The Impact of Foreign Language Anxiety on Speaking Abilities of Moroccan EFL Universities Students

It is prima facie valid that joining English studies at the universities has become very popular among Moroccan students. The reason behind this fact is the vital status that English has for all kinds of personal and professional aspects. However, most students in EFL Moroccan university classes seem to be reluctant to speak and interact orally in English due to the feeling of foreign language anxiety. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to find out the impact of anxiety on speaking abilities of Moroccan university students. It pinpointed the sources of foreign language anxiety and hopefully,it would contribute to the field of English language teaching in Morocco by suggesting strategies that can be used by students and teachers to overcome a widely spread phenomenon such as speaking anxiety. To do this, mixed method was adopted through two instruments. TheForeign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale questionnaire for quantitative data, which was given to 80 participants of EFL university students, and teachers’ interviews for qualitative data that were conducted with 8 experienced EFL teachers. The resultsobtained showed that FLA has a negative impact on speaking abilities of Moroccan university students. Furthermore, teachers admitted that students who suffer from anxiety tend to have low speaking skills. Therefore, it was recommended that students should build a strong personality, confidence and enhance their language skills. Also, teachers should be supportive and creative to help students overcome foreign language anxiety.Keywords: foreign language anxiety, speaking abilities, strategies, sources