Foreign language communication anxiety and self-confidence among learners of English as a foreign language: The role of learning cooperatively

Present study investigated the impact of learning a foreign language cooperatively on boosting self-confidence and alleviating communication anxiety among learners of English as a foreign language (EFL). ۱۳۵ intermediate EFL male and female language learners, homogenized via a language proficiency test, were randomly assigned into two groups of ۶۵ (the experimental group) and ۷۰ (the control group). Participants were then administered two questionnaires to measure levels of oral communication apprehension and self-confidence prior to the study. Following, the experimental group received a ۱۶-session treatment integrating the principles of learning cooperatively, while the teaching in control group centred only on covering the materials in the course book. On the final session of each class, the questionnaires were re-administered as post-tests and the participants were interviewed to examine the possible impact of learning as a community on their levels of anxiety and self-confidence. The findings obtained from the statistical analyses as well as the qualitative analysis of the interviews demonstrated that incorporating the principles of learning cooperatively in EFL speaking classes can significantly affect the level of self-confidence and lower the communication apprehension levels. Findings are discussed and implications for EFL classrooms are elaborated upon.

Keywords:

English as a foreign language , communication apprehension , self-confidence , learning cooperatively.