Overcoming Japanese EFL Learners\u27 Fear of Speaking

This article looks at language anxiety as it affects Japanese EFL learners when performing oral tasks. A reviewof the literature illustrates the perspectives from which foreign language anxiety research has been conducted.The reasons Japanese EFL learners experience language anxiety when performing oral tasks are explored. Someof the potential causes of Japanese EFL learners’ language anxiety have been identified as communicationapprehension, social evaluation, and inter-learner competition. This article provides several suggestionsdesigned to assist foreign EFL teachers in Japan in dealing with their learners’ language anxiety. Foreign EFLteachers in Japan are encouraged to learn as much as possible about Japanese society and culture, so as to betterunderstand how these factors may influence learners when speaking a foreign language. It is also suggested thatEFL teachers in Japan strive towards making their classrooms more intimate (i.e., less formal), and move awayfrom the evaluation paradigm, which seems ingrained in the values of Japanese society