Abstract :
Anxiety is a feeling where a person feels anxious and afraid of what they want to do. This is one of the common problem in learning English especially in speaking. This research aims to identify the reason of the students anxiety in speaking English and to explain the students ways for dealing with anxiety when speaking English.
This study uses mixed method as a research method. The subject of this study are sixth-semester students of English Education Department at Universitas Ahmad Dahlan. The data was collected through the questionnaire to 100 students and interview to 6 students with the highest level of anxiety who were selected from the questionnaire. The questionnaire is based on Horwitz, Horwitz and Cope (1986) Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety (FLCA).
The findings showed that there were four factors that caused anxiety in speaking English; (1) feeling nervous, (2) lack of words, (3) fear of making mistakes, and (4) afraid of sudden question. Further, the strategies to reduce anxiety in speaking English; (1) preparation, (2) relaxation, and (3) positive thinking.