The Correlation between Foreign Language Speaking Anxiety and Coping Strategies among ELT Students at UIN Raden Mas Said Surakarta

Foreign Language Speaking Anxiety (FLSA) is one of the psychological factors that may affect students’ ability to communicate effectively in English. This study aimed to identify the levels of Foreign Language Speaking Anxiety experienced by English Language Teaching (ELT) students at UIN Raden Mas Said Surakarta and to examine the relationship between speaking anxiety and coping strategies. A quantitative correlational research design was employed involving 40 ELT students selected through convenience sampling. Data were collected using adapted questionnaires based on the Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (FLCAS) developed by Horwitz et al. (1986) and the coping strategy framework proposed by Kondo and Yang (2004). The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and Spearman Rank Correlation. The findings revealed that most students experienced a moderate level of speaking anxiety, while a smaller proportion reported high and low levels of anxiety. The analysis also showed a significant negative relationship between Foreign Language Speaking Anxiety and coping strategies, indicating that students who used coping strategies more frequently tended to experience lower levels of speaking anxiety. These findings suggest that coping strategies play an important role in helping learners manage speaking anxiety. Therefore, English language teachers are encouraged to promote effective coping strategies and create supportive learning environments.