Chinese Students’ Anxiety in Speaking English at a Thai University

A Mixed-Methods Study

Abstract

This study aims to explore Chinese students’ anxiety in speaking English at a private university in Thailand. It provides understanding into anxiety challenges that students experience when communicating with foreign teachers and peers, the causes of the challenges, their reactions and their coping strategies.  The subjects of the study are 94 students, randomly selected from the Chinese students studying in international programs.  This research project employed a mixed method combining both quantitative and qualitative inquiries.  Data collection contains two types: a questionnaire and semi-structured interviews conducted online. The questionnaire was analyzed by using descriptive statistics while the interviews were triangulated through content analysis.  The findings show that the causes of Chinese students’ speaking anxiety are moderate level of motivation and willingness to communicate, fear of negative evaluation, excessive comparison, lack of confidence and dissatisfaction with low level of speaking proficiency. Additionally, advanced preparations and practices seem to be good strategies for reducing participants’ speaking anxiety.