Muntlig kommunikation och talängslan i moderna språk : Lärares perspektiv

Sammanfattning

Oral communication is an important goal in modern language education, yet many students avoid speaking the target language because of insecurity and anxiety. This study, therefore, examines teachers’ views on students’ speaking anxiety and oral communication in modern language classes. It aims to explore how teachers perceive students’ oral skills, insecurities, and anxiety when using the target language, and which teaching practices they find supportive for creating a safe classroom environment and encouraging oral interaction. The study uses a qualitative design, based on a teacher survey and semi-structured interviews with modern language teachers. The findings indicate that teachers see speaking anxiety mainly in whole-class activities, oral presentations, and assessment tasks, where students risk social exposure and negative evaluation. Teachers report that anxious students often give very short answers, speak softly, or try to avoid participation. Supportive practices include pair and small-group work, clear scaffolding (phrase banks, visual aids), preparation time before speaking tasks, and a classroom culture where errors are normalized as part of learning. Alternative presentation and assessment forms (audio/video recordings, individual conversations) are also highlighted as valuable, especially for very anxious students. Overall, the study suggests that students’ willingness to speak in modern languages depends not only on language ability but also on confidence, classroom climate, and instructional design.