Exploring the Impact of Foreign Language Anxiety on ESL Learners’ Oral Performance: A Strategic Intervention-Based Study

Foreign language anxiety (FLA) continues to act as a key affective barrier in English as a Second Language (ESL) speaking contexts, hindering learners’ communicative competence, fluency, and participation. Although prior research has examined the causes and impacts of FLA, short-term, classroom-based interventions remain underexplored. This quasi-experimental study investigated the effectiveness of a one-week, theory-informed strategy plan in reducing FLA and enhancing oral performance among 40 ESL learners. Drawing on the Foreign Language Anxiety framework by Horwitz, Horwitz, and Cope (1986), the intervention targeted communication apprehension, test anxiety, and fear of negative evaluation through guided peer collaboration, positive self-talk, scaffolded discussions, and mock speaking tasks. Pre- and post-test assessments, evaluated using the Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (FLCAS) and structured group discussions, revealed statistically significant improvements across all performance measures (fluency, confidence, participation, content relevance, and language use). Effect sizes indicated medium to strong practical significance. Findings demonstrate that even short, targeted interventions can yield measurable gains in communicative confidence. This study contributes a replicable, classroom-friendly model and underscores the need for future research on extended interventions, diverse learner populations, and the integration of digital or AI-mediated affective supports.