Anxiety in Learning English as a Second Language (ESL) Among Tertiary Students

In Malaysia, English is taught as a compulsory second language in all public schools. However, when students move from schools to tertiary institutions where the medium of instruction is English, there is bound to be a feeling of anxiety. Thus, this study was conducted to investigate the anxiety levels of tertiary students in an institution where English is the medium of instruction. This descriptive study involved 376 students from three branch campuses and data were collected using a mixed-methods research design through the use of a questionnaire and semi-structured interviews. The findings of the study revealed that a majority of the students indicated that they possessed a moderate level of anxiety. Nonetheless, they took little initiative to work on their limitations and a majority indicated that they were not autonomous language learners. The findings imply that tertiary language learners must be helped to equip themselves with skills, so that they can learn on their own.