On the relationship between teachers’ self-efficacy and their speaking anxiety

The principal aim of this study was to examine the possible relationship between Iranian EFL teachers’ self-efficacy beliefs and their level of anxiety in speaking English. It also investigated whether there is any significant difference between teachers in schools and those in language institutes in terms of their level of self-efficacy and anxiety in speaking English. The participants of the research consisted of 109 male and female Iranian teacher candidates teaching in different language institutes and public schools in provinces of Tehran, Gilan, and Ardabil. The Teacher Self-efficacy Scale and the Public Speaking Anxiety Scale were used in this research as the data collection instruments. The SPSS software was used for data analysis. The data were analyzed through Pearson correlation to examine the relationship between teachers’ self-efficacy beliefs and their attitudes toward their speaking anxiety. A one-way ANOVA was also run to compare teachers’ self-efficacy and speaking anxiety with their teaching affiliation. The findings revealed that as teachers’ self-efficacy increased, their speaking anxiety decreased. Furthermore, the results revealed that teachers in language institutes had higher self-efficacy and lower speaking anxiety than teachers in schools.