Indonesian Pre-service English Teacher Education Students’ English-speaking Anxiety in Asking Questions

Abstract

There is a recognized need to investigate the factors contributing to speaking anxiety when asking questions in class from the viewpoint of fifteen Indonesian pre-service English teachers. Several studies have documented students' speaking anxiety from elementary school to the university level. Despite the wealth of research on this topic, there is a gap in the literature related to exploring the factors contributing to speaking anxiety among Indonesian pre-service English teachers when asking questions in the classroom. To fulfil the gap in the literature, the present study aimed to investigate the factors contributing to speaking anxiety when asking questions in class from the viewpoint of fifteen Indonesian pre-service English teachers. The study included a qualitative approach that employed semi-structured interviews to obtain information from the participants. The data from the semi-structured interviews were then analyzed using thematic analysis to identify the themes that emerged from the participant's responses. The study's results revealed three factors contributing to anxiety when asking questions in class among Indonesian pre-service English teachers: psychological, educational, and socio-cultural factors. Psychological factors included a lack of confidence and negative attitudes towards asking an unqualified question. Educational factors included previous experiences when asking questions, which left them with trauma and a lack of familiarity with the dialogic classroom atmosphere. Finally, socio-cultural factors, such as shyness and traditional cultural values and beliefs about asking questions of the lecturers, were also identified as contributing to pre-service English teachers' anxiety.