The Uzbekistan State World Languages University

PORTFOLIO
Theme: How to overcome a fear of speaking in learning foreign
languages

Group: 1912
Student: Rasulova Gulkhayo
Teacher: Khalikova Dildora

Tashkent 2023
 Entry 1
( Identifying and limiting the topic )
 Action research plan:

How to overcome a fear of speaking in learning foreign languages?

Topic:

The purpose of this study is to learn what students' fear is and strategies to
overcome it and helping them to improve their speaking by using some
methods and techniques.

Research questions:

1.What is fear itself and what kind of fear do students have?

2.Why are students afraid of speaking in another language?

3. How to overcome a fear of speaking in the learning process?

Participants

Twelve schoolchildren in a first-grade classroom will participate in this

study. Students are divided into 2 groups. Visual vocabulary aids are given to
the first group, and second group should write down vocabulary list on their
notebook and both goup members should learn by heart them.

Intervention

The research continued 10 days. On the first day I choose my topic and set
aim and methods: observation and questionnarie

Data collection

At the beginning of this study I will observe 2 types of teachers' lessons

whithin a week. First type is that a teacher who conduct her vocabulary
lessons just a simple way like writing down all words with their translation.
Second type is that a kind of teachers who teach her students to learn new
words through visual methods. Then I will compare the students results:
which one can learn more vocabulary and can remember more.

Entry 2
(Gathering information and reviewing the literature)
 Literature Review

Strategies to overcome fear of speaking in a foreign language

Sometimes what you’re most afraid of doing is the very thing that will set
you free” – Robert Tew.

INTRODUCTION

One of the biggest barriers that prevents many language learners from
practicing and improving their language is fear. Fear may sound strange and
unimportant.However, it affects our learning process more than we may know.If
someone doesn't want to speak or feels himself/herself bad in front of public or
native speaker of language that he/she is learning ,they do have fear.As we
know,everyone has fear and there are various types of fear.One of them is
xenoglossophobia,it is known as foreign language anxiety.It is the feeling of
unease,nervousness and worry in learning and using a second or a foreign
language.Fear is a very normal part of language learning .However,many people
are anxious when it comes to trying out their skills .There are many theories on
how just a fear affect student's well-being, their psychology and their learning
process as well as some tips and strategies to overcome fear.

BODY PART

Leah Ganse(2020)suggested and guaranteed that speaking in a foreign

language will improve if these following tips are used to overcome fear.First of
all, in his view, ones shoud understand their fears.Because anxiety reduces
people's brain ability to get on with its normal tasks properly, such as processing
in a real time.Understanding your fear help you to overcome it easily.In
addition,practising your listening such as watching videos and listening to music
and podcasts, also helps to improve your vocabulary and pronunciation. Instead
of fear, you can increase your confidence.

According to Aida(1994),anxious foreign language students are less willing

to participate in learning activities and have lower performance than non-
anxious students.Her opinions demonstrate that students can loose their fear if
they are given motivation and they examine what their fear is,as other
researchers said above.

Isabel Cohen (2020)states that language learners will be able to speak

fluently and make few mistakes one day,however that day takes plenty of
practice and mistakes to reach.With this view he demonstrates that changing
negative opinions into positive ones as Olly Richards said above."Another way
of overcoming your fear of speaking is just practicing a lot and not giving up in
working on yourself",says Isabel Cohen.Isabel Cohen is a
writer,editor,teacher,and a bookworm.She has a BS in Psychology with a focus
in Linguistics and Education from the University of Colorado Boulder.

James Granahan analyzed some reasons for afraiding of speaking in a

foreign language.He pointed out 3 reasons struggling to speak in a target
language.They are: 1) shyness;2) lacking vocabulary;3) worrying about making
mistakes; Interestingly,he use 5 step plan to build in speaking a foreign
language.According to his 5 step plan, you should do the following exercises
every single day if you don't feel confident in speaking in a target language.First
one is closing eyes and imagining yourself using your target language with a
native speaker.Second one is focusing on the reasons why you wanted to learn
the language in the first place and using those reasons to reconnect with your
motivation.Third one is seeing yourself successfully using the language with a
native speaker.Fourth one is visualizing yourself receiving a smile and positive
response from the person you're talking to.And the last one is while picturing
yourself, noticing your confident posture and how comfortably you speak the
target language.These exercises will help language learner to overcome their
fear and build up the confidence in their real conversation.

CONCLUSION

In conclusion,this literature review succests that language anxiety is a

common problem in learning process throughout the world. It is also widely
accepted that language anxiety has some negative consequences for learners'
brains.When it comes to the objective of writing this literature review about
language learning anxiety is to create more effective language learning and to
give students an increased interest and motivation to learn another language. As
a university student I got so many useful tips and strategies to eliminate the fear
of speaking in a foreign language and in public.Furthermore,I discovered new
ways to overcome a fear by reading articles about this topic and writing this
literature review.

REFERENCES CITED

1.https://blog.esl-languages.com/blog/learn-languages/afraid-fear-speaking-
foreign-language/

2.https://www.fluentu.com/blog/fear-of-speaking-a-foreign-language/

3.http://joyoflanguages.com/fear-speaking-foreign-language/

4.https://bilingua.io/5-steps-to-overcome-the-fear-of-speaking-in-a-foreign-
language

5.https://www.fluentin3months.com/fear-of-speaking/
Entry 3
Classroom Observation Form
Teacher ___Kamola _____ Date/Time 5th April
_________________
Observer ___Gulkhayo Rasulova________ Group/Form ___6_____
Review section
Comments
1 Aim (practical,
educational)
2 Aids and handouts
3 Organization
(organizes subject matter;
evidences preparation;
states clear objectives;
emphasizes and
summarizes main points)
4
Teaching methods
(uses relevant teaching
methods, aids, materials,
techniques, and
technology; includes
variety, balance,
imagination, group
involvement; uses
examples that are simple,
clear, precise, and
appropriate; stays focused
on and meets stated
objectives)
5 Time management
6 Attendance of students
7 Assessment of students
8 Suggestion for
improvement
Classroom Observation Form
Teacher ___________________________ Date/Time
_________________
Observer ___Gulkhayo Rasulova________ Group/Form
Review section
Comments
1 Aim (practical,
educational)
2 Aids and handouts
3 Organization
(organizes subject matter;
evidences preparation;
states clear objectives;
emphasizes and
summarizes main points)
4
Teaching methods
(uses relevant teaching
methods, aids, materials,
techniques, and
technology; includes
variety, balance,
imagination, group
involvement; uses
examples that are simple,
clear, precise, and
appropriate; stays focused
on and meets stated
objectives)
5 Time management
6 Attendance of students
7 Assessment of students
8 Suggestion for
improvement

QUESTIONNAIRE

QUESTIONS YES NO NOT IIT

SURE DOESN'T
MATTER
1 I enjoy learning vocabulary
with visual aids *
2 I have difficulty in learning
vocabulary in a tradational *
way
3 When I see something learnt
in lesson through visual aids, *
I can easily remember
4 To learn vocabulary in a
tradational way takes a lot of *
time
5 I prefer learn vocabulary
through videos *
6 Matching Pictures with their
translation in English are so *
interesting
7 I don't want to write down
vocabulary list *