Barriers to Expression: A Study of Language Anxiety and Students' Willingness to Communicate in the Upper-Secondary English Classroom in Iceland

• Main Author: Unnur Ásta Harðardóttir 1999-
• Other Authors: Háskóli Íslands
• Format: Master Thesis
• Language: English
• Published: 2025
• Subjects: Enskukennsla; Framsögn; Kvíði; Framhaldsskólar; Iceland
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/1946/49431

This thesis explores how level 3 English students at the upper-secondary level in Iceland perceive their participation in classroom speaking activities, with a focus on how language anxiety (LA) and willingness to communicate (WTC) shape their experience. Since language anxiety (defined as the discomfort experienced when using a second or foreign language) has been shown to impede students' WTC and, in turn, their engagement and spoken proficiency, this study aimed to examine the extent to which these factors influenced this student group's speaking behaviours, as well as the classroom situations in which their impact was most evident. A better understanding of the interplay between LA and WTC was sought by further investigating whether gender, school type, and school environment significantly affected the manifestation of these constructs. To this end, the study employed a primarily quantitative, survey-based design, where a total of 227 students from both class-based and course-based schools (149 female and 78 male students) responded to items based on the established Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (FLCAS) (Horwitz et al., 1986) and the L2 WTC scale (Lan et al., 2021). The survey responses were analysed using descriptive statistics, t-tests, analyses of variance, as well as correlation and content analyses. The study's findings revealed that students generally reported moderate levels of both LA and WTC. However, a significant negative correlation was found between LA and WTC, indicating that higher levels of language anxiety were associated with lower willingness to communicate. Group differences also emerged based on gender and school context. Overall, the findings highlight the importance of addressing emotional and contextual factors in language learning, as these influence how and when students participate in oral classroom communication. Thus, there is a clear pedagogical need for regular and motivating opportunities that help students build confidence in speaking English in class. Keywords: ...