CONTRIBUTING FACTORS TO SPEAKING ANXIETY IN AN ISLAMIC BOARDING SCHOOL (AN EXPLORATORY STUDY OF FEMALE DARUN NA’IM ISLAMIC BOARDING SCHOOL)

Abstract

Speaking anxiety remains an urgent yet underexplored barrier to English learning in Islamic boarding schools (pesantren), where institutional, linguistic, and religious dynamics may intensify students’ fear of speaking. This qualitative study investigated factors shaping speaking anxiety among 12 female students aged 16–18 at Darun Naim Islamic Boarding School, Pontianak, West Kalimantan. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews, classroom observations, and triangulation interviews with a teacher and administrator. The Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (FLCAS) was used solely to screen participants with high anxiety. Thematic analysis identified four interconnected factors: social surveillance and fear of negative evaluation; high expectations and teacher reverence (tadzhim); institutional reputation pressure; and personal aspirations. A key novelty is the motivation paradox: students’ aspirations for prestigious universities coexist with limited classroom participation due to exhaustion, judgment, and social pressure. The study contributes a context-sensitive framework for understanding language anxiety and informs supportive pesantren English-learning environments.