AN INVETIGATION OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING ANXIETY OF PAKISTANI ESL TEACHERS AND THEIR SELF-EFFICACY BELIEFS AT COLLEGE LEVEL

Abstract

Language anxiety is frequently studied in regard to language learners only; however anxiety in the second language classroom affects more than just the students. Teachers, being active participants in classroom process, also experience anxiety while presenting a lesson. One of the research areas looking at the emotional state of teachers, particularly those who must teach a language that is not their native language, is language teaching anxiety. The overall objective of this study is to investigate the relationship of teaching anxiety and self-efficacy beliefs of Pakistani ESL teachers. Mixed method approach is employed in this study i.e. both questionnaires and semi-structured interviews have been conducted to collect data from four private colleges of Kohat KPK. A Foreign Language Teaching Anxiety Scale (FLTAS) and a Teachers’ Self-Efficacy Scale (TSES) and semi-structured interviews were used as research instruments. The questionnaires were completed by 20 Pakistani ESL teachers. In order to get deep understanding, semi-structure interviews were conducted with 8 teachers. Quantitative data were analyzed through SPSS to obtain percentage and frequencies. Qualitative data were analyzed using thematic content analysis. The results of the analyses revealed that teachers experience a comparatively low level of anxiety in general and their perceived self-efficacy was high in their on the whole scores. Findings also highlight the substantial negative relation between teaching anxiety and self-efficacy of Pakistani ESL Teachers, indicating that teachers with high self-efficacy have low anxiety level and can use their efficacy beliefs to overcome their anxiety.