This study investigated speaking anxiety among advanced Korean language learners in Korean Language Institution classrooms, and the strategies they used to overcome it. The study employed qualitative methodology using online interviews for data collection. The sampling technique involved purposive sampling by selecting 13 Korean learners who had completed an advanced Korean course at TOPIK Levels 5 or 6, with Level 6 being the highest. The interview questions addressed various aspects, including comparisons of speaking skills, anxiety in Korean classrooms, fear of making mistakes, concerns about classmates’ reactions, and anxiety induced by teachers. Thematic analysis was performed by generating initial codes, grouping related codes to uncover potential themes, and highlighting recurring patterns in the participants’ responses. The results revealed three factors that contribute to speaking anxiety: personal reasons, teachers’ classroom approaches, and teaching methods. Advanced learners manage anxiety through three coping strategies: preparation, positive thinking, and seeking support from peers. The study concludes with discussions on the pedagogical implications, limitations, and recommendations for future research in advanced Korean language learning classrooms.

This study aimed to compare the effects of self-regulation, goal orientation, and speaking anxiety on speaking performance between metaverse and face-to-face contexts. We randomly assigned 253 Korean middle school students to either metaverse or face-toface groups for 12 weeks of English-speaking lessons. Before and after the experiment, students completed speaking tests and submitted a post-questionnaire. Structural equation modeling and multi-group analysis revealed that student attributes had a similar impact on speaking performance in both settings. Specifically, self-regulation and mastery goal orientation positively influenced speaking performance, while speaking anxiety had a negative effect, regardless of the context. Furthermore, self-regulation played a mediating role in reducing speaking anxiety in both settings. This implies that metaverse-mediated and face-to-face classes offer similar learning environments, where students can leverage their goal orientation and self-regulation skills to manage speaking anxiety. Ultimately, students can enhance their speaking performance by employing selfregulation strategies and nurturing a mastery goal orientation, irrespective of the learning context.

This study examines the effects of Korean EFL learners’ motivation and anxiety on their English speaking skills with a structural equation approach. The participants of the study are 193 college students enrolled in English conversation classes. The questionnaire on learning orientations, attitudes toward the community of native speakers of English, motivational intensity, class satisfaction and anxiety are given to the college students and their English speaking skills are assessed in terms of IATEFL’s criteria: Range, ease of speech, attitude, delivery, and interaction. Reliability and factor analysis are employed to confirm the internal consistency of questionnaire items and the validity of construct, and a structural equation model is run to examine the relation of Korean EFL learners’ affective aspects to their English speaking skills. The findings of the study are as follows: (1) while Korean learners’ attitudes toward native speakers of English and their community do not contribute to their desire to learn English, their learning orientations are found to affect their desire to learn English. (2) class satisfaction and desire to learn English are found to affect learners’ efforts to learn English, while anxiety is found to negatively contribute to leaners’ motivation intensity. (3) both integrative orientation and anxiety have direct effects on English speaking skills, integrative orientation affirmatively but anxiety negatively. Based on the findings, some suggestions are given for effective second language learning and teaching.

본 연구는 사전 준비활동이 EFL 학습자의 교실 공개 구두 발표 불안에 미치는 효과를 연구하 였다. 이는 언어적 지식 (language knowledge)의 준비는 제 2 언어 학습자의 자신감을 높여 정서 적 불안을 완화하는데 도움이 된다는 선행 연구들의 결과에 근거한다. 연구를 위해 학습자들은 4 주 간 (1) 스피치 모델 읽기 (reading a model text), (2) 스피치 초안 쓰기 (writing a draft), 그리 고 (3) 구두 연습 리허설하기 (rehearsing for oral practice) 등 세 가지 사전 준비활동을 수행하였 다. 사전 준비활동 전 후의 교실 공개 발표 불안 정도의 차이는 PSCAS (Public Speaking Class Anxiety Scale)를 사용하여 네 가지의 불안 구성요소에 대해 비교하였다: ‘test anxiety’(TA: 시험 불안), ‘communicative apprehension’(CA: 전달 불안), ‘fear of negative evaluation’(FNE: 부정적 평가에 대한 두려움), 그리고 ‘comfort of using English’(CUE: 영어 사용에 대한 편안함). 결과 분 석에 의하면 사전 준비활동은 네 가지 구성요소의 구두 불안에 모두 긍정적인 영향을 주었는데, 특히 ‘부정적 평가에 대한 두려움’과 ‘영어 사용에 대한 편안함’에 있어 유의미하게 긍정적인 결 과를 가져왔다. 이는 ‘reading a model text’ 및 ‘writing a draft’ 등의 사전 준비활동 중에 이루 어지는 교사 및 동료와의 상호 피드백을 통한 언어적 지식 스캐폴딩으로 인한 학습자의 자신감 이 상승하고, ‘rehearsing for oral practice’활동으로 인한 발표연습 기회, 그리고 이러한 과정에 서 이루어지는 친밀함의 관계형성이 동료 및 교사에 의한 평가 불안을 완화하고 이전 보다 편안 하게 영어를 사용하게 된 것으로 보인다.