a boring section in which no one of the other students is following; hence, marginal

talking and misbehaviors will occur . According to these researchers, the end result of this

process will be a group of students who dislike oral presentations, and an instructor who

believes that students gain nothing from giving oral presentations.

Another problem with presentations is that teachers should work hard and spend much

searching and thinking about the appropriate ways that must be followed in order to set up

the oral presentation properly in their class .One way to do so is to break down the

presentation process into feasible steps, and it must be made clear to the students what is

expected from them at each stage of the presentation ( Brouks &Wilson ,2014). That‟s why

many teachers consider it as a time-consuming task that has nothing to get from using it.

1.1.1.6. Assessing Oral Presentations

Teachers may assess students‟ presentations formally or informally. In the first case the

teacher end up by giving mark to the presentation, whereas this is not so for the second one.

In both cases the teacher must use different criteria included in a checklist. For instance ,the

choice of the topic for the free presentation, the use of audiovisual aids like( powerpoint,

posters, pictures, wall charts, video and realia ), students personality such as ( body language,

eye contact and interaction with the audience),connection of ideas, correctness of language

including ( fluency and accuracy), clarity of speech and voice quality involves (pronunciation

and the rate of speech), the ability to answer teachers‟ and students‟ questions about the

presentation (Otoshi &Heffernen, 2008).

It is important that students take part in the informal assessment of their classmates.

Otoshi and Heffernen (2008) consider peer assessment an „„important activity to develop

students‟ learning and to facilitate autonomy among learners‟‟ (p.2).Peer assessment develops

reflective minds and critical thinkers because students watching the presentation critically in

order to discover the weak and the strong parts of it .In addition, doing so will break the

boredom during the session, as a result, students motivation will increase (Otoshi

&Heffernen, 2008).

1.1.2. Fluency

1.1.2.1. Fluency Definition

Fluency is the main characteristic of the speakers‟ performance and it is the essential

goal that teachers aim to achieve in teaching the speaking skill. Richards (2008) defined

fluency as the “natural language use occurring when a speaker engages in meaningful

interaction and maintains comprehensible and ongoing communication despite limitations in

his or her communicative competence” ( p.14). Apparently, a fluent person is the one who is

able to be intelligible and clear when interacting orally with others, i.e. socially equivalent.

A subsequent definition of fluency was stated by Fillmore (1979).He defined four

abilities of speaking fluently. The ability to talk at length with few pauses, to be able to

produce the sentences coherently, reasoned and semantically, to have an appropriate

expressions in a wide range of contexts and finally being creative and imaginative in language

use. Fillmore‟s definition of fluency is very extensive but it does not include the whole oral

profeciency.However, Hartmanns‟ and Storks‟ (1976) definition is of much narrower scope

than that of Fillmore .They focused only on two aspects .According to them, the fluent

speaker is the one who is able to use the correct structures of a language at normal speed.

Lennon (1990, 2000) stated that fluency has two senses the broad and the narrow sense.

In its broad one, fluency is equivalent to the whole oral proficiency, that is, to be fluent,

student should master all aspects of oral proficiency. However, in the so-called narrower

sense, fluency can be considered one component of oral proficiency which is different in

nature from other speaking elements such as accuracy.

1.1.2.2. Measuring Speaking Fluency

Many researchers and experts agreed that one way to measure speech fluency is through

the measurement of temporal variables. Kormos and Dennes (2004) and also Jamatlou (2011)

have mentioned that learners‟ level of oral fluency could be measured using temporal

variables.

1. Total number of syllables per turn. That is, the number of syllables produced by the learner

by each turn without taking in to consideration the filled pauses such as ah, ahm, eh, ehm uhm

& mmm (Temple, 1992) .

2. Total number of seconds per turn. This measure includes the time in seconds spent in

producing the whole turn including the filled pauses (Temple, 1992).

3. Rate of speech. That is, the speed of producing an utterance or the number of syllables

articulated per minute. This is figured out by using a specific equation. Kormos and D‟enes

(2004) argue that “the total number of syllables produced in a given speech sample was

divided by the amount of total time required to produce the speech sample expressed in

seconds. This figure was then multiplied by sixty to give a figure expressed in syllable

per minute” (p. 154). i.e., rate of speech =syllables

seconds× 60 (Towell, 1996).

4. Rate of speech adjusted .That is, the number of syllables articulated per minutes and

excluded the items contained in the repeated and the repaired segments .The rate of speech

adjusted is calculated through the following formula: rate of speech adjusted =

syllables −(syllables in repeated segments +syllables in repaired segments

seconds× 60 ( Freed, Segalowitz, &

Dewey , 2004).

5. Pauses. They are moments within the speech when the speaker is not able to produce a

meaningful words because of many factors such as the lack of vocabulary, anxiety …ect.The

pauses might be silent or filled with sounds and segments like uh, uhm, mmm, ah, ahm, eh &

ehm ( Freed, Segalowitz, & Dewey , 2004).

6. Repetitions. This measure requires counting all the repetitions happened within an

utterance .For instance, well I want to I want to prepare … would count as one repetition.

7. Repair. It means self correction. For example, I goed emm I went( Lennon ,1990).

8. Total number of words .This measure reflected the total sum of all words produced by the

learner (Freed, Segalowitz, & Dewey , 2004).

1.1.2.3. Problems that Affect the Students′ Fluency during Oral Presentations

It is necessary for the teachers to figure out problems that affect the students‟ fluency

during oral presentation in order to overcome them. Students‟ fluency can be affected by

several factors. Some of them could be inner (psychological) or (cognitive) related to the

students‟ competence, while some others can be external like the environment created by

teachers in the class.

1.1. 2.3.1. External Factors

1.1. 2.3.1.1. Inappropriate Topic

Learners generally start hesitating and repeating words and lines which they had uttered

before simply because they do not know what to say, cannot memorize technical vocabulary

as well as find it difficult to explain and transmit the ideas to the audience .This usually

happened when teachers had chosen a topic beyond their student′s level (Rivers, 1968).

1.1. 2.3.1.2. Teachers Feedback

After the inappropriate topic, the second factor which affects the verbal fluency is the

Teachers‟ feedback on students‟ speaking performance. “If the teachers correct whenever

there is a problem, the conversational flow as well as the purpose of the speaking activity will

be destroyed” (Harmer, 1991, p.45).The overcorrection also reduces students‟ concentration

and self-confidence; hence, repairs, hesitations and repetitions will be made.

1.1. 2.3.2. Internal Factors

1.1. 2.3.2.1.Oral Proficiency

The results of the study conducted by Malik (2012) about fluency indicated that oral

proficiency which includes (knowledge of grammar rules, vocabulary and pronunciation)

does affect oral fluency. According to him, if learners do not have enough knowledge of

grammar rules and their use , they will not be able to speak fluently. The same thing for

vocabulary .If the students are not able to find and use the appropriate word in the appropriate

context ,they will start hesitating and repeating words or may be uttrances.At last, while

speaking whenever students lack awareness about the correct articulation of sounds and words,

they will fail to speak fluently.

1.1. 2.3.2.2.Shyness

Shyness is an emotional thing that many students suffer from when they are required to

present orally in English classroom. This indicates that shyness could be a source of problem

that may influence their presentation skills including fluency. In line with this, Baldwin

(2011) further explains that speaking in front of people is one of the most common situations

in which students encounter the feeling of shyness .The later makes their mind blank and

forget what they want to say as if they did not prepared in advance .Thus, they will become

unable to show their ability to present fluently.

1.1. 2.3.2.3. Self-confidence

Generally students‟ lack of confidence usually occurs when they realize that their

presentation is not understood by the audience or when they are not able to understand and

answer their classmates‟ and teachers‟ questions. In this situation, they would rather keep

silent and if they speak, they will hesitate and repair what they have said each time. In

response to this, Tsui (as cited in Nunan,1999) says that students who lack self-confidence

their English speaking necessarily suffer from communication apprehension. This shows that

building students‟ confidence is an important part of teacher‟s duties.

1.1. 2.3.2.4. Anxiety

Krashen (1982) stated that anxiety is one of the affective variables that may influence

the speaking fluency negatively. Park and Lee (2005) also examine the relationships between

second language learners‟ anxiety and speaking performance and their result is similar to

what Krashen (1982) figured out. They believe that the high level of anxiety can influence

the quality of the speaking fluency and make individuals appear less fluent than they really

are in all situations especially when presenting in front of an audience.

Conclusion

Oral presentations are a common feature of many courses at university. They may take

the form of short or long presentations, delivered either individually or as part of a group. In

this section, interest is given to the oral presentation as an essential task in EFL classroom in

addition to oral fluency that is regarded as a crucial element that influences the quality of oral

presentations‟ delivery. First, definition of oral presentation ,its types and components are

tackled .Second, the importance of using the oral presentation , problems faced by the

students while using that activity, as well as the ways of assessing it are mentioned . Finally, a

definition of fluency is given, the essential elements researchers use to assess fluency are

discussed, as well as the factors that affect fluency during oral presentation including anxiety

Section Two:

ORAL PRESENTATION ANXIETY

Introduction …………………………………………………………….……………..….18.

1.2.1.Anxiety …………………………………………………………………………….18

1.2.1.1. What is Anxiety? ...............................................................................................18

1.2.1.2. Types of Anxiety………………………………………………………….….18

1.2.1.2.1. State Anxiety…………………………………………………….…….19

1.2.1.2.2. Trait Anxiety…………………………………………………….…….19

1.2.1.2.3. Situation-specific……………………………………………………...19

1.2.1.3. Fear versus Anxiety: is there a Difference? .......................................................19

1.2.2. Foreign Language Anxiety………………………………………………………….20

1.2.2.1. Forign Language Anxiety Definition………………………………………….20

1.2.2.2. Horwitz, Horwitz and Cope‟s Theory of Foreign Language…………………20

1.2.2.3. Facilitating versus Debilitating Foreign Language Anxiety:.......................21

1.2.3. Presentation Anxiety………………………………………………………………21

1.2.3.1. Definition of Presentation Anxiety……………………………………………21

1.2.3.2. Sources of Oral Presentation Anxiety…………………………………………21

1.2.3.2.1. Negative Thinking…………………………………………………….22

1.2. 3.2.2. Poor or Insufficient Preparation and Practice……………………..….22

1.2. 3.2.3. The Audience

1.2. 3.2.4. Negative Experience……………………………………………..…..22

1.2. 3.2.5. Uncertainty………………………………………………………..….23

1.2. 3.2.6. Novelty……………………………………………………………….23

1.2. 3.2.7. Formality…………………………………………………….………23

1.2. 3.2.8. Lack of Self-Confidence…………………………………………23

1.2.3.3. Reducing Presentation Anxiety……………………………………………........23

1.2. 3.3.1. Think Positively ………………………………………………..…23

1.2. 3.3.2. Reducing Anxiety through Preparation……………………………..24

1.2. 3.3.3. Practice ……………………………………………………………..24

1.2. 3.3.4. Using the Audience…………………………………………………24

1.2. 3.3.5. Do not Expect Perfection…………………………………………25

1.2. 3.3.6. Maintain Your Sense of Humour…………………………………25

1.2. 3.3.7. Stress Management Techniques…………………………………….25

1.2.4. The Relationship between Anxiety and Students‟ Oral Performance……………26

Conclusion………………………………………………………………………………26

Introduction

The possibility that anxiety interferes with language learning has long interested

scholars, language teachers, and language learners themselves. Many researchers such as Aida

and Horwitz believe that anxiety is one of the most negatively influential affective variables

which prevent learners from successfully learning a foreign language. It makes learners

nervous and afraid, which may contribute to poor performance. Students usually get anxious

during the language learning process. This anxiety frequently seems to become particularly

aggravated when student are asked to present in front of an audience.

In this section, light is shed on anxiety in general, its‟ definition, types and how it can be

different from fear. Then, we move to talk about the foreign language anxiety, its‟ theory and

the main difference between the debilitating and the facilitating anxiety in the foreign

language context. After that, a definition of oral presentation anxiety, its‟ sources and ways of

reducing it are discussed.

1.2.1Anxiety

1.2.1.1. What is anxiety?

We all experience some anxiety sometimes, but many people do not really know what it

is. From many fields of research numerous perspectives on anxiety have been put forward.

According to Steimer (2002), “anxiety is a psychological, physiological, and behavioural state

induced in animals and humans by a threat to well-being or survival, either actual or

potential” (p.231). In plain words, it is an alert signal that can warn of imminent danger and

allows the person to take the necessary measures to confront a threat. It is also defined by

Freud (as cited in Spielberger, 2010) from a psychological perspective as “something felt, an

emotional state that includes feelings of apprehension, nervousness, and worry accompanied

by psychological arousal”. Similarly, Lader (1975) stated that anxiety can be defined as an

anticipation of future harm or misfortune, accompanied by a feeling of unpleasantness and

somatic symptoms of tension. From a biological perspective, Schneiderman, Ironson , and

Siegel (2008) defined anxiety as a series of biological temporary mechanisms happen in the

human body as a reaction to an encountered threat. Among these changes, the human body

produces stress hormones. Energy then is raised and distributed to the organs. This energy

will be used as a weapon to protect the human body.

1.2.1.2. Types of Anxiety

Scholars and psychologists like Speilberger and Scovel have distinguished three types of

anxiety state anxiety, trait anxiety, and situation-specific.

1.2.1.2.1. State Anxiety

According to Speilberger (2010), it is an emotional state that is transitory and fluctuated

over time and situations.Viz, state anxiety is the unpleasant feeling that arises in response to a

perceived threat. When the object or situation that is perceived as threatening goes away, the

person no longer experiences anxiety. Thus, it refers to interruption of individual‟s emotional

equilibrium that is provoked by a particular set of temporary circumstances. For example, a

person may not ordinarily be anxious but becomes so before exams or when asked to make a

public speaking.

1.2.1.2.2. Trait Anxiety

It is considered as one characteristic of the persons‟ personality. According to

speilberger (as cited in Cassady, 2010), trait anxiety refers to a stable capability to become

nervous in a wide range of situations. Similarly, Scovel (1978) referred to it as “a more

permanent predisposition to be anxious. That is to say, unlike other types of anxiety, trait

anxiety is neither related to a specific situation nor limited by time. Therefore, it is a constant

aspect of peoples‟ personalities.

1.2.1.2.3. Situation-specific

As its‟ name indicates, “it is the probability of becoming anxious in a particular type of

situation such as during testes, when solving mathematic problems, or when speaking a

second language” (MacIntyre & Gardner, 1994, p.2). It is similar to state anxiety except that it

is permanent and it applies to a single context or situation only like oral presentation.

1.2.1.3. Anxiety versus Fear: is there a Difference?

Some authors believe that, fear and anxiety are used interchangeably; whereas, others

think that they are distinct phenomena. Fear is a motivational state aroused by specific stimuli

that gives rise to defensive behaviour or escape Mcfarland (as cited in Steimer, 2002).

Anxiety as we defined it above, it is a reaction to an encountered danger .That is to say, fear

and anxiety both produce similar responses to certain dangers. Some scholars think that there

is a big overlap between the two. In the sense that, anxiety may just be a more elaborate form

of fear, which provides the individual with an increased capacity to adapt and plan for the

future Barlow (as cited in Steimer, 2002).However, many authors have argued that

differences in their causes and sources seem to justify a clear distinction between anxiety and

fear. Anxiety is a generalized response to an unknown threat or internal conflict, whereas fear

is focused on known external danger Craig, Brown and Baum (as cited in Steimer, 2002).

1.2.2. Foreign Language Anxiety

1.2.2.1. Foreign Language Anxiety Definition

Several researchers have offered definitions of foreign language anxiety. Young (1992)

defined it as a complicated psychological phenomenon peculiar to language learning. More

specifically, Horwitz et al (1986) defined FLA as “a distinct complex of self-perceptions,

beliefs, feelings, and behaviors related to classroom language learning arising from the

uniqueness of the (foreign) language learning process” (p. 128) .Similarly, MacIntyre and

Gardner (as cited in Trang ,2012) defined FLA as “the feeling of tension and apprehension

specifically associated with second or foreign language contexts, including speaking,

listening, and learning, or the worry and negative emotional reaction arousal when learning or

using a second or foreign language” (p.30). This construct is classified as situation-specific

anxiety.

1.2.2.2. Horwitz, Horwitz and Cope’s Theory of Foreign Language

Horwitz, Horwitz and Cope were the first to consider FLA as a unique type of anxiety

specific to foreign language learning. They suggested that foreign language anxiety should be

viewed as a situation-specific anxiety that emerges while learning a foreign language, not just

a case of general classroom anxiety being transferred to foreign language learning. According

to Horwitz and cope, et al. (as cited in Trang ,2012)“ no other fields of study implicate self-

concept and self-expression to the same degree as foreign language study. This feature makes

the anxiety caused by foreign language learning distinctive from other academic anxieties”

(p.70). In order to measure anxiety levels, Horwitz and her colleagues came up with an

instrument called the FLCAS; Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale. “The FLCAS

consists of 33 items aiming to assess communication apprehension, test anxiety and fear of

negative evaluation associated with language anxiety. Each item on the FLCAS is rated on a

five-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (strongly agree) to 5 (strongly disagree)” (Trang, 2012,

p.71).

1.2.2.3. Facilitating versus Debilitating Foreign Language Anxiety

Researchers and psychologists have distinguished between debilitating and facilitating

anxiety. As their names suggests, debilitating anxiety affects learning and performance

negatively. It stimulates the individual emotionally to adopt avoidance behavior which may

lead to avoidance of work and inefficient work performance Scovel (1978). However,

facilitating anxiety is associated with good learning and performance. It keeps the learner

motivated to study, search and succeed. According to Scovel (1978), anxiety, in its

debilitating and facilitating forms serves “simultaneously to motivate and to warn, as an

individual gropes to learn an ever-changing sequence of new facts in the environment” (p.2) .

The level of anxiety is the factor that identifies its type. Facilitating anxiety occurs and

motivates EFL learners when the amount of anxiety generated from a specific learning task is

adequate Scovel, (as cited in Zheng, 2008).This appropriate level of anxiety enables students

to accomplish their daily class works properly. For instance, going to class every day,

acquiring a new vocabulary and revising for exams. In contrast, an enormous amount of

anxiety can become debilitating. It distracts learners and interferes with their attention to the

task at hand.

1.2.3. Presentation Anxiety

1.2.3.1. Definition of Presentation Anxiety

Many students, who are attempting to acquire and produce a second language,

experience apprehension and discomfort. This anxiety frequently seems to become

particularly aggravated when students are asked to present in front of an audience.

According to (Wisconsin,2016), oral presentation often referred to as speech anxiety or stage

fright which is caused by the fear of evaluation and criticism. This emotional state is often

accompanied by a variety of symptoms like: shaking, sweating, butterflies in the stomach, dry

mouth, rapid heartbeat, and squeaky voice. These physical and emotional reactions can

significantly interfere with a person's ability to successfully give a speech or presentation .

1.2.3.2. Sources of Oral Presentation Anxiety

There are countless reasons behind getting nervous when speaking in front of others, but

the ones we are going to mention seem to be the most prevalent among students suffering

from oral presentation anxiety.

1.2.3.2.1. Negative Thinking

According to Villar (2010), some presenters would think negatively such as expecting

their failure or predicting that their classmates will compare their speech with the ideal one;

how speech should be. Other students start asking themselves the „what if‟ questions right

from the time they have been informed that they would present orally. For instance, What if I

cannot answer questions convincingly? Or what if I forget what I have prepared to present?

These distracting thoughts that are not related to the topic of the speech will raise their level

of anxiety.

1.2. 3.2.2. Poor or Insufficient Preparation and Practice

One reason behind the increase of presentation anxiety level is the inadequate

preparation and practice. Many students did not prepare and practice their speech until the last

moment. And then they wonder why they get nervous. Poor preparation enlarges the amount

of students‟ uncertainty and doubt about all the constituents of his presentation including the

information, the correctness of language and the performance. Further, this uncertainty is a

chief cause of the excessive anxiety that students begin to feel in the course of preparing to

speak. Frequently, he will not be able to introduce and end the presentation accurately;

moving from one point to another smoothly as well as interacting with the audience

(Pittsburgh, 2008).

1.2. 3.2.3. The Audience

For some presenters, neither formal context nor uncertainty can prompt their anxiety; it‟s

the people whom they address. Jason et al. (2011) speculated that the nervousness increases

when students face audience with certain characteristics. These characteristics include

similarity, audience size, and familiarity. Many students feel more comfortable when they

present in front of an audience who share their thoughts and level rather than people who are

different from them. The more similar students are compared to their audience members, the

more likely they are to be comfortable and not nervous. The size of the audience can also play

a role; large number of audience can stimulate and raise the amount of students‟ anxiety. At

last, students feel more anxious when they address familiar audience rather than unfamiliar

ones.

1.2. 3.2.4. Negative Experience

Some students suffer from the oral presentation anxiety because of an unpleasant

occurrence in the past. In other words, if a student failed at some point in one presentation, he

may have some doubt about his ability to succeed in the next one. For example some students

are humiliated by their teachers them in front of others (Genard, 2015).

1.2. 3.2.5. Uncertainty

Student will be anxious before and during the presentation they experience at the

beginning of the school year more than the presentations at the end of the year because of

their lack of prediction and knowledge about things that should be done .Viz, unlike at the end

of the school year, at the first days of class students are seen to be nervous because the

instructor is new for them. In addition, the aspects he focuses on are unknown. This

nervousness will be reduced throughout the school year till the end when students know the

instructor and the class routine better (Jason, Anne, & Bernardo, 2011).

1.2. 3.2.6. Novelty

According to Jason et al. (2011). “Anxiety becomes more of an issue in communication

environments that are new to us, even for those who are normally comfortable with speaking

in public” (p.53). In other words, presenting in a new context may raise the students‟ level of

anxiety even if they are familiar with public speaking.

1.2. 3.2.7. Formality

The formality of the context influences how the presenter delivers his speech. “Some

individuals can be perfectly composed when talking at a meeting or in a small group; yet,

when faced with a more formal public speaking setting, they become intimidated and

nervous”. (Jason et al., 2011, p.53).That is to say, as the degree of formality increases, the

level of apprehension will rise and can make the most confident individuals nervous.

1.2. 3.2.8. Lack of Self-confidence

Another common cause of speech anxiety would be the lack of self-confidence. This

may be caused by the insufficient knowledge about the topic or the lack of preparation.

Students who doubt their capacities and information will be put under pressure because they

will be afraid that the audience will notice their weakness. Furthermore, they will be

frightened of being asked questions they may be unable to answer (Genard, 2015).

1.2.3.3. Reducing Presentation Anxiety

1.2. 3.3.1. Think Positively

Student should empty his mind from negative thoughts and replace them by positive

ones to release some tension and anxiety, and thus perform better. By doing so the student is

applying the cognitive restructuring technique. According to Jason et al. (2011), “it is simply

changing how you label the physiological responses you will experience. Rather than thinking

of public speaking as a dreaded obligation, make a conscious decision to consider it an

exciting opportunity” (p.57). In other words, when a negative thought comes to the students‟

mind he should try to immediately replace it with positive thoughts. For example, if he thinks,

“I will deliver a bad oral presentation”, he should replace that with thought like, “I have

practiced my speech many times and I‟ am going to deliver it just like I practiced”. Moreover,

remembering that he deserves to be heard, will raise the students‟ self-confidence and help

him to present and convey his message successfully (Jason et al., 2011).

1.2. 3.3.2. Reducing Anxiety through Preparation

As we said earlier uncertainty is one major reason of anxiety. Reducing uncertainty

needs preparation. Nothing will relax the presenting student more than being properly

prepared. “You can do this by gaining as much knowledge as possible about whom you will

be addressing, what you will say”. (Jason, et al., 2011, p.58). Students should know well the

main points of their message that they can remember them or answer any thrown question

even when they feel highly anxious. The best way to memorize the speech is to prepare an

outline for all the points they plan to discuss in the oral presentation. In addition, students

should use the whole time given for the preparation because if the preparation time decreases,

the pressure, stress, and nervousness associated with the oral presentation will increase.

Enough time for the preparation is significant for controlling nervousness (Marshall, 2014).

1.2. 3.3.3. Practice

Students should train presenting the prepared speech several times before their

authentic presentation. Practicing the delivery of the speech could be in many ways. First,

students may watch themselves in the mirror while they are delivering the speech, this will

allow them to see their gestures and body language and practice making eye contact. Another

thing they can do is to gather their friends and family and practice the speech in front of them

and then asks them for feedback to enhance their performance. Audio or videotaping the

speech are other ways to observe their errors, and work on them to improve their delivery (Al

Mawed , 2016).

1.2. 3.3.4. Using the Audience

Student should interact with the audience by asking questions and receiving answers in

order shift the focus from oneself to the audience .In other words, planning a dialogue rather

than a monologue. The student ought to ask the audience to give their opinions or suggest

ideas about the topic. Consequently, the audiences‟ ideas will enrich the oral presentation and

will give the presenter a chance to breathe, has a sip of water, looks at his notes, and revises

the information that he is going to deliver next. By doing so he will succeed in reducing the

high tension (Jason et al. 2011).

It is better for student to find friendly faces in the crowd. During the oral presentation

the presenter attempts to find one or two people in the audience that are giving him positive

feedback (nodding in agreement, smiling when appropriate, etc.), and make an eye contact

whenever he feels anxious. These friendly people will encourage him; thus, his anxiety level

will be diminished (Pittsburgh, 2008).

1.2. 3.3.5. Do not Expect Perfection

Student should set realistic expectations. In other words, since English is not his first

language, it is possible to commit some language errors .In addition; student may forget ideas

or misuses the visual aids. Therefore, instead of telling himself that he has to deliver the

speech flawlessly, he should think in realistic things like, „if I forget my ideas, I will scan my

notes and then I continue my speech‟(Marshall, 2014).

1.2. 3.3.6. Maintain Your Sense of Humour

During the presentation, unexpected things may occur to the beginner as well as the

professional such as committing sleep of tongue errors, forgetting a very interesting idea, or

receiving a provocative comment from one of the audience. A better way to deal with these

situations is to laugh and move on to what is important (Jason et al. 2011, p.63).

1.2. 3.3.7. Stress Management Techniques

Usually eliminating anxiety is an unachievable goal because human psychology can be

some times out of his control. Thus, managing anxiety can be more helpful. Jason et al.

(2011) suggest some techniques to do so.

- Visualization by creating a positive mental image of relaxation or ultimate success and

imagining the goal for which you are striving.

- Systematic desensitization it is used to manage many kinds of phobias .This technique

tends to expose the person to the object of fear in order to minimize its level.

….

1.2.4.The Relationship between Anxiety and Students’ Oral Performance

The possibility that anxiety interferes with language learning has long interested

scholars, language teachers and language learners themselves. Woodrow (2006) investigated

the relationship between anxiety and second language oral performance. He aimed at

exploring the effect of anxiety on the students‟ oral proficiency. The participants in this study

were advanced English for Academic Purposes (EAP) Australian students (N = 275).The data

were collected using a scale developed and validated for this purpose. The analysis of results

indicated anxiety to be a significant predictor of oral achievement. That is to say, anxiety has

a debilitating effect on the oral performance of speakers of English as a second language.

More specifically, Salem and Abu Al Dyiar (2014) scrutinized the relationship between

speaking anxiety and oral fluency of Arab intermediate school students. They aimed at

knowing the effect of anxiety on the students‟ speaking fluency. In addition, they investigate

the differences between male and females students in speaking anxiety profile and their oral

fluency performance. The sample of the study was made up of (121) students in intermediate

school in the state of Kuwait (68 males and 53 females). A descriptive method was applied

.To gather data, they used speaking anxiety scale that was developed by Berko et al. (2004)

and an oral fluency skills interview. Findings indicated that “there were statistically

significant differences between male and female students in oral fluency in favor of male

students. Whereas, no statistically significant differences were found between male and

female students in their speaking anxiety” ( Salem &Abu Al Dyiar ,2014,p.170).

Chen (2015) in his study that investigate the effect of anxiety on the students‟ oral

presentation performance concluded that L2 students‟ anxiety causes mental blocks during

presentations, but it does not have a noticeable influence on their presentation performance.

He used a qualitative method .Thus a questionnaire and in- class speech anxiety scale were

delivered to Chinese students in order to gather information that would help him to achieve

his aim.

Conclusion

An opportunity to speak English in front of an audience, whether it is two or one

hundred is a chance to the presenting students to practice meaningful oral English and be

prepared for the job market that they will enter when they leave school such as in companies.

However, one of the biggest obstacles that many students face is the OPA. It may prevent

learners from presenting accurately and successfully.

In this section, a definition of anxiety, its‟ types, the difference between anxiety and

fear are provided. In addition, a definition of foreign language anxiety, its‟ theory and the

main difference between the debilitating and the facilitating anxiety in the foreign language

context are mentioned. Finally, a definition of oral presentation anxiety, its‟ sources and ways

of reducing it are discussed.

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.

.

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CHAPTER TWO

TEACHERS’ AND STUDENTS’ PERCEPTIONS ABOUT THE EFFECT OF

ANXIETY ON STUDENTS’ FLUENCY OF ORAL PRESENTATION

Introduction…………………………………...………………......................................29

2.1. Choice of the method ……………………………………......................................29

2.2. Teachers questionnaire …………...…………........................................................29

2.2.1. The sample…………...…………................................................................29

2.2.2. Description of the teachers‟ questionnaire…………....................................29

2.2.3. Administration of the teachers‟ questionnaire …….....................................30

2.2.4. Analysis of the teachers‟ questionnaire ……................................................30

2.2.5. Discussion …….........................................……..........................................53

2.3. Students‟ questionnaire …….............................................……...........................53

2.3.1. The sample …….....................................……............................................53

2.3.2. Description of the students‟ questionnaire …….........................................53.

2.3.3. Administration of the students‟ questionnaire ……....................................54

2.3.4. Analysis of the students‟ questionnaire ……..............................................55

2.3.5. Discussion ……..........................................................................................77

2.4. Comparison between teachers‟ and students‟ questionnaires………..…………78

Conclusion ..................................................................................................................78

Pedagogical implication…………………………………………………………………..80

General conclusion…………………………………………………….………………….81

Limitations of the study…………………………………………………………………..81

.

REFERENCES………………………………………………………………..…………83

APPENDIXES

- APPENDIX A: The Teachers‟ Questionnaire..

- APPENDIX B: The Students‟ Questionnaire

RESUME

____الملخص_

Introduction

This study is an attempt to investigate EFL teachers‟ and students‟ views about the effect

of anxiety on students‟ fluency of oral presentations. Thus, the tool that has been used in this

research is the questionnaire for both teachers and students in the English Department,

University of Oum El Bouaghi. This chapter tackles the explanation of our choice of that

method, the description of the sample, followed by the administration, analysis and discussion

of the results of each questionnaire. The chapter ends with a comparison between the

students‟ and the teachers‟ questionnaires in order to see to what extent their perceptions go

along with each other.

2.1. Choice of the Method

Since the aim of the study is to identify both teachers‟ and students‟ perception towards

the effect of anxiety on students‟ fluency of oral presentations, a questionnaire as a

descriptive tool is the appropriate one for gathering enough information from the chosen

sample.

2.2. Teachers’ Questionnaire

2.2.1. The Sample

The target population involves (20) EFL teachers who are using the oral presentation

task in their classrooms. The reason behind the choice of the sample is that the questionnaire

consists of questions about things experienced while using the oral presentations .Thus,

selecting teachers among those who are incorporating that task is a must in order to get valid

results.

2.2.2. Description of the Teachers’ Questionnaire

Section One: Background Information (Q1-Q3)

The first section consists of two independent questions. This part seeks to collect personal

information about the teachers. (Q1) tackles teachers‟ qualifications. In (Q2), teachers are

asked about their experience in teaching English.

Section Two: Oral Presentation and Fluency (Q3-Q13)

The second section involves ten (10) questions to know about the teachers‟ attitudes

towards many aspects of oral presentation and fluency. (Q3) intends to know whether teachers

use oral presentations or not. (Q4 and Q5) aims at informing us about the frequency of using

oral presentation.(Q6) asks about the number of students teachers prefer to see on stage.(Q7)

is devoted to know who suggest the topic of the presentation. (Q8 and 9) are designed to elicit

teachers‟ awareness of the importance of oral presentation task and how it can be useful for

their students. (Q10 and Q11) intend to know about the problems faced the most by teachers

who said that it is difficult to implement oral presentation in their sessions. (Q12) attempts to

inform us about the criteria that are used by teachers to evaluate the students‟ oral

presentations. In (Q13), teachers are asked about the students‟ fluency level and whether it

allows them to present effectively or not.

Section Three: Anxiety during Oral Presentation (Q14-Q20)

This section aims at exploring the teachers‟ views about OPA that is faced by their

students. The section starts by asking teachers if their students get anxious because of the oral

presentation or not. The next question (Q15) seeks to know when exactly students seem more

anxious. From (Q16), we want to know whether teachers are able to notice that the presenter

is anxious. (Q17) is formulated to know about the signs of anxiety that teachers always notice

on the anxious students by asking them to tick the most noticeable symptoms from a serie of

provided options. (Q18) provides us with information about the reasons of anxiety. The last

two questions of the section seek to know about teachers‟ perception about reducing anxiety

level.

Section Four: The Effect of Anxiety on Fluency of Oral Presentation (Q21-22)

This section aims at knowing about teachers‟ views of the effect of anxiety on fluency of

oral presentation. The first question seeks to know whether teachers raise the students‟

awareness about the negative effect of anxiety on students‟ oral presentation. The second

question aims to inform us about the attitudes of teachers toward the effect of anxiety on the

students‟ fluency of oral presentations.

Section Five: Further Suggestions

In this section teachers have the freedom to add any relevant information or suggestions.

2.2.3. Administration of the Teachers’ Questionnaire

The teachers‟ questionnaire was administered personally to (20) teachers who are using

the oral presentation activity .The collection of the questionnaire took one week because the

majority of teachers did not answer it immediately.

2.2.4. Analysis of Results

Section One: Background Information

Q1: What is your qualification?

Table 1. Teachers’ Qualification

Options N %

a-License/ BA 0 0

b- Master (LMD) 1 5

c- Magistere 17 85

d- Doctorate / PHD 2 10

Total 20 100

Figure 1. Teachers’ Qualification

As table and figure (1) might suggest, the majority of the participants have a Magister

degree. Whereas, only two teachers have a Doctorate degree and one teacher with a Master

degree .The results may be explained due to the fact that many new teachers who hold a

Magister degree are recruited in our department in the last two years.

Q2: How long have you been teaching English?

Table 22. Teachers’ Experience

Options N %

a-(1-5) years 4 20

b- (5-15) years 7 35

c- (15- 25) years 8 40

d- (25-40) years 1 5

Total 20 100

Figure 2. Teachers’ Experience

0%

5%

85%

10%

a b c d

The results show that the majority of the teachers‟ experience was between (5-25) years.

(20%) of the teachers taught for few years (1-5). Nevertheless, our sample consists of only

one teacher who taught more than 25 years.

Section Two: Oral Presentation and Fluency

Q3: Do you implement the oral presentation task in your teaching process?

Table 3.Teachers Attitudes toward the Implementation of Oral Presentations in

Language Classroom

20%

35%

40%

5%

a b c d

Options N %

yes 19 95

No 0 0

No answer 1 5

Total 20 100

Figure 3.Teachers Attitudes toward the Implementation of Oral Presentations in

Language classroom

The table and the figure (3) above show that all teachers who answered the third

question said that they do implement the oral presentation task in their classrooms. This may

be because it is included in their curriculum.

Q4: If yes, how many times per year do you ask your students to present?

Table 4. Teachers’ Perceptions towards the Frequency of Using Oral Presentation

Options N %

a-Once 8 22

b- Twice 15 37

c-Three times 9 19

d-More 8 22

Total 40 100

Figure 4. Teachers’ Perceptions towards the Frequency of Using Oral Presentation

95%

0%

5%

Yes No No ansewer

The data presented in table and figure (4) show that the majority of teachers (37%) incorporate

the oral presentation task twice per year. Approximately equal percentages of teachers opted for the

choices (once, three times and more). Apparently, teachers use the oral presentation task

whenever it is needed.

Q5: Do you prefer to use oral presentations in?

Table 5.The Modules in which Teachers Prefer to Use Oral Presentations

Options N %

a-All modules you teach 4 20

b-Some modules 11 55

c- Only in oral Expression Course 5 25

Total 20 100

Figure 5.The Modules in which Teachers Prefer to Use Oral Presentations

19%

37%

22%

22%

once twice three times more

Eleven teachers making up (55%) declared that they prefer to use the oral presentation

task in some modules. (25%) think that it is better to implement that activity only in oral

expression course. The rest opted for presenting orally in all modules. The results reflect the

fact that teachers incorporate the oral presentation task whenever it is possible and goes in

harmony with their obtained teaching objectives.

Q6: Do you ask your students to present?

Table 6.Teachers Attitudes toward the Appropriate Number of Students in One

Presentation

Options N %

a-Individually 6 30

b-In groups 14 70

Total 20 100

Figure 6. Teachers Attitudes toward the Appropriate Number of Students in One

Presentation

20%

55%

25%

a b c

In table and figure (6), a large portion of the sample prefers to ask students to present in

groups .However, only (30%) believe that their students should present individually. This is

due to the fact that our classes are overcrowded; thus, the majority of teachers think that it is

better to present in groups in order to give each students the opportunity to talk at least for ten

minutes.

Q7: Who suggest(s) topics for presentations?

Table 7. Teachers’ Opinions about the Suggestion of the Topic

Options N %

a –You 4 20

b – Students 0 0

c –Both 16 80

Total 20 100

.

.

.

.

30%

70%

a b

Figure 7. Teachers’ Opinions about the Suggestion of the Topic

As shown in the above table and figure (7), the majority of teachers declared that they

choose the topics of the presentations together with their students. Nevertheless, only four

teachers prefer to suggest the topic alone and no teacher allows students to suggest the topics

themselves. The results reflect the fact that our teachers care about the students‟ interests and

opinions.

Q8: Do you think that using the oral presentation task is beneficial for students?

Table 8. Teachers’ Attitudes toward the Importance of the Oral Presentations

.

.

.

Fig

ure

8.

Tea

chers’ Attitudes toward the Importance of the Oral Presentations

20%

0%

80%

a

b

c

Options N %

yes 20 100

No 0 0

Total 20 100

The table above reveals that all teachers believe that the oral presentation task is very

useful for students .The results communicate a deep fact that our teachers recognize the

importance of that task.

Q9: If yes, is it because?

Table 9.The Advantages of Oral Presentations

Options N %

a- It ameliorates your students‟ language skills 4

20

b- It is a preparation for your students‟ future employment 1

2

c- It improves your students‟ personality 2

10

a+b 5

25

a+c 5

25

All 3

15

Total 20 100

.

.

Figure 9. The Advantages of Oral Presentations

100%

0%

yes

No

From the results shown above we note that all the benefits that have been presented as

options are picked out by the respondents. The percentages of the participants who choose the

options ( a),( a+b) , (a+c), and (all ) are approximately the same .Neverthless, the minority of

the participants have chosen the options (a) and (b) alone. We assume that teachers believe

that the oral presentation task can improve many sides in the students‟ capacities.

Q10: Did you face problems while implementing the oral presentation task in your

classroom?

Table 10. Teachers’ Opinion about the Oral Presentations’ Difficulties

Options N %

yes 12 60

No 6 30

No answer 2 10

Total 20 100

.

.

Figure10. Teachers’ Opinion about the Oral Presentations’ Difficulties

20%

5%

10%

25%

25%

15%

a

b

c

a+b

a+c

all

As the results indicate, the majority of yeses, translating into (60%) of teachers stating

that they face problems while implementing the oral presentation task .This reflects the fact

that it is a challenging task that needs many plans and explanations in order to be incorporated

correctly .On the other hand, a numerical minority of 6 teachers said that they do not face any

problem .Perhaps, because they are competent and experienced enough with that oral task.

Q11: If yes, please tick one or more from the following problems that you faced the most.

Table 11. Problems Faced by Teachers While Using the Oral Presentation Task

Options N %

a-Oral presentation is a time consuming task

5 42

b-It creates boredom in my section

1 8

c-My students are not comfortable with it

3 25

a+c 2 17

All 1 8

Total 12 100

.

Figure 11. Problems Faced by Teachers While Using the Oral Presentation Task

60%

30%

10%

yes

No

No answer

In this question we record that a majority of respondents (42%) indicated that oral

presentation is a time consuming task. It means that this is the major problem faced by

teachers, while the other problems and their combinations are picked out by the rest of the

sample with approximately the same percentages.

Q12: When you evaluate your students’ presentations, do you take into consideration?

Table 12. Teachers’ Attitudes about Assessment of Oral Presentations

Options N %

a-The correctness of language (fluency and accuracy)

0 0

b-The clarity of speech and voice (pronunciation, rate of speech) 0 0

c- Personality (body language, eye contact with the audience, interaction

with audience)

1 5

d-The use of the audiovisual aids 0 0

a+b 3 15

a+c 2 10

a+d 3 15

a+b+c 2 10

a+b+d 3 15

All 6 30

Total 20 100

42%

8%

25%

17%

8%

a

b

c

a+c

all

Figure 12. Teachers’ Attitudes about Assessment of Oral Presentations

If we take into consideration the multiple choices shown in the table (12), it becomes

very clear that teachers do not focus only on one element of evaluation. Probably, they

believe that the use of several criteria is the best way to evaluate their students‟ oral

presentations fairly and objectively .The difference, however, resides in the criteria teachers

choose to mix. The combination of all the criteria places first with (30%), the combinations

a+b, a+d and a+b+d come second with equal percentages (15%) and the combinations a+c

and a+b+c come third with equal percentage as well (10%). The only criterion standing alone

is personality with (5%).

Q13: Do you think that your students are fluent enough to deliver a good oral presentation?

Table 13. Teachers’ Attitudes towards their Students’ Fluency Level in Oral

Presentations

Options N %

yes 14 70

No 6 30

Total 20 100

0% 0%

5%0%

15%

10%

15%

10%

15%

30%

a b c d a+b a+c a+d a+b+c a+b+d All

Table 13. Teachers’ Attitudes towards their Students’ Fluency Level in Oral

Presentations

The table and the figure (13) show that the majority of teachers who represent (70%) of

the sample declared that the students‟ fluency enable them to deliver a good presentation,

while only (30%) of them believe that students are not fluent enough to present orally. These

declarations are may be due to what teachers have been noticed in students‟ oral

presentations.

Section Three: Anxiety during Oral Presentations

Q14: Do your student get anxious when presenting?

Table 14. Teachers’ Opinions about the Existence of Students’ Oral Presentation Anxiety

Options N %

Yes 20 100

No 0 0

Total 20 100

.

70%

30%

yes

No

Figure 14. Teachers’ Opinions about the Existence of Students’ Oral Presentation Anxiety

This item is designed in order to know from teachers whether their students face oral

presentation anxiety or not .The whole sample of teachers believe that students get anxious

because of the oral presentation activity. Perhaps, they provided us with such answer because

they have noticed that when their students are presenting or because they themselves

experienced this type of anxiety when they were students.

Q15: When do your students become more anxious?

Table 15. Teachers’ Perceptions about the Time on Which the Students Get more Anxious

Options N %

a-Before the oral presentation 3 15

b- At beginning of the oral presentation 13 65

c- At the middle of the oral presentation 0 0

d- At the end of oral presentation 0 0

a+b 4 20

Total 20 100

.

.

100%

0%

yes

No

Figure 15. Teachers’ Perceptions about the Time on Which the Students Get more Anxious

As the above table and figure show, the majority of teachers making up (65%) said that

students become anxious only at the beginning of the presentation. (20%) of them think that

the students become more anxious before and at the beginning of the presentation.(15%)

believe that their students get anxious only before the presentation .However , no one went for

the last two options „during‟ and „after the presentation‟. The results indicate that teachers

think that anxiety level could be changed during one presentation .That is to say , it may move

from a high level before and at the beginning of presentation to a very low level or no anxiety

at the middle or the end of the presentation when the students become more relaxed.

Q16: Can you notice that the presenter is anxious?

Table 16. Teachers Ability of Noticing Students’ Anxiety

Options N %

yes 20 100

No 0 0

Total 20 100

Figure 16. Teachers Ability of Noticing Students’ Anxiety

15%

65%

0%

0%

20%

a

b

c

d

a+b

As statistics in the table above show, all teachers declare that they can notice the

symptoms of oral presentation anxiety on their students. Probably, these signs are very

obvious since students appear abnormal when presenting by doing unusual movements or

committing errors that they never did before.

Q17: If yes, which of the following signs that may appear on the anxious student?

Table 17. Teachers Attitudes toward the Signs of Students’ Oral Presentation Anxiety

Options N %

a-His voice is quivering

2 10

b-The student moves a lot and shakes his hands

2 10

c-The student hesitates and does many pauses and repairs 1 5

d-Others, please specify 2 10

a+b 3 15

b+c 4 20

All 6 30

Total 20 100

.

Figure 17. Teachers Attitudes toward the Signs of Students’ Oral Presentation Anxiety

100%

0%

yes

No

As it is visible in the table, (30%) of teachers believe that anxiety appears through all of

the signs proposed in our questionnaire. (20%) of them think that the anxious student moves a

lot ,shakes his hands, hesitates and does many pauses and repairs.(15%) declared that the

quivering voice , moving a lot and shaking hands are the most popular signs of oral

presentation anxiety. However, only (10%) opted for each of the symptoms „a‟ or „b‟ appears

alone. (5%) think that hesitations and pauses are the only signs of anxiety. In addition, two

teachers proposed other signs of oral presentation anxiety .The first one was changing the

color of the face to red .The second one was the inability of continuing the presentation. We

notice that the number of teachers who opted for the combination of options and all of the

options is more than the number of teachers who have chosen just one option. It means that

there are many signs that can reflect the student anxiety.

Q18: Why do your students get anxious while presenting?

Is it because of?

Table 18. Teachers’ Opinions about the Sources of Oral Presentation Anxiety

Options N %

a-Poor or insufficient preparation and practice 4 20

b-Negative experience 1 5

c-The formal context 2 10

10%

10%

5%

10%

15%20%

30%

a

b

c

d

a+b

a+c

all

d-The audience 3 15

a+b 1 5

a+d 3 15

a+c+d 3 15

a+b+d 1 5

All 2 10

Total 20 100

Figure 18. Teachers’ Opinions about the Sources of Oral Presentation Anxiety

The multiple choices above helped us to get some percentages about teachers‟

perceptions of the main factors that stimulate anxiety. We notice that, although the

percentages are approximately the same, some options got more ticks than the others. For

instance, the choices „a‟ and „b‟ and their combination places first with percentages of (20%),

(15%) and (15%).It means the majority think that the lack of preparation and facing the

audience are two major sources of students‟ oral presentation anxiety .Perhaps, they notice

that the signs of anxiety appear more on students when they lack information about the topic

or when they present orally in front of an audience. The combination of the other options and

the option „all‟ took the second place with percentages from (5%) to (10%).Apparently,

according to teachers, oral presentation anxiety occurs because of many reasons which differ

from one student to another.

6%12%

19%

6%19%

19%

6%

13%b

c

d

a+b

a+d

a+c+d

a+b+d

All

Q19: Do you think that the students‟ oral presentation anxiety may be reduced?

Table19. Teachers’ Attitudes about the Ability of Reducing Oral Presentation Anxiety

Options N %

yes 19 95

No 1 5

Total 20 100

Figure 19. Teachers’ Attitudes about the Ability of Reducing Oral Presentation Anxiety

A great number of teachers which represents (95%) think positively since they said that

students‟ oral presentation anxiety may be reduced .Perhaps, they have noticed through their

experience that some of their anxious students get rid of anxiety after applying some

strategies. Nevertheless, only (5%) of pessimist teachers perceive anxiety as chronic illness

which may not be healed.

Q20: If yes, please tick the appropriate way to do so.

Table 20. Teachers’ Perceptions about the Appropriate Ways of Lowering Students’

Oral Presentation Anxiety Level

Options N %

95%

5%

yes

No

a-Thinking positively 1 5

b-Doing the adequate preparation

4 20

c- Maintaining a sense of humour 4 20

d- Others, please specify 0 0

a+b 2 10

a+c 4 20

a+b+d 3 15

All 2 10

Total 20 100

Figure 20. Teachers’ Perceptions about the Appropriate Ways of Lowering Students’

Oral Presentation Anxiety Level

As the table and the figure above reveal, teachers believe that all the ways of reducing

anxiety which are presented in four options are useful. However, their percentages lead us to

classify them from the most effective to the least. It is not surprising to see that „doing the

adequate preparation‟ and „maintaining a sense of humour‟ options classified first since the

„lack of preparation‟ and „facing the audience‟ were the options ticked the most in the

question (18). The combination of the other options and the option „all‟ took the second place

with percentages from (5%) to (10%) and no one provided us with another way of reducing

anxiety. From this result, we can say that teachers believe that simple solutions can diminish

23%

6%

12%

17%

6%

18%

6%

12%

a

b

c

d

a+b

a+c

a+b+d

all

the level of a big psychological problem that may prevent showing the students‟ real

capacities when presenting.

Section Four: The Effect of Anxiety on Fluency of Oral Presentation

Q21: Do you think that it is your duty (as foreign language teacher) to make the students

aware of anxiety and its‟ negative effects?

Table 21.Teachers Attitudes about Raising the Students’ Awareness of the Negative

Effect of Anxiety

Options N %

yes 19 95

No 0 0

No answer 1 5

Total 20 100

Figure 21.Teachers Attitudes about Raising the Students’ Awareness of the Negative

Effect of Anxiety

The table and the figure above reveal that all teachers who answered that question think

that raising the students‟ awareness of anxiety and its effect is their duty. It means that

teachers care about the psychological side of their students.

Q22: Do you think that anxiety has a negative effect on students‟ fluency during oral

presentation?

95%

0%

5%

yes

No

No answer

Table 22. Teachers’ Opinions about the Effect of Anxiety on the Students’ Fluency of

Oral Presentation

Options N %

yes 19 95

No 0 0

No answer 1 5

Total 20 100

Figure 22. Teachers’ Opinions about the Effect of Anxiety on the students’ Fluency of

Oral Presentation

The answer of this question goes in harmony with what is presented in the theoretical

parte since all teachers who answered that question declared that anxiety has a negative effect

on students‟ fluency of oral presentations .That is to say, teachers are aware of effect that

anxiety might have on the students‟ fluency during oral presentation.

Section Five: Further Suggestions

In this section teachers have the freedom to add any relevant information or suggestions.

Unfortunately, no teacher gave us his opinion.

2.2.5. Discussion of the Teachers’ Questionnaire

Analyzing the teachers‟ questionnaire has revealed many points on teachers‟ attitudes

towards the effect of anxiety on fluency of oral presentations. First, teachers emphasis

95%

0%5%

yes

No

No answer

importance of oral presentations‟ implementation in language classroom .They are using it

frequently in many modules even if some teachers face difficulties in doing so since oral

presentation is the most challenging task among the speaking skill .Teachers agreed that

fluency is one major criterion to evaluate oral presentation .It can control the quality of the

whole presentation. Teachers also view anxiety as a serious problem that is faced by students

when using oral presentations .They think that anxiety mainly appears due to the lack of

preparation and the fear from facing an audience. According to them, oral presentation

anxiety is a transitory problem that may be noticed and reduced after knowing its‟ main

sources .Finally, teachers believe that anxiety has a negative effect on the students‟ fluency of

oral presentations.Therefore, the results of the study confirmed our hypothesis.

2.3. Students’ Questionnaire

2.3.1. The Sample

The target population of this research is Master one LMD students of English, at the

University of Larbi BEN MHIDI, Oum El Bouaghi. In order to get a reliable results we have

selected randomly a representative sample which consists of (40) students out of (190). The

determination of that number is based on what is suggested by Gay (as cited in Yount,

2006).He said that we should take 20% of small population as a minimum. The reason behind

choosing to work with Master one students is that they have already achieved an acceptable

level of fluency .In addition, they present in almost all modules not only in oral expression

sessions. Thus the results will be valid.

2.3.2.Description of the Students Questionnaire

Section One׃ General Information (Q 1-Q 2)

This section is devoted to the students‟ background. The students are asked if they are

studying English in another place or only at the university. In the second question, students

are asked about their aim behind studying this language.

Section Two: Oral Presentation and Fluency (Q3-Q14)

This section contains (11) questions which seeks information about some aspects of oral

presentation and fluency. In the first question of this section (Q 3), students are asked to tick

the option „yes‟ if their teachers implement oral presentations in their classes and to tick „no‟

if they do not .(Q4) is devoted to know about how frequently they present per year. In the next

question (Q5), students are asked to say whether they present in all modules, some modules or

only in oral expression section. In (Q6), students have to provide their views about the

number of presenters they prefer to be in one presentation. (Q7) is devoted to know who

suggest the topic of the presentation. By asking (Q8) and (Q9) we want to know about

students‟ attitudes towards the importance of using oral presentations. Then (Q10) and (Q11)

seek to know the most oral presentations‟ problems encountered by students. In (Q12),

students are asked about the teachers‟ criteria to evaluate their presentations. The next

question (Q 13) is designed to elicit information about how can students rate their level of

fluency in English; whether it is good, average or not good. In the last question of this section

(Q 14), they are asked to state whether they believe that their fluency enable them to deliver a

successful oral presentation.

Section Three: Anxiety during Oral Presentation (Q15-Q21)

The section is composed of (7) questions which aim at knowing students attitudes about

anxiety .The first question in this section (Q15) is devoted to know whether students have

presentation anxiety or not. In (Q16), students are asked to inform us about which time they

get more anxious .The next question (17) is asked to know about students‟ ability to discover

their anxiety. The following question (18) asks students to pick out anxiety signs that they

might have from a variety of options. In (Q19), students have to provide their views about

factors that cause anxiety. The last questions of the section seek to know about students‟

perception of lowering anxiety level.

Section four: The Effect of Anxiety on Fluency of Oral Presentation

This section aims at exploring the students‟ views about the effect of anxiety on the

fluency of oral presentation. The first question seeks to know whether teachers raise the

students‟ awareness about the negative effect of anxiety on students‟ oral presentation. The

second question is formulated to know about the students‟ perception about the effect of

anxiety on their fluency of oral presentations.

Section Five: Further Suggestions

The last section of the questionnaire is for students to add any comment or suggestion

they see it relevant to the objective of the questionnaire.

2.3.3. Administration of the Students’ Questionnaire

(20) questionnaires were handed to Language Sciences students and the other half was

given to Civilization and literature students, making up 40 students. The administration and

the collection of all questionnaires took only one hour and a half since two master one

teachers volunteered and distributed them to their students in the last fifteen minutes of their

sessions.

2.3.4. Analysis of the Students’ Questionnaire

Section One: Back Ground Information

Q1: The students‟ gender

Table 23. The Students’ Gender

options N %

Female 35 87

Male 5 13

Total 40 100

Figure 23. The Students’ Gender

The results show that the majority of the respondents making up (87%) are females.

However, only (13%) are males. Perhaps, foreign language speciatities attract girls more than

boys.

Q2: What is your aim behind studying English?

Figure 24. Students’ Attitudes about their Aim behind Studying English

options N %

a-To go abroad 8 20

b- Just to learn a second language 7 17

c- To get a job 25 63

Total 40 100

87%

13%

Female Male

Figure 24. Students’ Attitudes about their Aim behind Studying English

The aim of the majority (60%) was simple which is just getting job, while (20%) aimed at

going abroad and (17%) are learning English just to learn a second language. We assumed

that aiming at getting a job will motivate students to raise their level of fluency.

Section Two: Oral Presentation and Fluency

Q3: Do your teachers ask you to do oral presentations?

Table 25. Students’ Attitudes toward the Implementation of Oral Presentations in

Language Classroom

.

.

Table 25. Students’ Attitudes toward the Implementation of Oral Presentations in

Language Classroom

20%

17%

63%

a b c

Options N %

yes 40 100

No 0 0

Total 40 100

The whole sample (40); i.e. the equivalent of (100%) affirmed that their teachers ask

them to do oral presentations. The results indicate that teachers in our English department are

giving interest to this activity.

Q4: How many times do your teachers ask you to present per year?

Table 26. Students’ Perceptions towards the Frequency of Using Oral Presentation

.

.

.

Figure26. Students’ Perceptions towards the Frequency of Using Oral Presentation

100%

0%

Yes No

Options N %

a-Once 06 15

b-Twice 10 25

c-Three times 03 7.5

d-More 21 52.5

Total 40 100

Having a look at table and figure (26) above, we note that nearly (25%) of students

declared that they present three times per year .More than half of the sample (53%) stated that

they are asked to present more than three times .However, only (15%) said that they do so

twice and (7%) have chosen the first option which is just once. Apparently, teachers use the

oral presentation task whenever it is needed.

Q5: Do you present in?

Table27 . Students’ Attitudes towards the Modules in which Teachers Prefer to Use

Oral Presentations

Options N %

All modules 14 35

Some modules 24 60

Only in oral expression

course

02 05

Total 40 100

15%

25%

7%

53%

Once Twice Three times More

Table27. Students’ Attitudes towards the Modules in which Teachers Prefer to Use Oral

Presentations

As table and figure (27) reveal, (35%) of students said that their teachers ask them to

present in all modules. Perhaps, their teachers think that implementing oral presentations in

some modules will help them to achieve the lessons‟ objectives. In contrast, oral presentation

will be just a time consuming task if it is used in other modules. (5%) of the respondents

declared that oral presentation activity is used only in oral expression course. Apparently,

their teachers think that the oral presentation task is used just to improve the students‟ oral

capacities. Nevertheless, the majority of students (60%) affirm that they present orally in

some modules. Probably, their teachers want to give them a chance to search and express their

opinions orally to be autonomous and independent learners.

Q6: Do you prefer to present?

Table 28. Students’ Attitudes about whether they prefer to present individually or with

a group

Options N %

Individually 12 30

With a group 28 70

Total 40 100

35%

60%

5%

All modules Some modules Only in oral expression course

Figure 28. Students’ Attitudes about whether they prefer to present individually or

with a group

A quick glimpse at this table (28) reveals that approximately three-quarters of the

participants prefer to present in groups. Perhaps, they think that presenting together with a

group will make the work easier because responsibilities are usually divided up. However,

only (30%) declared that working individually is much better for them. This indicates that

there are only few students who are brave and competent enough to prepare the speech, be

alone on stage and deliver the whole presentation without any help from their classmates.

Q7: Who suggest(s) topics for presentations?

Table 29. Students’ Opinions about the Suggestion of the Topic

Options N %

The teacher 08 20

Students 04 10

Both 28 70

Total 40 100

30%

70%

Individually With group

Figure 29. Students’ Opinions about the Suggestion of the Topic

According to the results in the above table, only (10 %) of participants have declared that

the students suggest topics for presentations. Whereas, (70 %) of them declared that both

teacher and students cooperate to decide about the topics of the oral presentation, while (20%)

have chosen the first option which is the teacher. The high percentage of votes given to

“both” option explained by the fact that teachers care about the students‟ interests and needs.

Q8:Do you think that oral presentation is an important oral activity ?

Table 30. Students’ Perceptions toward the Importance of the Oral Presentations

.

Figure 30. Students’ Perceptions toward the Importance of the Oral Presentations

20%

10%

70%

The teacher Students Both

Options N %

yes 40 100

No 0 0

Total 40 100

All of the students mentioned that oral presentations are very useful activities. We assume

that all students are aware of the importance of using oral presentation task.

Q9: If yes, is it because?

Table 31. The Advantages of Oral Presentations

Options N %

a- It ameliorates your language skills 13 32

b- It is a preparation for your future employment 2 5

c- It improves your personality 3 8

a+b 6 15

a+c 6 15

b+c 3 8

All 7 18

Total 40 100

Figure 31. The Advantages of Oral Presentations

100%

0%

yes no

From the table and the figure above we note that all the benefits of oral presentations

which are presented as an options are picked out by the participants. Some of them with a

percentage of (18%) opt for them all. Others with an equal percentage (15%) went for the

combinations of the two options a+b and a+c as choices. Some of the participants settle for

only one choice (32%) for (a), (5%) for (b) and (7%) for(c).Apparently, students think that

presenting orally would help them to develop a lot of capacities.

Q10: Do you face problems in oral presentations?

Table 32. Students’ Opinion about the Oral Presentations’ Difficulties

Options N %

yes 28 70

No 12 30

Total 40 100

.

Figure 32. Students’ Opinion about the Oral Presentations’ Difficulties

32%

5%

7%15%

15%

8%

18%

a b c a+b a+c b+c All

The results show that oral presentation is a challenging task which is fraught of many

difficulties since a great number of students (70%) declare that they face problems in oral

presentations. However; only (30%) of students reveal that they find the task easy.

Q11:If yes , please tick one or more from the following problems that you faced the most.

Table 33. Problems Faced by Students in Oral Presentations

Options N %

a-Anxiety 5 18

b-Lack of presentation skills 1 3

c- Shyness 5 18

d-working on difficult topics 0 0

a+c 7 25

a+d 2 7

c+d 2 7

a+b+c 3 11

a+c+d 3 11

Others 0 0

Total 28 100

Figure 33. Problems Faced by Students in Oral Presentations

70%

30%

yes No

According to the results in table (33), all the mentioned problems are faced by students in

oral presentations. It is noticeable that anxiety and shyness and their combination are the

options that get the majority of students‟ votes since the sum of their percentages equals (57%

).The combinations a+b+c and a+c+d come second with percentage of (11%).The

combinations a+d and c+d come third with an equal percentage of (7%).However, only (1%)

of the students declared that they have just one problem which is the lack of the presentation

skills and no one went for( working on difficult topic ) as a choice alone. In addition, no one

provided us with additional problems that students may face .The results indicate that students

face all the previous problems while doing oral presentations with some degree of differences

from one problem to another.

Q12: Which of the following criteria do your teachers take into consideration when

evaluating your oral presentations?

Table 34. Students’ Attitudes about the Assessment of Oral Presentations

Options N %

a-The correctness of language (fluency and accuracy) 2 7

b-The clarity of speech and voice (pronunciation, rate of speech) 2 7

c- Personality (body language, eye contact with the audience, interaction

with audience)

2 7

d-The use of the audiovisual aids 0 0

a+b 5 18

18%

3%

18%

0%

25%

7%

7%

11%

11%

a b c d a+c a+d c+d a+b+c a+c+d

a+c 2 7

a+b+c 6 22

a+b+d 2 7

All 7 25

total 40 100

Figure 34. Students’ Attitudes about the Assessment of Oral Presentations

According to the results presented in the table (34), the majority of students (25%)

claimed that their teachers take in to consideration all the elements mentioned above.

Approximately more than one fourth of the sample stated that their teacher use a variety of

criteria which are a+b ,a+c, a+b+c and a+b+d. Nevertheless, the number of students who

opted for just one criterion of evaluation is very few ,since only two students have selected

each of the options a,b and c. In addition, no one from the participants picked out the criterion

d. From these results, we conclude that teachers use a variety of criteria to assess the students‟

presentations .Perhaps, to shed light on all dimensions of oral presentations and draw the

students‟ attention to very important elements that should be present in the successful

presentations.

Q13: Do you think that your fluency level is?

Table 35. Students Attitudes about their Fluency Level

7%7%

7%0%

18%

7%22%

7%

25%

a b c d a+b a+c a+b+c a+b+d All

Options N %

Good 13 32

Average 24 60

Not good 3 8

Total 40 100

Figure 35. Students Attitudes about their Fluency Level

The results mark no surprise in the sense that the majority of students with a percentage

of (60%) admitted that their fluency level is average. Probably, they answered like that

because they compare their fluency with that of the native speakers. More than one fourth

think that they have a good fluency level. Probably, their oral English is understood and

allows them to do successful conversations. Whereas, only (8%) of the sample confessed that

their fluency level is not good.

Q14: Do you think that your fluency level allows you to give a good oral presentation?

Table 36. Students’ Attitudes about their Ability to Present Successfully According to

their Fluency Level

Options N %

yes 31 77

No 9 23

Total 40 100

32%

60%

8%

Good Average Not good

Figure 36. Students’ Attitudes about their Ability to Present Successfully According to

their Fluency Level

More than half of the sample believe that their fluency level allow them to deliver a

successful oral presentation. Perhaps, they were intelligible in their previous presentations

.whereas, about less then one fourth (23%) admitted that they are not fluent enough to deliver

a good oral presentation.

Section Three: Anxiety during Oral Presentation

Q15: Do you have presentation anxiety?

Table 37. Students’ Opinions about the Existence of Students’ Oral Presentation Anxiety

..

Figure 37. Students’ Opinions about the Existence of Students’ Oral Presentation Anxiety

77%

23%

yes No

Options N %

yes 31 77

No 9 23

Total 40 100

As table (37) shows, most of the students (77%) claim that they have presentation

anxiety. Nevertheless, only (23) declare that they do not feel anxious when they are called to

present. The results lead to confirm that presenting in front of an audience is one of the major

speaking tasks that stimulate anxiety and raises its level.

Q16: If yes, when do you become more anxious when you present?

Table 38. Students’ Perceptions about the Time on which they Get more Anxious

Options N %

a-Before the oral presentation 9 22

b- At beginning of the oral presentation 10 25

c- In the middle of the oral presentation 2 5

d- At the end of oral presentation 0 0

a+b 19 48

Total 40 100

……

Figure 38. Students’ Perceptions about the Time on which they Get more Anxious

77%

23%

Yes No

From the figure above (37) it is noticeable that a small percentage (5%) of students

declared that they got more anxious in the middle of the presentation and no one got anxious

at the end of the presentation. However, the quarter of the sample stated that they felt more

anxious at the beginning of the presentation and (22%) before it. Probably because they think

that they are not prepared enough or expect from the audience to laugh at them and criticize

them harshly. Moreover, approximately half of the sample opted for the combination of the

first two options a+b. Likely, they are not familiar with being on stage and facing the audience

but after starting the speech the anxiety level reduces gradually throughout the presentation

period and the students will feel more relaxed.

Q17: Can you notice that you are anxious when presenting ?

Table 39. Students’ Ability of Noticing their Anxiety

22%

25%

5%

0%

48%

a b c d a+b

Options N %

yes 33 82

No 6 15

No answer 1 3

Total 40 100

Figure 39. Students’ Ability of Noticing their Anxiety

On one hand, a great number of the sample (82%) declares that they noticed that they

were anxious while presenting. On the other hand, only few respondents with the percentage

of (15%) claimed that they did not discover that .Perhaps, their anxiety level is low or they

were not anxious at all.

Q18:If yes , which of the following anxiety signs you have ?

Table 40. Students’ Attitudes toward the Signs of Oral Presentation Anxiety

Options N %

a-Your voice is quivering 4 10

c-You move a lot and shake your hands 3 7

d-You hesitate and do many pauses and repairs 4 10

d-Others, please specify 3 8

a+b 7 15

b+c 7 15

Others 2 5

All 10 20

Total 40 100

82%

15%

3%

Yes No No answer

Figure 40. Students’ Attitudes toward the Signs of Oral Presentation Anxiety

The table above revealed that a large number of the sample with approximately equal

percentages (20%, 15%, 15%) opted for (all ) ,a+b and a+b+c options. Whereas, the rest of

the respondents with minor percentages went for the options (a),(b),(c) and(d) alone . In

addition, 2 students provided us with other symptoms of anxiety that they might have .The

suggested signs are hearts up beating and forgetting what they have prepared to say. We

assume that there are general symptoms of anxiety that appear on all anxious students.

Q19: Why do you get anxious while presenting?

Is it because of:

Table 41. Students’ Opinions about the Sources of Oral Presentation Anxiety

Options N %

a-Your poor or insufficient preparation and practice 6 15

b-Your negative Experience 1 2

c-The formal context 0 0

d-The audience 12 30

a+c 1 2

a+d 9 22

b+c 1 2

c+b+d 1 2

a+b+d 6 15

No ansewer 2 5

10% 7%

10%

8%

15%15%

10%

5%

20%

a b c d a+b a+c a+b+d others all

Non of them 1 3

Total 40 100

Table 41. Students’ Opinions about the Sources of Oral Presentation Anxiety

It is noticeable that the firs, the last options and their combination get more votes than

the others. It means that the majority of students believe that „audience‟ and the „lack of

preparation‟ are the major reasons behind their presentation anxiety. Some of the rest selected

the other options and their combinations but with a lower percentages. For instance, only

(2%) of the students declared that they got anxious because they had a negative experience

with oral presentations and no one became nervous because of the formal context alone. Two

students did not answer that question and one student think that none of the provided reasons

are real sources of anxiety.

Q20: Oral presentation anxiety may be reduced

Table 42.Students’ Attitudes about the Possibility of Reducing Oral Presentation Anxiety

…..

15% 2%

0%

30%

2%

22%

3%3%

15%

5%

3%

a b c d a+c a+d b+c c+b+d a+b+d No ansewer Non of them

Options N %

Agree 33 82

Disagree 5 13

Undecided 2 5

Total 40 100

Figure 42.Students’ Attitudes about the Possibility of Reducing Oral Presentation Anxiety

(33) students making up (83%) of the sample agreed that anxiety can be reduced

.Apparently , they know that psychologists have dealt with that issue and found some

solutions and ways of treatments to minimize its‟ level .However, only (13%) of the

participants expressed their disagreement about that. Perhaps, they are suffering from a high

anxiety level or their attempts to lower its‟ degree failed many times .(5%) of participants

remained undecided.

Q21: If you agree, please tick the appropriate way to do so.

Table 43. Students’ Perceptions about the Appropriate Ways of Lowering Students’

Oral Presentation Anxiety Level

Options N %

a-Thinking positively 2 6

b-Doing the adequate preparation 5 15

c-Maintaining a sense of humour 7 20

d- Others, please specify 1 3

a+b 1 3

a+c 2 6

b+c 8 23

a+b+c 3 9

All 5 15

82%

13%

5%

a b c

Total 34 100

Figure 43. Students’ Perceptions about the Appropriate Ways of Lowering Students’

Oral Presentation Anxiety Level

As it is visible in the table and figure (43), all the options provided got votes but with

different percentages .The results goes in harmony with the answers of Q( 19) because the

majority of students tick the options „doing the adequate preparation‟ and „maintaining a

sense of humour‟ as a ways to avoid the reasons of anxiety which are chosen the most in

Q(19).Only two students went for the option (a) alone and one student provided us with

another way of diminishing anxiety which is involving the audience in the presentation by

asking them to answer some questions or even going to the board to help in doing something.

Approximately equal number of students opted for each option of the following All, a+b+c,

a+b and a+c. This result may be attributed to the fact that students believe that anxiety could

be reduced through many ways.

Section Four: The Effect of Anxiety on the Fluency of Oral Presentation

Q22: Do your teachers raise your awareness of anxiety and its‟ negative effects ?

Table 44. Students’ Attitudes about Raising their Awareness of the Negative Effect of

Anxiety

options N %

yes 38 95

no 2 5

6%15%

20%

3%3%

6%

23%

9%

15%

a b c d a+b a+c b+c a+b+c All

Total 40 100

Figure 44. Students’ Attitudes about Raising their Awareness of the Negative Effect of

Anxiety

.

The majority of student (95%) said that their teachers rise their awareness about anxiety

and its effect. However, only (5%) said no.

Q23: Do you think that being anxious has a negative effect on your fluency of oral

presentation?

Table 45. Students’ Opinions about the Effect of Anxiety on the Fluency of Oral

Presentation

options N %

yes 40 100

No 0 0

Total 40 100

.

95%

5%

yes no

Table 45. Students’ Opinions about the Effect of Anxiety on the Fluency of Oral

Presentation

The results revealed that all students (100%) think that anxiety has a negative effect on the

students‟ fluency of oral presentation.

Section Five:

In this section students‟ have the freedom to add any relevant comment or suggestions.

Only two students provided us with comments. They said that our topic is interesting because

the majority of student face the oral presentation anxiety.

2.3.5. Discussion of the Students’ Questionnaire

Analyzing the students‟ questionnaire has revealed many points on students‟ attitudes

towards the effect of anxiety about fluency of oral presentations. First, students proved that

they were aware of the significance of incorporating the oral presentation task in their

curriculum .They declared that oral presentation will ameliorate their language skills and

prepare them for their future employment. However, the majority of them agreed that they

face many difficulties in oral presentations owing to the fact that speaking is the most

challenging skill for many EFL learners especially when they are asked to perform orally in

front of an audience. Anxiety is a major difficulty Among these problems as a great number

of students have said, and it is faced by approximately all of them. The Students‟

questionnaire also denotes that fluency is a central criterion that could control the level of the

oral presentation since fluent students are able to deliver a successful presentation and vice

versa. Students also view anxiety as a temporary problem that could be reduced by knowing

100%

0%

yes no

the main reason behind it. Finally, students believe that anxiety has a negative effect on their

fluency of oral presentations .Therefore, the research hypothesis is confirmed.

2.4. Comparison of Teachers’ and Students’ Questionnaires

Students and teachers converged about almost all the points. They agreed on the fact that

oral presentation is a frequently used activity in our department. In addition, both of them

think that oral presentation is an important oral activity which is fraught of many difficulties.

According to them anxiety is one major temporary problem which may be reduced through

knowing its reasons. They agreed also on the most important point of the research which says

that anxiety has a negative effect on students‟ fluency of oral presentation. This agreement

confirmed our hypothesis. However, there is a small difference in their answers which

appears in the (Q15) of the students and (Q14) of teachers‟ questionnaire when all the

teachers claimed that their students have oral presentation anxiety, while there are 23% of

students who said that they do not have presentation anxiety.

Conclusion

This chapter presented the methodology used in addition to both students‟ and teachers‟

questionnaires in order to investigate their perceptions towards anxiety and determine its

effect on the students‟ fluency of oral presentations. In this chapter, we have dealt with the

questionnaire, its results and analysis. Moreover, a discussion of the results and a comparison

between the teachers‟ and the students‟ questionnaires are mentioned. Finally, the analysis of

the data provided by the two questionnaires revealed that teachers and students think that

anxiety has a negative effect on the students‟ fluency of oral presentations. Thus, our

hypothesis is confirmed.

Pedagogical Recommendations

The results of this investigation revealed that anxiety is a serious issue in language

learning that has a debilitating effect on some students‟ fluency of oral presentation. This

finding could be useful in drawing some pedagogical implications for teachers and students.

Recommendations for Teachers

If instructors would like to require students to speak in front of the class, they should

help them feel comfortable while doing so.

It is essential for teachers to inform their students that speech anxiety is perfectly

normal and it is faced by many successful figures and politicians.

Teachers should have a clear idea about anxiety, its sources and effects. In addition

they should be up to date with the psychological researches that investigate anxiety

and provide significant solutions to get rid of it.

Teachers should provide students with enough time for the preparation because when

the time of preparation is short, the pressure, stress, and nervousness associated with

the oral presentation will increase.

Teachers should create a friendly, informal and learning-supportive environment to

make students feel comfortable when speaking in front of others.

Recommendations for Students

Students should not expect to have a perfect presentation.

Students‟ should not hesitate or stop with every errors they commit, they just must

keep going gracefully because the audience will never know most of the presenters‟

mistakes, unless he stops.

Student should remember that there is no need to memorize every word of the speech.

Attempting to do so will simply increase stress, and cause greater nervousness

General Conclusion

The objective of this dissertation is to investigate EFL teachers‟ and students‟ views

about the effect of anxiety on students‟ fluency of oral presentations. This research was built

upon two main chapters. The first chapter represented the theoretical part of the study in

which we reviewed shortly the conceptual frame work of oral presentations, fluency and

anxiety. The second dealt with the description and the analysis of the questionnaires of both

students and teachers. The first questionnaire was administered to 40 master one English

students. The second questionnaire was delivered to 20 EFL teachers who use the oral

presentation task at the English Department, University of Larbi Ben M‟Hidi, Oum El

Bouaghi.

The results obtained from both questionnaires revealed that teachers and students believe

that anxiety has a negative effect on students‟ fluency of oral presentation since they declared

that the anxious presenters hesitate and do many pauses and repairs even if they are fluent

enough.

Limitations of the Study:

1. The main problem was time constraints; additional time will help as in conducting

this study with a larger sample to get more valid results.

2. The second limitation was the lack of sources about the second language speaking

fluency.

3. The third limitation was the administration of the teachers‟ questionnaire. Some

teachers refused to answer it due to the fact that they have already answered many

questionnaires .Others received the questionnaire but did not give it back .To deal

with this problem I have administrated additional questionnaires to other teachers in

order to get the obtained number of the sample.

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APPENDIX 1

Teachers’ Questionnaire

We are conducting a research paper for the fulfillment of a Master degree in Language

Sciences and Teaching English as a Foreign Language. This questionnaire investigates

teachers and students views about the effect of anxiety on fluency of oral presentation.

Your collaboration is very important because the completion of our work is based on

the data will be collected from this questionnaire .Thank you for your worthy contribution.

Miss. Mebarek Aicha

English Department

Larbi Ben M‟hidi University

Oum El Bouaghi

Section One: Back Ground Information

Q1: What is your qualification?

a- Licence/ BA b- Master (LMD) c- Magistere d- Doctorate / PHD

Q2: How long have you been teaching English?

a-(1-5) years b- (5-15) years c- (15- 25) years d- (25-40) years

Section Two: Oral Presentation and Fluency

Q3: Do you implement the oral presentation task in your teaching process?

Yes No

Q4: If yes, how many times per year do you ask your students to present?

a-Once b- Twice c-Three times d- More

Q5:Do you prefer to use oral presentations in ?

a-All modules you teach b-Some modules c- Only in oral Expression

Course

Q6: Do you ask your students to present?

a-Individually b- In groups

Q7: Who suggest(s) topics for presentations?

a –You b – Students c –Both

Q8: Do you think that using the oral presentation task is beneficial for students?

a-Yes b- No

Q9: If yes, is it because?

a- It ameliorates your students‟ language skills

b- It is a preparation for your students‟ future employment

c- It improves your students‟ personality

Q10: Did you face problems while implementing oral presentation task in your classroom?

a-Yes b- No

Q11: If yes, please tick one or more from the following problems that you faced the most.

a-Oral presentation is a time consuming task

b-It creates boredom in my section

c-My students are not comfortable with it

Q12: When you evaluate your students‟ presentations, do you take into consideration?

a-The correctness of language (fluency and accuracy)

b-The clarity of speech and voice (pronunciation, rate of speech)

c- Personality (body language, eye contact with the audience, interaction with audience)

d-The use of the audiovisual aids

Q13: Do you think that your students are fluent enough to deliver a good oral presentation?

a-Yes b- No

Section Three: Anxiety during Oral Presentation

Q14: Do your students get anxious when presenting ?

a-Yes b- No

Q15: When do your students become more anxious?

a-Before the oral presentation

b- At beginning of the oral presentation

c- In the middle of the oral presentation

d- At the end of oral presentation

Q16: Can you notice that the presenter is anxious?

a-Yes b- No

Q17: If yes, which of the following signs that may appear on the anxious student.

a-The students‟ face becomes red or blushing

b-His voice is quivering

c-The student moves a lot and shakes his hands

d-The student hesitates and does many pauses and repairs

Q18: why do your students get anxious while presenting?

Is it because of?

a-Poor or insufficient preparation and practice

b-Negative Experience

c-The formal context

d-The audience

Q19: Do you think that the students‟ oral presentation anxiety may be reduced?

a-Yes b- No

Q20: If yes, please tick the appropriate way to do so.

a-Thinking positively

b-Doing the adequate preparation

c-Maintaining a sense of humour

d- Others, please specify

Section Four: The Effect of Anxiety on Fluency of Oral Presentation.

Q21: Do you think that it is your duty (as foreign language teachers) to make the students

aware of anxiety and its‟ negative effects?

a-Yes b- No

Q22: Do you think that anxiety has a negative effect on students fluency during oral

presentation ?

a-Yes b- No

Section Five: Please, feel free to add any comment or suggestions

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APPENDIX 2

Students’ Questionnaire

Dear students,

This questionnaire is part of a research study which seeks to investigate students‟

Perceptions of the effect of anxiety on fluency of oral presentation. Your collaboration is very

important because the completion of our work is based on the data will be collected from this

questionnaire. If you need any help, please do not hesitate to ask your teacher. Thank you

very much for your cooperation.

Miss. Mebarek Aicha

English Department

Larbi Ben M‟hidi University

Oum El Bouaghi

Definition of Key Terms

Fluency means the learner's ability to speak in reasonable, coherent and intelligible way

without too much hesitation and pauses in order to not break down the communication.

Oral Presentation is a planned and practiced speech to an audience in a formal place in

order to transmit knowledge or to stimulate discussion.

Anxiety is an unpleasant feeling of apprehensiveness occurs as a reaction to a threat.

Section One: Back Ground Information

Q1: Are you?

a-Male b- Female

Q2: What is your aim behind studying English?

a-To go abroad b- Just to learn a second language c- To get a job

Section Two: Oral Presentation and Fluency

Q3: Do your teachers ask you to do oral presentations?

a-Yes b- No

Q4: How many times do your teachers ask you to present per year?

a-Once b- Twice c- Three times d- More

Q5:Do you present in ?

a-All modules b-Some modules c- Only in oral Expression Course

Q6:Do you prefer to present ?

a-Individually b-With a group

Q7: Who suggest(s) topics for presentations?

a –The teacher b – Students c –Both

Q8: Do you think that oral presentation is an important oral activity?

a-Yes b- No

Q9: If yes, is it because?

a- It ameliorates your language skills

b- It is a preparation for your future employment

c- It improves your personality

Q10: Do you face problems in oral presentations?

a-Yes b- No

Q11:If yes , please tick one or more from the following problems that you faced the most.

a-Anxiety

b-Lack of presentation skills

c- Shyness

d-working on difficult topics

Q12: Which of the following criteria do your teachers take in to consideration when

evaluating your oral presentations?

a-The correctness of language (fluency and accuracy)

b-The clarity of speech and voice (pronunciation, rate of speech)

c- Personality (body language, eye contact with the audience, interaction with audience)

d-The use of the audiovisual aids

Q13: Do you think that your fluency level is?

a- Good b- Average c- Not good

Q14: Do you think that your fluency level allows you to give a good oral presentation?

a- yes b-No

Section Three: Anxiety during oral presentation

Q15: Do you have presentation anxiety?

a-Yes b- No

Q16: If yes, when do you become more anxious ?

a-Before the oral presentation

b- At beginning of the oral presentation

c- In the middle of the oral presentation

d- At the end of oral presentation

Q17: Can you notice that you are anxious when presenting?

a-Yes b- No

Q18: If yes, which of the following anxiety signs that you may have?

a-Your voice is quivering

b- You move a lot and shake your hands

c-You hesitate and do many pauses and repairs

d- Others, please specify

Q19: Why do you get anxious while presenting?

Is it because of?

a-Your poor or insufficient preparation and practice

b-Your negative Experience

c-The formal context

d-The audience

Q20: Do you think that your oral presentation anxiety may be reduced?

a-Yes a- No

Q21: If yes, please tick the appropriate way to do so.

a-Thinking positively

b-Doing the adequate preparation

c-Analyzing the audience

d-Maintaining a sense of humour

Section Four: The Effect of Anxiety on the Fluency of Oral Presentation

Q22: Do your teachers raise your awareness of anxiety and its‟ negative effects?

a-Yes b- No

Q23: Do you think that being anxious has a negative effect on your fluency of oral

presentation?

a-Yes b- No

Section Five: Please, feel free to add any comments or suggestions

…………………………………………………………………………………………………

…………………………………………………………………………………………………

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RÉSUMÉ

Cette étude vise principalement à enquêter sur les attitudes des enseignants EFL

algériens et d'étudiants sur l'effet de l'anxiété sur la fluidité de la présentation

orale des élèves. Nous avons supposé que les enseignants et les élèves

percevraient l'anxiété comme une variable affective qui a un effet négatif sur la

fluidité des élèves pendant les présentations orales. Pour tester l'hypothèse, une

méthode descriptive a été effectuée; ainsi, deux questionnaires ont été conçus.

Le premier questionnaire a été administré à (40) étudiants de première année

master LMD et le second a été administré à (20) enseignants qui utilisent

l'activité de présentation orale au département d'anglais, Université Larbi Ben

Mehidi. Les résultats ont révélé que les enseignants et les étudiants supposer que

l'anxiété a un effet négatif sur la fluidité de la présentation orale des élèves. Par

conséquent, les résultats obtenus ont confirmé l'hypothèse suggérée.

الملخص

هدا البحث األكادٌمً ٌهدف إلى معرفة أراء أساتدة و طلبة اللغة اإلنجلٌزٌة حولة تأثٌر اإلضطراب اللدي ٌجتاح الطلبة

وقد إفترضنا أن األساتدة و الطلبة سٌضنون أن اإلضطراب سٌؤثر سلبا على . أثناء إلقائهم للبحوث على طالقتهم اللغوٌة

قمىا بتحليل وصفي حيث تم جمع عذد مه البياوات مه خالل استبياويه و إلختبار فرضٌتنا،.طالقة الطلبة عند تقدٌم البحث

من طلبة السنة األولى ماستر،من قسم اللغة اإلنجلٌزٌة طالب40 أساتذ يستعملىن وشاط اإللقاء و ل20 ل تم تىجيههما

نتائج الدراسة تظهر أن األساتدة و الطلبة ٌعتقدون أن لإلضطراب تأثٌر سلبً . أم البواقً ،،بجامعة العربً بن مهٌدي

. و بالتالً تم إثبات الفرضٌة المقترحة . على طالقة الطلبة أثناء إلقائهم للبحوث شفوٌا