PUSAT PENGAJIAN PENDIDIKAN JARAK JAUH UNIVERSITI SAINS MALAYSIA Sidang Akademik 2010/2011 JUE 300 BAHASA INGGERIS II

LECTURER

DR. GEORGE TEOH BOON SAI E-mail : georgeteoh@usm.my Tel : 04 6532275

MY LEVEL OF ANXIETY IN LEARNING ENGLISH AND MY ACTIONS TO MANAGE SITUATION

The definition of anxiety from Macmillan English Dictionary for Advanced Learners (2002) is a worried feeling you have because you think something bad might happen. I believe anxiety is a kind of feeling you have when you feel afraid to make mistake. I think I am moderately anxious in JUE 300 English Course because I am afraid if I speak or do something, I will commit mistakes. The level of anxiety I have for English course to other PPPJJ courses I am doing is the same. I am most anxious about grammar because I do not understand the English grammar. The English grammar is so hard that I cannot really understand how to make sentences. The second is speaking because my grammar is not good so I cannot speak very well. The third is writing, I cannot write smoothly because I have difficulty to write with correct grammar. All these problems caused me difficulty in understanding English and building English sentences.

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Most of reasons for my level of anxiety is my inability to understand English grammar well. So, I have difficulty to build grammatically correct sentences. I do not like to read English materials as well. Thus, I have difficulty to come up with suitable sentences and utterances in English. Moreover, I am nervous to speak English because if I commit mistakes, people will laugh at me. I read newspaper in English more often like at least twice a week. I also listen to English radio stations everyday to improve on my pronunciation. I try to use English when I speak to my friends. I try to expose myself to the English more often so that I will feel more confident to talk or use English in my daily life. To conclude, I think that my problem with English is somehow affected by my confidence and my anxiety of making mistakes while coming up with sentences and especially in conversation. Anxiety among students can hinder them from succeeding in their study. The reasons of my anxiety can be mostly caused from my lack of understanding of English grammar, lack of reading in English and lack of conversation using English. Thus, among strategies to enhance my English are reading English newspaper, listening to English radio station and speaking to friends in English. Anxiety can be a problem but with right and realistic strategies, anyone can improve their English. Dr. George Teoh Boon Sai always practises the Malay proverb which says kalau tidak dipecahkan ruyung, manakan dapat sagunya. Thus, if I want to succeed, I have to give my very best.

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