Abstract

This paper reports on the results of a case study on reticence and anxiety in a Chinese ESP (English for specific purposes) poetry class at the tertiary level. A class of 24 undergraduates and their course teacher participated in the study. Analyses of the data collected via survey, observation and semi-structured interview revealed that: (1) the students were willing to interact with others; however, many were unwilling to risk using English in the class and chose to be silent during classroom discussions; (2) the students normally felt relaxed during classroom discussions though the majority became anxious when presenting in English at the front; (3) the students generally became slightly more willing and active to involve themselves in group discussions and less anxious when using English in interpersonal interactions as the term progressed; and (4) a range of factors was identified to have contributed to student reticence and anxiety during the ESP poetry class.

Key words: Reticence, anxiety, ESP, tertiary.