Post on 29-Jan-2021
Ref. code: 25595821042594QHD
Foreign Language Speaking Anxiety: A Study of Employees
at POSCO Thailand Company Limited
by
MS.CHADAPRON AOIBUMRUNG
AN INDEPENDENT STUDY PAPER SUBMITTED IN
PARTIALFULFILLMENT OF
THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF
MASTER OF ARTS IN
ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING
LANGUAGE INSTITUTE
THAMMASAT UNIVERSITY
ACADEMIC YEAR 2016
COPYRIGHT OF THAMMASAT UNIVERSITY
Ref. code: 25595821042594QHD
Foreign Language Speaking Anxiety: A Study of Employees at
POSCO Thailand Company Limited
BY
MS.CHADAPRON AOIBUMRUNG
AN INDEPENDENT STUDYPAPER SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL
FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF
MASTER OF ARTS IN
ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING
LANGUAGE INSTITUTE
THAMMASAT UNIVERSITY
ACADEMIC YEAR 2016
COPYRIGHT OF THAMMASAT UNIVERSITY
Ref. code: 25595821042594QHD
1
Independent Study Paper Title Foreign Language Speaking Anxiety: A Study of
Employees at POSCO Thailand Company
Limited
Author Ms. Chadapron Aoibumrung
Degree Master of Arts
Major Field/Faculty/University English Language Teaching
Language Institute
Thammasat University
Independent Study Paper Advisor Ajarn Alisa Ratanapruks, Ph.D.
Academic Years 2016
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ABSTRACT
Foreign language speaking anxiety was studied among employees of POSCO
(Thailand) Company Limited (POSCO), a firm founded in 1997 and based in Rayong and
Chacheongsao, Thailand, which manufactures and sells steel products. Data on degree of
anxiety was gathered by questionnaires. Elaine Horwitz’s Foreign Language Classroom
Anxiety Scale (FLCAS) was used, assessing responses according to a 5-point Likert scale from
strongly agree to strongly disagree. Samples were 50 POSCO office employees who use
foreign languages in daily work.
Results were a moderate level of speaking anxiety, heightened when a feeling existed
among samples that colleagues spoke better English better than they. Among the respondents’
anti-anxiety approaches were taking deep breaths before speaking; smiling; not thinking too
much; and listening with concentration. These findings suggest that for second language
speakers, confidence about individual tasks is relative. What is comfortable for some may be
stressful for others. To resolve this, employers might encourage more study of English speech,
preparation, self-efficacy, and practice among employees, leading to altered views.
Keywords: Employees, POSCO (Thailand) Company Limited, Foreign language speaking
anxiety, Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (FLCAS).
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Firstly, I would like to strongly thank my advisor, Alisa Ratanapruks ,Ph.D., in the
deepest part of my mind, for she always gave me great suggestions in this study and encouraged
me to the right path in my independent study. Without her assistance, this study might not be
completely successful.
Secondly, I am really proud that I have had a really good chance to study in Master
Degree in English Language Teaching, Language institute at Thammasat University.
Therefore, I would like to show gratitude to all staff and all instructors, including my dearest
graduate friends who always supported me throughout the time I have studied here, especially
my best friend, Ms.Sawanya Asawapannarai, who kindly helped me to find my weakest point
and my mistakes and led me to pass the difficult time in the program.
Thirdly, I am thankful to my colleagues, my management team at POSCO (Thailand)
Company Limited, who assist me as much as they can. They are the greatest team and I am
really happy to work with them.
Fourthly, I feel gratitude for my cozy family who always encourage me to move
forward; despite if the way is dark but they are my light. Also, my kind partner who supports
me in everything, without her, I could not finish my independent study. I really thank her to
build my faith that I could do it.
Fifthly, I would like to thank all respondents who helped to complete my independent
study for their important opinions. It is really worth a lot to me.
Finally, I am grateful to myself that I still believe in myself and try hard to do my best
as much as I can.
Thammasat University Ms.ChadapronAoibumrung
Bangkok, Thailand April 2017
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
ABSTRACT 1
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 2
LIST OF TABLES 7
CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 8
1.1 Background 8
1.2 Research Question 9
1.3 Objectives of the Study 9
1.4 Definition of Terms 10
1.5 Scope of the Study 10
1.6 Significance of the Study 10
1.7 Organization of the Study 11
CHAPTER 2 REVIEW OF LITERATURE 12
2.1 The Definition of Foreign Language Speaking Anxiety 12
2.2 Anxiety in Foreign Language Speaking 13
2.3 The Components of Foreign Langague Anxiety 14
2.4 The Effect of Language Anxiety on Speaking Ability 15
2.5 The Effect of Background Knowledge on Speaking Ability 16
2.6 Relevant Research 17
2.7 Summary of the Chapter 18
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CHAPTER 3 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 19
3.1 Subjects 19
3.2 Materials 19
3.3 Procedures used in the collection 20
3.4 Data Analysis 20
CHAPTER 4 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 23
4.1 Personal Information of the Respondents 24
4.2 English Speaking Anxiety Measurement in the Workplace
4.3 The Best Way of coping with Anxiety in Speaking English 27
in the Workplace in Respondents’ opinions
4.4 The Possible method to get rid of Speaking English Anxiety 27
in the Workplace of the Respondents
CHAPTER 5 CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 29
5.1 Summary of the Study 29
5.2 Summary of the Findings 30
5.3 Discussion of the Findings 31
5.4 Conclusion 34
5.5 Recommendations for Further Research 35
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REFERENCES 36
APPENDICES 42
APPENDIX A 43
(Introduction of Questionnaire in English and Thai)
APPENDIX B 44
(Questionnaire in English and Thai)
BIOGRAPHY 45
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LIST OF TABLES
Tables Page
1.1 Gender 23
1.2 Age 23
1.3 Department 24
1.4 Foreign Language Speaking Competency Level 24
1.5 English speaking anxiety Measurement in the workplace for 25
Negative Statement
1.6 English speaking anxiety Measurement in the workplace for 26
Negative Statement
1.7 English speaking anxiety Total Measurement in the workplace 27
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CHAPTERONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND
Significantly, English language is crucial and has been widely accepted as the most
influential language in today’s world. It is undeniable that it is the global language, known as
lingua franca. People from different countries use the very language to communicate to one
another, including in business communication; some of them even apply it in their daily
working life. As it is clearly seen, English has played a crucial role in any communication i.e.
face-to-face, one on one or even via telephone calls. In terms of English communication, most
foreigners need to carry out international business and usually have some conversations in
English language because it is convenient to negotiate or retrieve information among oversea
business. Therefore, English language is very important in working life.
Nevertheless, most companies expect their efficient workers who are in dire need of
this English communication to be able to use English in all communication channels owing to
career development and the development of long-term relationships with their oversea partners.
POSCO (Thailand) Company Limited, is a leading company in South Korea and always uses
English communication for coordinating and presenting, with executives and the company
firmly believing that being equipped with English skills enables employees to climb up the
ladder of occupation success and earn more salaries from work.
Therefore, there are many main problems which one can find in the company, for
example, most employees are afraid to speak English with executives directly and avoid having
communication with other foreigners in the company; they believe that they are not fluent in
English speaking and are shy to speak with other colleagues. Thus, employees always are in
the circumstance of speaking anxiety in English language and anxiety is another reason which
can make them avoid speaking with foreigners. Referring to Minghe and Yuan (2013), anxiety
in speaking English language is a common perception, which is standing as an obstacle for
success in English language.
On the other hand, the cause of speaking anxiety usually happens to all employees in
POSCO (Thailand) Company Limited who are concerned with receiving telephone calls from
foreigners, presenting reports to foreign general managers directly or coordinating with
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overseas customers as well as contacting with the parent company in Korea, because they are
not self-confident with their English speaking skills, and they might not know how to speak
with foreigners. Some believe that it can be very scary when they cannot see the person’s face
when they are talking to them. These can be the main reasons why some employees can
experience the feeling of speaking anxiety all the time.
According to Young (1990, as cited in Occhipinti, 2009), English speaking is always
mentioned as the second language which can produce the most anxiety experience. That is why
most employees cannot decrease the level of English speaking anxiety degree in their working
life. In addition, referring to Burden (2004, as cited in Alrabail, 2014) some educators believe
they cannot achieve success in English and this creates negative expectations, which directs
them to reduce their effort and miss opportunities to improve their communication skills. Some
might be pessimistic and force themselves to sink in the weak points.
On the contrary, there are some researchers who believe that even though, anxiety
might be unsatisfactory, and sometimes it is a good thing which can support us and motivate
us to concentrate to solve the problem. (Smith, Segal, Segal 2010). This will be the good
example of positive thinking and encourage them to develop themselves and find the way to
decrease their English speaking anxiety.
Hence, I would like to study whether employees at POSCO (Thailand) Company
Limited have English speaking anxiety or not and find the possible methods to support other
employees to cope with their English speaking anxiety.
1.2 RESEARCH QUESTION
1.2.1 Do employees at POSCO (Thailand) Company Limited have English speaking
anxiety? If so, what is their level of anxiety?
1.2.2 How do employees at POSCO (Thailand) Company Limited cope with their
English speaking anxiety?
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1.3 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
1.3.1 To examine whether employees at POSCO (Thailand) Company Limited have
English speaking anxiety or not.
1.3.2 To find out how the employees at POSCO (Thailand) Company Limited cope
with their anxiety and how they can get rid of their anxiety when speaking with
foreigners.
1.4 DEFINITION OF TERMS
The definition of the terms of this study is as follows:
1.4.1 Employees of POSCO (Thailand) Company Limited refers to employees who use
English language at work.
1.4.2 Foreign language speaking anxiety refers to the deepest feeling in the
participants’ mind which can happen when anyone must speak in English in
unplanned situations or without preparation before speaking. This speaking
anxiety feeling might affect how they convey the message to foreigners.
1.4.3 Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (FLCAS) refers to the instrument
database, adopted by Horwitz, Horwitz, and Cope (1986), which is assessed on a
1 to 5 -point Likert scale and ranging from strongly disagree to strongly agree.
1.5 SCOPE OF THE STUDY
This study aims to examine level of English language speaking anxiety and focuses
only on 50 participants of POSCO (Thailand) Company Limited who frequently contact
foreigners. The participants were selected from their job description which must be concerned
with foreign language in their routine work. The Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale
(FLCAS) is adapted to evaluate the most significant level of speaking anxiety. Moreover, open-
ended questions were used to retrieve feedback and their opinions about how they cope with
their anxiety.
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1.6 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
This study focuses only on employees of POSCO (Thailand) Company Limited. The
study of this could be helpful for the Human Resources Department of the company or of other
companies to understand their employees’ anxiety and find ways to help them cope with their
anxiety.
1.7 ORGANIZATION OF THE STUDY
This study is divided into five chapters as follows:
Chapter one describes background, research questions, objectives of the study,
definition of terms, and scope of the study and the significance of the study.
Chapter two presents a review of literature and relevant research concerning foreign
language speaking anxiety
Chapter three contains the subject, materials and procedures used for collecting and
analyzing the data.
Chapter four presents the data analysis and the findings of the study.
Chapter five provides the summary of the study, summary of the findings, discussion
of the findings, conclusion, and recommendations for further research.
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CHAPTERTWO
REVIEW OF LITERATURE
This chapter reviews the literature in five main areas along with a summary: (1) the
definition of foreign language speaking anxiety, (2) anxiety in foreign language speaking, (3)
the components of foreign language anxiety, (4) the effect of language anxiety on speaking
ability, (5) the effect of background knowledge on speaking ability, (6) relevant research, and
(7) summary of the chapter.
2.1 THE DEFINITION OF FOREIGN LANGUAGE SPEAKING ANXIETY
Spoken English is part of the communication process, in which the interlocutor must
know how effectively to convey messages from one to others.
In the process of communication, there are senders (Encoding) who convert information
from one format or code to another one and recipients (Decoding) who convert audio or video
signals into a different form. Therefore, the important roles are both receiver and sender who
have a responsibility to communicate and convey the message to each other. If any learners do
not prepare to be encoder or decoder, they might meet with anxiety and affect their
communication process.
ANXIETY
The definition of anxiety in general is feeling pressure, tension, seriousness and upset,
which stimulate the nervous system (Spielberger, 1983). Nevertheless, Gregersen (2005)
challenged that the anxious feeling in a student’s foreign language learning might affect them
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to be less effective in their studying. In many studies of the conducted research on English
language anxiety (e.g., Aida, 1994; Macintyre and Gardner, 1989; Matsuda and Gobel, 2004),
the review of the literatures has presented that anxiety in English language is negatively
affecting English language learning.
According to Leibert and Morris (1967), anxiety reaction can be divided to be
emotionality and anxiety. Zeidner (1998) and Naveh-Benjamin (1991) asserted that the term
of emotionality refers to physiological reactions i.e. rapid heartbeat, rather than behavioral
reaction i.e. fidgeting and stammering. Anxiety refers to the worry or hardship in learners’
minds, which is caused by fear of trouble or unluckiness. The general meaning of anxiety is
the over-sensationalized anxiety in everything daily.
However, the speaker who is speaking English as a second language has a debilitating
effect on their second language anxiety and the study claimed that the main factor which
influenced the participants’ anxiety was interacting with foreigners, so this research confirmed
that a significant portion of oral success is the second language speaking anxiety (Woodrow,
2006).
2.2 ANXIETY IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE SPEAKING
There are many researchers who tried to study many kinds of terms in English language
anxiety; for example, Horwitz (2001) claimed that English speakers claimed that English
speakers have felt comfortable in personal activities, but this is a relative idea; some activities
seen as easy for some are also regarded as stressful by others.
In addition, many educators have suggested that negative effects on English speakers
might come from FL anxiety. For example, an existing study of anxiety shows English
language anxiety can negatively affect learning in various senses and the fluency of speakers'
speech (Jiao & Onwuegbuzie1998). As well, Na (2007), and Spielmann and Radnofsky (2001)
have investigated anxiety in English language among different English speakers and confirmed
that anxiety in English language can negatively affect English language speakers' performance.
MacIntyre (1999) indicated anxiety as having influences on behavior, emotions and
cognition. He claimed that the effects in the form of a palm that sweats or a rapid heartbeat are
behavioral effects of the state of anxiety influencing the speaker who is avoiding a situation as
well as speaking in front of a large audience.
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On the contrary, there are some scholars who strongly believed that there will be a
positive role for anxiety in English language (see for example, Alpert and Haber, 1960;
Chastain, 1975; Kleinmann, 1977). In general, the anxiety can influence their comprehension
of communication, their fear of negative evaluation and their concern about tests. Finally, the
study conducted showed good feedback by formation of facilitative anxiety in speakers.
2.3 THE COMPONENT OF FOREIGN LANGUAGE ANXIETY
Furthermore, there is a study referring to the points contributing to English language
anxiety, which consists of the concepts: (1) communication apprehension or anxiety, (2) fear
of negative evaluation, and (3) test anxiety (Horwitz, et. al. 1986; MacIntyre and Gardner,
1989). Therefore, these factors might influence anxiety creation in English speakers. Mc
Croskey (1987) indicated that the term of communication apprehension in general is a kind of
experience of anxiety for individuals in communicative settings, which is clearly related to
employees who are having English communication anxiety.
2.3.1 COMMUNICATION APPREHENSION
Communication apprehension is a type of embarrassment causing worrying about
interacting with people. As well, some white collar workers of POSCO Thailand Company try
to avoid speaking English with executives or in front of other colleagues. The difficulty in
public speaking, listening or learning is the demonstration of communicative apprehension.
Aside from communication apprehension in English language speaking, acquired from
personal knowledge, it can be the way one tries to make oneself understood (Cubukcu, 2007).
2.3.2 THE FEAR OF NEGATIVE EVALUATION
According to the fear of negative evaluation, as Watson and Fried (1969, as cited in
Horwitz & Young,1991) asserted that, “apprehension about others’ evaluations, avoidance of
evaluative situations and the expectation that others would evaluate oneself negatively” (p. 31).
Some employees are embarrassed to make a mistake and will be corrected by other colleagues.
However, Kitano (2001, as cited in Tsiplakides & Keramida, 2009) suggested that trainers
should find methods to support English speakers in the workplace to deal with fear of negative
evaluation. In this case, the subjects should be provided with positive reinforcement, such as
positive opinions.
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2.3.4 TEST ANXIETY
Test anxiety is defined as a type of anxiety coming from a fear of failure. Referring to
the speaking test of the company, any employees who get above the fifth level of TOEIC
speaking can add more language payment in their salaries. Thus, many of the employees of
POSCO Thailand Company can feel strong pressure when they must perform English speaking
on the test because they are challenged by the fact that they need to recall and apply many
grammatical structures in tandem during the limited time of the speaking test. Thus, they might
speak the incorrect answer or easily freeze up due to their worry, even if they already know the
right answer (MacIntyre and Gardner, 1994; Price, 1991).
2.4THE EFFECT OF LANGUAGE ANXIETY ON SPEAKING ABILITY
Horwitz, E., Horwitz, M. and Cope (1986), investigated that anxiety in English
language is an identifiable variable in studying. The goal of studying English language
speaking under anxieties are specific cognitive characteristics i.e. feelings, self-perceptions,
beliefs, and behaviors.
For the social aspects of other listeners, the anxious speakers always focus on this factor
when speaking in front of them (MacIntyre, 1995). The speaker’s anxiety about colleagues
strongly affects the speaker’s ability to speak. Horwitz and his colleagues claimed that various
anxiety-provoking reactions concerned with studying language included forgetfulness,
apprehension, sweating, and strong heartbeat along with concentration. Pappamihiel (2002)
indicated that strategic speakers try to reduce their anxiety by avoiding responding in a foreign
language, writing instead, and recruiting friends as “intermediaries.” (p. 723 )
Referring to Gardner (1985), he argued that some of the English speaking workers
could flee from situations when they feel unavoidably tense. Horwitz, et al. (1986) asserted
that self-consciousness also takes a part in forming anxiety as speaking in front of others might
be considered as a risk. He believed that speakers fear that they might misunderstand all
languages, are compared with their colleagues in terms of language, and are afraid of being
corrected in a language in front of others. Therefore, in order for the importance of language
anxiety to be obviously noticed, a survey has been conducted by Horwitz, et al. (1986) together
with the Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (FLCAS), the results were presented and
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supported the theory of language anxiety.
Yan and Horwitz (2008), who conducted research on anxiety, unveiled the fact that
anxiety relating to personal affairs strongly affects employees’ speaking skills. However, there
were other qualities dealing with employees’ speaking skills such as, “good memory,
sensibility to language, an inability to imitate and good listening and mental abilities” (p. 159).
In order to soothe anxiety, these researchers firmly suggested that employees should not
compare their speaking ability with that of other colleagues and remain interested and
motivated. Pappamihiel (2002), conducting another study on speaking anxiety, shifted focus
from individuals to group discussion. He proposed that colleagues are laughing at other
employees resulting in the increasing level of anxiety of speaking. To solve the problem,
Pappamihiel (2002) proposed that most employees deal with this situation by finding excuses
to leave a place immediately. Young (1990) also found anxiety in speaking “on the spot” within
speakers ‘views.(p.539).
Yan and Horwitz (2008) strongly believed it is the speakers’ perspectives that
encourage or discourage speaking anxiety. However, analyzing the research above, it is
possible that there are various factors leading to speaking anxiety. To truly discover the real
factors leading to the feeling of speaking anxiety, speakers should focus more on the factors
affecting speakers’ decision to start a conversation.
2.5 THE EFFECT OF BACKGROUND KNOWLEDGE ON SPEAKING ABILITY
There are many studies which indicate that previous knowledge affects speaking ability.
Some educators have examined the effects of previous knowledge for improving language
anxiety as determining points which affect and influence language components, specifically
comprehension.
According to Gebhard (2000), our expectation and experience in the real world are
related to previous knowledge, which is very significant when we think about the processing
of student language problems. Moreover, there are two more studies concerned with
background knowledge. Schmidt-Rinehart (1994, as cited in Sadighi & Zare, 2006) point out
the main objective of his research is about finding the effects of topic familiarity on English
listening conversation; he concludes that a powerful factor in facilitating listening
comprehension is background knowledge.
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As well, Othman and Vanathas (2006) claimed that previous knowledge has a high
effect on listening comprehension. Therefore, the main results of these studies are compatible
with the effects of listening comprehension (William & Thomas, 1991; Schmidt–Rinehart,
1995). However, there are some studies indicated that applying appropriate instructions can
improve the listening comprehension and that teachers need to concentrate on the listening
process more than listening tests. However, as a guideline to teachers, and curriculum planners,
including writers, these studies would result in more effective teaching approaches, materials
and classroom activities in language learning (Shabani, 2013).
2.6 RELEVANT RESEARCH
Regarding anxiety, many researchers have extensively studied it to identify the level of
participants’ anxiety and the participants’ cause of anxiety.
Referring to Patricia and Felix (2012), their study focused on individual differences in
anxiety in English language students by completing the Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety
Scale and the Test Anxiety Scale (Horwitz, Horwitz, & Cope, 1986). The participants were
216 students in a Spanish university context. They determined the anxiety level and the
relationship between English language anxiety and language level, grade, gender and age.
There are four results in this study. Firstly, the participants were in average level of anxiety.
Secondly, males experienced less anxiety than females. Thirdly, others who have higher grade
tended to have lower anxiety than lower grade students. Lastly, lower language level students
tended to be more anxious than others.
Salehi and Marefat (2014), investigated the foreign language anxiety’s effect and test
anxiety on foreign language test performance by adapting the Foreign Language Classroom
Anxiety Scale and the Test Anxiety Scale (Horwitz et al.1986). The participants were 200
students of pre-intermediate level in English as a foreign language. However, both second
language anxiety and tests had an analytically significant negative correlation with the exam
grades. Thus, the teachers are suggested to decrease anxiety of the language and test anxiety
by creating a supporting and friendly atmosphere in class and motivate learners to participate
in activities’ class.
Lerttawisub (2015) examined English speaking anxiety of students in classroom. The
researcher also selected the Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale and the Test Anxiety
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Scale (Horwitz et al. 1986) in her study. The participants were 86 Thai junior high school
students at Nongreeprachanimit School in Kanchanaburi province. The main purpose of this
study was to identify possible causes of anxiety and determine the degree of anxiety. The
finding of this study presented the degree of anxiety in moderate level which indicated “the
participants were less capable than others” and “the participants were afraid that others would
laugh at them when they spoke English”. Furthermore, the causes of the participants’ anxiety
were their perceptions. Therefore, teachers could reduce the students’ anxiety by creating a
positive classroom atmosphere.
The studies from other researchers, i.e. Patricia and Felix,Salehi and Marefat and
Lerttawisub, adopted the Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale and the Test Anxiety
Scale (Horwitz et al. 1986) as this present study did. This evidence shows that the instrument
is effectively used to measure the degree of anxiety, and it is easily understandable to the
public. By adapting the questionnaire to the present study, the researcher aims at discovering
the level of anxiety of POSCO employees. Although, the participants are white collar workers
who are working in a workplace which is quite different from the participants of other studies
i.e. junior high school students, pre-intermediate level student or university student, this
questionnaire can effectively explore workplace language anxiety by selecting the appropriate
questions for testing the nature of English speakers outside a classroom.
2.7 SUMMARY
This chapter presented foreign language speaking anxiety concepts based on Horwitz
et al. (1968) and the definition of foreign language speaking anxiety. Moreover, the discussion
of cause and effect in language anxiety and background knowledge as well as the review of
anxiety in speaking English is presented.
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CHAPTER THREE
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
This chapter describes: (1) the participants, (2) the materials, (3) the procedures used
in the collection of the data, and (4) the data analysis.
3.1 PARTICIPANTS
The study was conducted on 50 Thai participants who were selected based on their job
description and have worked at POSCO (Thailand) Company Limited. They were white collar
workers who frequently used English speaking skill in the workplace and were routinely
concerned with foreign speaking. The participating students are Thais whose mother tongue is
Thai.
3.2 MATERIALS
Cohen, Manion, and Morrison, 2011 they believe that the tool which is considered to
be easy and quick when generating data in large numbers of participants is questionnaires.
Therefore, a questionnaire was used in this study as the main data collection instrument. In the
study, the researcher aims to shed light on the foreign language speaking anxiety’s level. Data
was collected using the questionnaire of Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (FLCAS)
by Horwitz, M. B., and Cope, J. (1986) which was developed for this purpose and a Thai
translated version of the questionnaire was adopted by the researcher. Moreover, this
questionnaire selected only 12 out of 33 items because of relevance to the anxiety of employees
at POSCO (Thailand) Company Limited in the workplace. The 12 items were chosen based on
anxious feelings related to white collar workers who have speaking anxiety in a workplace
setting only.
The study had two sources of data; quantitative data from the questionnaire Foreign
Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (FLCAS) by Horwitz, M. B., and Cope, J. (1986) and
qualitative data from open-ended questions. The questionnaire was categorized into two parts
as follows:
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Part I: Personal Information
This part composed of 4 items on gender, age, department and self-perception of English
proficiency
Part II : Anxiety measurement
This part composed of 12 five-point Likert scale items aiming to investigate the participants’
level of English speaking anxiety in two main areas: (1) positive statement, and (2) negative
statement. Moreover, two open-ended questions were employed to examine the participants’
opinions and suggestions on how to cope with their foreign language speaking anxiety.
3.3 PROCEDURES
This study used a pilot study which could identify the validity and reliability of the
instrument developed for the study. The questionnaire was piloted to ensure its content validity,
appropriateness, correctness and quality. The participants in POSCO (Thailand) Company
Limited were taken into consideration. Ambiguous terms were clarified and irrelevant ones
were excluded. Before the actual data collection period, the questionnaire was piloted to test
the validity and to get feedback and suggestions from the participants.
Before the survey, the researcher would inform participants about the main objective
of the survey, and the needed instructions were given to them as to the process of doing the
research. In order to support the participants in answering the questions honestly, the researcher
told them that they do not have to put their names in the survey and the information they put
in the survey would be kept confidential.
3.4 DATA ANALYSIS
The data obtained from the questionnaires was analyzed using Microsoft Excel 2010.
The analyzed data was collected as below:
PART I: A table of frequency was used as a measurement to present the general characteristics
of the participants in terms of age, gender, and language proficiency level and was analyzed
using frequency distribution and percentage.
PART II: In order to survey the participants’ level of anxiety, descriptive analysis was used.
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Arithmetic mean and standard deviation was adapted to find out whether there was a significant
difference in the participants’ anxiety level.
However, the questions were divided into two parts. The first one is negative statement
which contained the questions in a negative direction i.e. their anxiety, their embarrassment,
and their nervousness, including their excitement in speaking English. The second one is
positive statement which included the questions in positive directions such as their self-
confidence, their relaxation and their courage in speaking English. All of these mixed questions
would lead to all participants expressing their real feelings as to their English speaking.
Therefore, the computation is different between negative statement and positive
statement. The schedules of computation of both statements are below:
Items 1,3,4,6,9,10,11,12 are negative statement (NS), which will be computed from strongly
agree to strongly disagree and used the point rating scale 5 to 1 as follows:
Strongly
Agree Agree Normal Disagree
Strongly
Disagree
5 4 3 2 1
Items 2,5,7,8 are positive statement (PS), which will be computed from strongly agree to
strongly disagree and used the point rating scale 1 to 5 as follows:
Strongly
Agree Agree Normal Disagree
Strongly
Disagree
1 2 3 4 5
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The average scores of the level of anxiety were classified into five levels as follows:
Mean of the participants’ anxiety level
Mean Level of Anxiety
4.50-5.00 Highest
3.50-4.49 High
2.50-3.49 Moderate
1.50-2.49 Low
1.00-1.49 Lowest
The average score of the items above indicates high score equals high anxiety. On the
other hand, if the mean of score is low, it means the respondents have low anxiety.
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CHAPTER 4
RESULTS
This chapter reports the results of the study on the level of anxiety found in the
employees at POSCO (Thailand) Company Limited. The results are divided into 4 parts as
follows: (1) personal information of the participants (2) speaking English anxiety measurement
in the workplace (3) the best way of coping with anxiety when speaking English in the
workplace (4) The possible methods to get rid of speaking English anxiety in the workplace.
4.1 Personal information of the participants
This section reports the personal information of the 50 participants: gender, age,
department participants worked in, and self-perception of English proficiency are presented.
Table 4.1 Gender
Gender Frequency Percentage
Female 39 78 %
Male 11 22 %
Total 50 100 %
Table 4.1 indicates that the 78% of the participants were female and 22% of the
participants were male.
Table 4.2 Age
Age Frequency Percentage
18-26 21 42 %
27-35 19 38 %
35 Above 10 20 %
Total 50 100 %
Table 4.2 shows that 42 % of the participants were 18-26 years old, 38% of the
participants were 27-35 years old, and 20% of the participants were above 35 years old.
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Table 4.3 Department participants worked in
Department Frequency Percentage
SALES 13 26 %
PRODUCTION 6 12 %
MANAGEMENT 31 62 %
Total 50 100 %
Table 4.3 shows that 62 % of participants have worked in MANAGEMENT
department, 26 % of respondents have worked in SALES department and 12 % of participants
have worked in PRODUCTION department.
Table 4.4 Foreign language speaking competency level
Competency Level Frequency Percentage
Excellent 3 6 %
Good 19 38 %
Fair 15 30 %
Poor 13 26 %
Total 50 100 %
Table 4.4 shows that all respondents indicate their foreign language speaking
competency level as follow: 38 % of participants were in Good level, 30 % of participants were
in Fair level and 26% of participants were in Poor level. Lastly, 6 % of participants were in
excellent level.
4.2 English Speaking Anxiety Measurement in the Workplace
This section presents the percentages of English Speaking Anxiety Measurement in the
Workplace including frequency, mean and standard deviation of 50 employees in POSCO
(Thailand) Company Limited.
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Table 4.5 English speaking anxiety measurement in the workplace for Negative Statement
For item 1,3,4,6,9,10,11,12 are negative statement (NS), which will be computed from
strongly agree to strongly disagree and use the point rating scale 5 to 1 as follows:
FLCAS
Statement
Strongly
Agree Agree Normal Disagree
Strongly
Disagree Mean
x̅
S.D
σ
Anxiety
Level Negative Statement (NS) 5 4 3 2 1
NS
1. I never feel quite sure of
myself when I am
speaking English.
5 16 13 11 5 3.1 1.16 Moderate
10% 32% 26% 22% 10%
NS
3. It frightens me when I
don't understand what the
foreigner is saying.
7 11 13 14 5 3.02 1.22 Moderate
14 % 22 % 26 % 28 % 10 %
NS 4. I panic when I have to
speak without preparation.
5 18 9 12 6 3.08 1.23 Moderate
10 % 36 % 18 % 24 % 12 %
NS
6. Even if I am well
prepared for speaking, I
feel anxious about it
8 12 13 12 5 3.12 1.24 Moderate
16 % 24 % 26 % 24 % 10 %
NS
9. I always feel that my
colleagues speak English
better than I do.
7 19 15 7 2 3.44 1.03 High
14 % 38 % 30 % 14 % 4 %
NS
10. I get nervous when I
don't understand every
word the foreigner says.
10 9 16 13 2 3.24 1.17 Moderate
20 % 18 % 32 % 26 % 4 %
NS
11. I am afraid that my
colleagues will laugh at
me when I speak English.
4 7 11 21 7 2.6 1.14 Low
8 % 14 % 22 % 42 % 14 %
NS
12. I get nervous when I
have to answer questions
in English without being
prepared.
5 18 10 11 6 3.1 1.22 Moderate
10 % 36 % 20 % 22 % 12 %
Total Score 3.09 1.199 Moderate
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Table 4.5 presents the result of English speaking anxiety on employees in POSCO
(Thailand) Company Limited in Negative Statement. These are the top three highest mean
scores: Firstly, the participants believed that they always feel that their colleagues speak
English better than they do (x̅ = 3.44). Secondly, the participants claimed that they get nervous
when they do not understand every word the foreigner says (x̅ = 3.24). Thirdly, the participants
accepted that even if they are well prepared for speaking, they feel anxious about it.(x̅ = 3.12)
Table 4.6 English speaking anxiety Measurement in the workplace for Positive Statement
Items 2,5,7,8 are positive statement (PS), which will be computed from strongly agree to
strongly disagree and use the point rating scale 5 to 1 as follows:
FLCAS
Statement
Strongly
Agree Agree Normal Disagree
Strongly
Disagree Mean
x̅
S.D
σ
Anxiety
Level
Positive Statement (PS) 1 2 3 4 5
PS
2. I am not worried
about making
mistakes in speaking
English.
5 9 16 17 3 3.08 1.08 Moderate
10 % 18 % 32 % 34 % 6 %
PS
5. I am not nervous
when speaking
English with native
speakers.
9 9 12 19 1 2.88 1.17 Moderate
18 % 18 % 24 % 38 % 2 %
PS
7. I feel confident
when I speak
English.
4 11 16 15 4 3.08 1.08 Moderate
8 % 22 % 32 % 30 % 8 %
PS
8. I'm not under
pressure when I am
well prepared in
speaking English.
12 11 15 11 1 2.56 1.15 Low
24 % 22 % 30 % 22 % 2 %
Total Score 2.90 1.141 Moderate
Table 4.6 presents the result of English speaking anxiety on employees in POSCO
(Thailand) Company Limited in Positive Statement; the lowest anxiety level ranking of four
statements for employees in POSCO Thailand Company, is item 8 (mean x̅ = 2.56, S.D σ =
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1.15). The result showed the statement of “I'm not under pressure when I am well prepared in
speaking English.”
Table 4.7 English speaking anxiety Total Measurement in workplace
Total Score of Negative Statement 3.09 1.199 Moderate
Total Score of Positive Statement 2.90 1.141 Moderate
Total Average Score of both Positive and negative statement 3.025 1.183 Moderate
In conclusion of the result of foreign speaking anxiety on employees in POSCO
Thailand Company: the average total score in mean is 3.025 (S.D σ = 1.183), which is moderate
level in foreign speaking anxiety.
4.3 THE METHODS TO COPE WITH EMPLOYEES’ SPEAKING ANXIETY
4.3.1 THE BEST WAY OF COPING WITH ANXIETY IN SPEAKING ENGLISH IN THE
WORKPLACE IN RESPONDENTS’ OPINIONS
In the open-ended question, the participants were asked about the best way of coping
with anxiety in English speaking in the workplace. Most of the participants suggested that
studying foreign language and preparing before speaking are the best way to cope with
speaking anxiety. Furthermore, some participants believe that increasing self-confidence can
decrease their level of speaking anxiety and finding opportunities to speak with foreigners for
practice themselves will help.
4.3.2 THE POSSIBLE METHODS TO GET RID OF ANXIETY WHEN SPEAKING
ENGLISH IN THE WORKPLACE
In the second open-ended question the participants were asked about how they cope
with their English speaking anxiety when having conversations with foreigner directly. The
majority of respondents use the method of listening carefully when the foreigners are speaking
or asking questions. Some of them try to speak slowly to decrease their excitement and always
practice by themselves. Moreover, they also introduced another way, which is to take a deep
breath before having a conversation with a foreigner.
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This chapter presents the results of the study on the level of anxiety found in the
employees at POSCO (Thailand) Company Limited., the findings of the study are summarized
and discussed in the next chapter
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CHAPTER 5
CONCLUSIONS, DISCUSSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
This chapter presents (1) a summary of the study, (2) a summary of the findings, (3)
discussions of the findings, (4) conclusions, and (5) recommendations for further research.
5.1 SUMMARY OF THE STUDY
This section summarizes three topics, which consists of objectives of the study, subject,
and materials and procedures.
5.1.1 Objectives of the Study
This study examined the level of anxiety in speaking a foreign language of employees
at POSCO Thailand Company and also found out the best way to cope with employees’ anxiety
and the possible methods to get rid of their speaking anxiety before having conversations with
foreigners.
5.1.2 Subjects, Materials, and Procedures
The subjects of this study were selected by purposive sampling, which were 50
employees at POSCO (Thailand) Company Limited. Then, the researcher used a questionnaire
to measure the speaking anxiety, which is the Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale
(FLCAS) created by Horwitz, M. B., and Cope, J. (1986) and developed by the researcher. The
questionnaire had two parts. In the first part, personal questions, such as age, gender,
department, and speaking competency were asked. In the second part, 12 questions on a 5-
point Likert scale and 2 open-ended questions were used. The data collected was analyzed
using Microsoft Excel version 2010 and was shown in percentage, mean and standard
deviation. Finally, this study also analyzed and interpreted the information from the open-
ended questions.
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5.2 SUMMARY OF THE FINDINGS
The results of the study can be summarized as follows:
5.2.1 Personal Information of the Respondents
The result in the survey showed that 78% of the participants were female and 22% of
the participants were male. Moreover, 42 % of participants are 18 to 26 years old, 38% of
respondents are 27 to 35 years old and 20% of participants are 35 above respectively. 62 % of
participants in this survey work in MANAGEMENT department and 26 % work in SALES
department well as 12 %, work in PRODUCTION department. In POSCO (Thailand) Company
Limited, 38 % of the respondents believe that their own foreign language speaking competency
level is at good level. Then, the second highest percentage is 30 percent, in which the
respondents believe that they are in fair level of speaking foreign language competency. The
third highest percentage is 26 percent, in which the respondents believe that they are in the
level of poor and the lowest percentage of all is excellent level, which has only 6 percent.
5.2.2 English Speaking Anxiety Measurement in the Workplace
The computation data in the survey shows that English-speaking anxiety of employees
at POSCO (Thailand) Company Limited has 3.025 in total mean score (S.D = 1.183), which is
in the level of moderate. However, in the negative statement, the highest mean score of all is
item 9, the respondent always feel that their colleague speaks English better than them which
has the 3.44 mean score (S.D = 1.03). The lowest mean score in positive statement is 2.56 mean
score in item 8, which the respondents are not under pressure when they are well prepared in
speaking English. Nevertheless, the other items are in the moderate level, which are concerns
about their confidence, their preparation and their nervousness.
5.2.3 The best way of coping with anxiety in speaking English in the workplace and the
possible methods to support the respondents to get rid of their English speaking anxiety in the
workplace
The content in the open-ended question showed that most of them thought that the best
way to cope with their anxiety in speaking English are study more in English speaking, be well-
prepared before speaking, increasing their self-confidence, practice frequently and changing
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their vision about English speaking, because POSCO (Thailand) Company Limited employees
still have some anxiety when they start speaking English.
The possible methods to support them to get rid of their anxiety which they have
suggested in the survey are taking a deep breath before speaking, smiling at the interlocutor,
not thinking too much and pressuring themselves, concentrate and listen. They need to
concentrate on what the interlocutor said and listen clearly before speaking.
5.3 DISCUSSION
This section related the findings in correlation to the research questions and objective.
However, the findings are discussed within the review of literature and theory in Chapter two,
which is concerned with anxiety, anxiety in foreign language, the effects of language anxiety
on speaking ability and the other relevant researches
5.3.1 Do employees at POSCO Thailand Company have English speaking anxiety? If so, what
is their level of anxiety?
The result shows that employees at POSCO (Thailand) Company Limited have English
speaking anxiety in moderate level, however, the highest score of the survey is in item 9 which
indicates “employees always feel that their colleague speak English better than them” That
means that they always are worried that other colleagues can speak English better than them
and that might affect them and make them too shy to speak English in front of others. Although,
most employees in POSCO (Thailand) Company Limited believe that their own foreign
language speaking competency level is in good level they still have some anxiety in English
speaking which is in moderate level. Nevertheless, the result seemed to confirm the findings
of a study by Horwitz (2001) claimed that English speakers have felt comfortable in personal
activities which are considered stressful for some may not be stressful for other. Other
colleagues might be the main factor that makes them have increasing anxiety.
In addition, the highest anxiety level in the moderate level is in item 10, in the statement
“I get nervous when I don't understand every word the foreigner says.” Communication in the
workplace is very important; therefore, all employees need to communicate clearly with
foreigners about their work. In this statement, the study confirmed that the main factor which
influences the participant’s anxiety was interacting with foreigners, so this research confirmed
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that a significant portion of oral success is the second language speaking anxiety (Woodrow,
2006).
5.3.2 How do employees at POSCO (Thailand) Company Limited cope with their English
speaking anxiety?
The highest score of the survey, is 3.44 in item, indicate that employees always feel
that their colleague speaks English better than them. According to Burden 2004 (as cited in
Fakieh Alrabai,2014) some educators believe they cannot achieve success in English and create
negative expectations, which causes them to reduce their effort and miss opportunities to
improve their communication skills. Moreover, a speaker’s anxiety regarding peers
significantly affects a speaker’s efforts to speak. Horwitz and colleagues claimed that various
anxiety-provoking reactions include forgetfulness, apprehension, sweating, and strong
heartbeat along with challenges of concentrating, among others. Therefore, they try to find the
best way to cope with their anxiety in speaking English; they suggest that they should learn
more in the foreign language because they would like to have the ability to speak English
fluently like their colleagues. Moreover, there are six statements which most respondents
similarly suggested as follows:
1st statement “Mind control, we cannot speak perfectly in English because it is our
second language”
Therefore, controlling thought of mind control and having good preparation might be
the better way to decrease their anxiety in speaking English. Furthermore, another respondent
also suggested that
2nd statement “You have to get used to it, practice and then use English, even the English
people themselves sometimes make mistakes.”
Most of the participants still are afraid to make a mistake. Thus, do not be afraid and
dare to be open-minded in speaking English, our experience will teach everyone. Another
respondent also introduces another best way to cope with the anxiety.
3rd statement “Always speak to foreigners when you have a chance and you will be
comfortable with the language”
The main point to decrease the anxiety in speaking English is practice and practice.
However, there are some researchers who believe that it is difficult to begin speaking with
foreigners directly, the anxious speakers always focus on this factor when they are responding
in front of them (MacIntyre, 1995)In addition, another method to search for language anxiety
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in second language anxiety is by considering the main points that affect employees’ decisions
to start conversations. Therefore, all employees need to practice more and more
Furthermore, this finding also finds the possible methods which employees used to get
rid of their anxiety in speaking English with foreigners directly when they indicated that
4th statement “Smile and keep move forward. Do not blame because blaming is useless”
This is one of the most popular recommendations because most employees always
blame themselves when they could not do it. There is related research of Zeidner 1998;Naveh-
Benjamin 1991, who also claimed that anxiety is the feeling of uneasiness in speakers’ minds,
which caused by fear of misfortune. Therefore, it is useless to worry about your fear and calm
yourself, keep going and develop yourself.
5th statement “Listening carefully and concentrate on what they’re speaking, If I do not
understand, I will ask again and again.”
Listening is the one skill that each employee is afraid about and might lead to wrong
communication. Schmidt-Rinehart (1994,as cited in Sadighi & Zare, 2006) pointed out the
main purpose of his research is about finding the effects of topic familiarity on English listening
conversation, he concluded that a powerful factor in facilitating listening comprehension is
background knowledge. So, background knowledge is the supporting tool to make them get
their words easily. Hence, all employees need to listen carefully and concentrate, it might be
difficult in the first time but if they do not understand some speech, they can just ask and do
not be afraid because this method will lead them to have more effective communication.
6th participant “Walk away”
This is a big problem in both communication and interaction. There is the related study
by Pappamihiel (2002) which indicated that a strategy speakers use to try to reduce anxiety
level is by leaving a situation, concentrating in a foreign language and recruiting friends as
“intermediaries.” Most of them try to avoid the situation of confrontation with a foreigner
directly. It is the better possible method for them. Young (1990) also found that speaking “on
the spot” within the view of the speaker causes anxiety (p.539). All employees need to adjust
too many things, beginning with their vision in speaking English because they have the highest
anxiety in their mind.
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However, Yan and Horwitz (2008) strongly believed the significance of the study from
employees’ perspectives as a new avenue of research. Considering the above study, the main
factor to find their perspective is by asking them open-ended questions about their thoughts
and how the researcher can support them to decrease their anxiety in speaking English
effectively.
5.4 CONCLUSION
The following conclusions can be drawn from the discussion above.
5.2.1 The employees at POSCO (Thailand) Company Limited speaking anxiety was at
a moderate level. Of the top three highest levels of anxiety, the first one is “they always feel
that their colleagues speak English better than they do”. Then, the second one is “they get
nervous when they don't understand every word the foreigner says”. The third one is “Even if
they are well prepared for speaking, they feel anxious about it.”
5.2.2 The best way for employees at POSCO (Thailand) Company Limited to cope with
anxiety in speaking English in the workplace is study more English speaking, be well-prepared
before speaking, increasing their self-efficacy, practice frequently them and changing their
vision about English speaking. Other possible methods which employees at POSCO (Thailand)
Company Limited used to get rid of their anxiety in speaking English with foreigners directly
were taking a deep breath before speaking, smiling at the interlocutor, not thinking too much
and pressuring themselves, concentrate and listen carefully.
5.4 RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH
Based on the findings and conclusions of this study, the following recommendations
are made for future research.
5.4.1 A further study should be conducted with other companies having foreign workers as
employees and that require their Thai workers to use English language when working.
5.4.2 A further study should adopt more thorough experimental research so as to test the level
of speaking anxiety of workers when speaking English.
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5.4.3 A further study should be conducted using interviews to obtain in-depth information
about the participants’ English speaking anxiety.
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APPENDICES
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APPENDIX A
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13 In your opinion, what is the best way to cope with your anxiety when speaking with foreigners? Why?
คณุคดิวา่วธิใีดเป็นวธิทีีด่ทีีส่ดุทีจ่ะชว่ยในการจัดการกับความกังวลทีเ่กดิขึน้เมือ่ตอ้งสือ่สารกับชาวตา่งชาตแิละเพราะเหตใุด
14 How do you cope with your English speaking anxiety?
คณุจัดการกับความกังวลทีเ่กดิขึน้เมือ่ตอ้งสือ่สารกับชาวตา่งชาตโิดยวธิใีด
APPENDIX B
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BIOGRAPHY
Name Ms. Chadapron Aoibumrung
Date of Birth Apri30, 2017
Educational Attainment
2012: Bachelor of Business Administration,
Assumption university.
Work Position Human Resource Development
POSCO Thailand Company Limited
Work Experiences 2014-Present : Human Resource Development
POSCO Thailand Company Limited
2013-2014 : Shipping coordinator
POSCO Thailand Company Limited