A Study of Speaking Anxiety in the English Presentations of Chinese Non-English Major Postgraduates With a Special Focus on the Case of Stutterers

As knowledge of speaking anxiety associated with English presentation, an activity common to Chinese postgraduate students, and how it is perceived by stuttering students, remains inadequate, this study aims to explore the causes, effects and solutions of speaking anxiety in presentations of Chinese postgraduate students and the different perspectives of stutterers on speaking anxiety. Using a qualitative approach, this study interviewed twelve Chinese postgraduate students, two of whom suffer from stuttering. The findings are that the causes of speaking anxiety in non-stuttering participants are mainly features of learners, interpersonal connections, language challenges, background of learners and character of the presentation, and the impact is primarily on presentation performance. Coping strategies are student preparation, positive thinking and seeking the support of peers. Participants who stutter differ from those who do not stutter in that the main causes of anxiety are pronunciation disorders and fear of negative evaluation, and the effect of anxiety is exacerbation of stuttering. Their coping strategies are preparation of practice in order not to stutter and positive thoughts of pretending that they do not stutter. Future research could delve into the difficulties encountered by non-stuttering and stuttering learners in foreign language learning from cognitive and neurological perspectives.