Foreign Language Anxiety in Oral Tests: The Case Study of Second Year Students of English at the University of Tizi Ouzou

The present paper intends to measure the anxiety levels of 124 second year students learning English at the University of Tizi Ouzou-Algeria, before, during and after taking an oral test. Besides, the participants were asked to state the potential causes of their distress in oral tests and suggest means for teachers to prevent such a feeling. The data collection instrument is the questionnaire. The findings demonstrate that the participants’ levels of anxiety are relatively moderate at all stages of the testing process. Yet, fear of making mistakes and being negatively evaluated proved to be the main cause of students’ apprehension. A possible way for teachers to reduce anxiety in oral tests is to create a friendly and relaxing environment.