To teach is to get nervous: Teacher anxiety as a multifaceted occurrence in pedagogical practices

Anxiety is a multifaceted phenomenon that necessitates a systematic approach to its examination by delving deeper into the experiences of those who encounter it. The study used a mixed method design to address teacher anxiety by employing questionnaires, interviews, and classroom observations based on Horwitz’s (1996) Foreign Language Teacher Anxiety Scale (FLTAS). First, the questionnaire was used to collect data. Second, interviews were conducted. Third, the observation phase took place. The study participants were 240 English language teachers (110 female and 130 male) with 2 to 5 years of experience at the tertiary level. Quantitative results indicate a great degree of teacher anxiety. Male teachers, on average, report a higher anxiety level than female counterparts on the FLTAS. As 0.000975 < 0.05, the p-value indicates that there is a statistically significant difference in mean scores between female and male teachers’ anxiety. Interviews revealed that English teachers experienced anxiety for various reasons, including unprepared lessons and a lack of language proficiency, fear of negative evaluation, a sense of unpreparedness for class, anxiety about making mistakes, the challenges faced by language teachers in managing the classroom, and uncertainty about language skills. An analysis of classroom observations from 10 classes yielded that most teachers harboured apprehension about being observed, struggled to manage a large number of students in their English classes, ranging from 150 to 250 students, spoke at a rapid pace, and frequently employed the technique of avoiding student inquiries during the teaching process. The current research concludes with future recommendations to minimise teacher anxiety in teaching practices by engaging them in pre and post-professional training.

KEYWORDS:
• teacher anxiety
• FLTAS
• negative evaluation
• avoidance
• communication apprehension
• pedagogical practice