Developmental trajectories of key research themes in English speaking anxiety research in china (1996-2024): A Bibliometric analysis

Anxiety, a well-documented affective variable in foreign language acquisition, exerts detrimental effects on linguistic performance and educational attainment. This bibliometric investigation systematically examines 479 Chinese studies on English speaking anxiety indexed in the China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) from 1996 to 2024, employing CiteSpace 6.3.R1 for knowledge domain visualization. The analysis identifies three evolutionary phases: nascent exploration (1996-2010), accelerated expansion (2011-2021), and progressive decline (2022-2024), characterized by publication output fluctuations. Research foci concentrate on areas including linguistic fluency enhancement, speech pedagogy, oral competence development, and anxiety regulation. Co-citation network analysis further reveals fragmented scholarly collaboration patterns, with no sustained research consortium observed. Future investigations can be further prioritized in four dimensions: cross-ethnic comparative studies, multilingual cognitive interactions, interdisciplinary paradigm integration, and dyadic teacher-student interaction dynamics. Such multidimensional approaches could yield differentiated pedagogical interventions tailored to specific learner profiles. The findings offer empirically-grounded guidelines for curriculum design optimization in Chinese EFL (English as a Foreign Language) contexts.