Language Anxiety and Academic Performance: Basis for Proposed Communication Module

Abstract

This study aimed to determine the language anxiety that were experienced by the Grade 9 learners of MSU-ILS and its relationship to their academic performance. This study sought to answer the following: 1) What is the level of language anxieties experienced by the learners in terms of Communication Anxiety, Fear of Negative Evaluation, Test Anxiety, and Classroom Anxiety in General; 2) What are the learners’ levels of academic performance based on their averages from first to the third quarter periods?; 3) Is there a significant relationship between the level of learners’ language anxieties and their academic performance?; and 4) What communication module can be designed based on the results of the study?

This research made used of the Cross-Sectional Survey design to determine the language anxiety and the academic performance of the 96 students coming from section Maverick and Imperium; the first two sections of the Grade 9 level. The researcher further utilized the Foreign Language Anxiety Scale (FLCAS) in which survey questionnaire and mini- FGD were used to obtain data.

The following were the results and findings: 1) The level of language anxieties experienced by the learners in terms of their Communication anxiety, Test Anxiety and their Classroom Anxiety in general were Undecided or interpreted as having Neutral Anxiety level; and in terms of Fear of Negative Evaluation, the over-all mean was Agree or having High anxiety level; 2) The learners’ levels of academic performance were found to have Medium Level of Anxiety; 3) The levels of anxieties are not significantly correlated to the academic performance of the students; and 4) a Communication Module was designed to improve the learners’ competencies and skills in a wholesome environment that will reduce if not eliminate anxiety when using the English language.