Enhancing English learning experience for ESL learners: A nursing intervention

Table of Contents

ABSTRACT

LIST OF TABLES

LIST OF FIGURES

Chapter 1 THE PROBLEM AND ITS SETTING
Introduction
Theoretical Framework
Statement of the Problem
Scope and Limitation
Significance of the Study
Definition of Terms

Chapter 2 REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
Foreign Literature
Foreign Studies
Local Literature
Local Studies

Chapter 3 METHODOLOGY
Research Method
Population and Local of the Study
Data Gathering Procedure
Instrument
Validation of the Questionnaire
Statistical Treatment

Chapter 4 PRESENTATION, ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION OF DATA

Chapter 5 SUMMARY OF FINDINGS, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Conclusions

Recommendations

BIBLIOGRAPHY

BOOKS

ARTICLES

UNPUBLISHED THESIS AND DISSERTATIONS

APPENDICES

Questionnaire- Checklist

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The researcher humbly thanks the following people for their significant contributions and valuable roles in the realization of this endeavor:

Dr. Natividad F. Halog, Ph.D., Associate Dean and Professor of the Graduate School, Philippine College of Health and Sciences (PHCS), Inc., for her moral support as well as for her warm accommodation to every inquiry that the researcher have made;

Dr. Fe Espinosa, Ph.D., her adviser, whose continuous guidance and criticism helped the researcher to develop critical thinking as well as pushed her in polishing this work;

Mr. Leeo Kim, owner of Asia Pacific College (APC) English School, for his support and warm accommodation for this study to be realized.

The students of Asia Pacific College (APC) English School, for providing the researcher with objective responses during the data gathering.

Wolfgang Wilhelm Ulrich for his undying understanding while this study is being made.

Jan Vincent Pascual for being the source of motivation for the author.

Tatay, Nanay, Papa, Mama, Julie and Ton-Ton who have always been a constant source of strength and encouragement; without them this study could have never been completed.

Finally, to Our God Almighty, for His love, blessings, wisdom and strength that enabled the researcher to overcome all the trials and hardships she encountered during the realization of this study.

ABSTRACT

TITLE: STRESSORS OF KOREAN STUDENTS OF ASIA PACIFIC COLLEGE (APC) ENGLISH SCHOOL IN LEARNING ENGLISH LANGUAGE: BASIS FOR A PROPOSED NURSING INTERVENTION PROGRAM

RESEARCHER: Maria Clarisa Lucero-Ulrich BSN. R.N.

Statement of the Problem

This research study determines the stressors of Korean students of Asia Pacific College (APC) English School in learning English language.

Specifically, the study attempted to answer the following questions:

1. What is the profile of the respondents in terms of the following variables

1.1 Age,
1.2 Gender,
1.3 Civil status,
1.4 Educational Background?

2. To what extent do the stressors of the Korean student respondents affects their study of the English language in terms of the following factors:

2.1. Teacher Related factors,
2.2. Peer related factors,
2.3 Academic related factors,
2.4. Environmental related factors?

3. Is there a significant relationship between the profile of the respondents and their stressors that affect their learning such as teacher, peer/classmates, academic and environmental factors?

4. Based on the result or findings of the study, what nursing intervention can be proposed to make Koreans cope with stressors in learning the English language?

The Hypothesis

There is a significant relationship between the profile of the Korean student respondents and the stressors in learning the English language.

Scope and Limitation

This study is focused on the stressors of Korean students in Asia Pacific College (APC) English School learning the English language for 8 weeks. The study was conducted at the Asia Pacific (APC) English School SY 2011. Also in this study, the researcher included the profile of the respondents in terms of their age, gender, civil status and educational background of the Korean students. The instructional program of the school is one focused on stress which served as basis to formulate the nursing intervention program for Korean students. However, there were other stressors not included in the study such as the instructional program of the school because of the restrictions coming from the management.

Discussion of the topics was delimitated to the profile of the students in terms of their age, gender, civil status and educational background. It involved 48 Korean English learners.

Summary of Findings:

This study made use of a descriptive method or research. The researcher utilized an instrument to determine the stressors of Korean students in learning the English language. Different formulas were used to obtain necessary results of the study.

I. Profile of the Respondents

Based on the findings majority of the respondents (Korean students) belonged to ages 21-25, mostly male and single. Majority of the Korean students have tertiary educational background. Only 7 out of 48 had post graduate background.

Problem 2: To what extent do stressors affect the respondents’ study of the English language in terms of the following factors:

2.1. Teacher Related
2.2 Peer/Classmate Related
2.3. Academic Related
2.4. Environmental Related?

Teacher Related

According to the findings obtained by the researcher, The Korean students experienced a high extent of stress in items 1 and 2 “ the teacher understands the students” and “ the teacher is willing to help the students before school, during breaks and /or after school”, whereas, the rest of the items were not factors that give them stress. According to them, some of the teachers are approachable, show appropriate manners and clearly explain the lessons.

Peer/ Classmate Related

The stressors experienced by the Korean students in a high extent are the “Students are able to deal with teachers”, Students are able to deal with different types of co-students”, students respect other students” while they experienced mild stress in item 1 which is “Students are able to relate with classmates of different socio –economic status”.

Academic Factor

The Koreans students of Asia Pacific College (APC) English School intensely experienced stress during examinations, their grades, and other requirements. Lessons and class rule placed second to their stressors, whereas class activity is the least stressor among them.

Environmental Factors

Environmental related factors such as facilities (class room, dorm room, building, library, etc.), ambiance (noise etc.), and class size are major stressors for Korean students in learning the English language, followed by class conduciveness which is to a high extent.

As noticed, environmental factors are the major source of stress compared to other related factors.

Problem 3: Is there a significant relationship between the profile of the respondents and stressors that affect their learning such as teacher, peer/classmates, academic and environmental factors?

Correlation of the Profile of the Respondents with Teachers, Peers, Environmental and Academic Weighted Mean

Statistical treatment using Pearson ‘r” showed that at 0.01 level of significance, there is a significant relationship between educational background (EB) and teacher related factor weighted mean (TWM) with r = 0.504, and between educational background (EB) and academic related factor weighted mean (AWM) with “r” = 0.730. This may mean that students who reached a high educational level have a better relation with the teachers. Students who have a higher education have more experience in dealing with teachers compared to those who just reached middle school or secondary level. They are also the students who are better in accomplishing the requirements asked of them from the school. They have the understanding that they need to comply with the requirements of the school for them to pass.

Significant relationship was also revealed between age and peer/ classmate related factor weighted mean (PWM) with “r” = -0.374, age and environmental related factor weighted mean (EWM) (“r” = 0.392), and between age and academic related factor weighted mean (AWM) (“r” = 0.648). This can mean that as people age, they are able to adjust with the people that they interact with. As people age and gather more experience in communicating with different kinds of people they, acquire the knowledge of treating people from all walks of life. With the relationship of age and the environment, humans are able to adjust to their surrounding as they mature. Personal experience helps them to try to fit with the situation they are in. For example, older students complain less about the facility than those who are younger. And lastly, age significant relationship with academic related factor tells that as individuals become older; they realize that it is important to comply with requirements asked by the institution for them to pass the program.

Significant relationship is also revealed between civil status (CS) and academic related factor weighted mean (AWM) with “r” = 0.319. This may mean that the respondents feel that it is important for them to pass the program and learn the language while they are still single because it will make their future better.

At 0.05 level of significance, significant relationship was revealed between civil status (CS) and academic related factor weighted mean (AWM) (“r” = 0.319) and educational background (EB) and environmental related factor weighted mean (EWM) (“r” = 0.306). This means that when people study further, they gather more experience and because they are introduced to different surroundings they are able to adjust to it.

Problem 4: Based on the result or findings of the study, what nursing intervention program may be proposed to make Korean cope with the stress in learning the English language?

Conclusions

In the light of the findings of the research study, the researcher herby concludes that the following are:

1. Majority of the respondents belonged to ages 21-25, single, majority are male and had reached a higher level of education (Tertiary).

According to the findings obtained by the researcher, The Korean students experienced a high extent of stress in items 1 and 2 “ the teacher understands the students” and “ the teacher is willing to help the students before school, during breaks and /or after school”, whereas, the rest of the items were not the factors that give them stress. According to them, some of the teachers are approachable, show appropriate manners and clearly explain the lessons.

Peer/ Classmate Related

The stressors experienced by the Korean students in a high extent are the “Students are able to deal with teachers”, Students are able to deal with different types of co-students”, Students respect other students” while they experienced mild stress in item 1 which is “Students are able to relate with classmates of different socio –economic status”.

Academic Factor

The Korean student respondents intensely experienced stress during examinations, their grades, and other requirements. Lessons and class rule placed second to their stressors, whereas class activity is the least stressor among them.

Environmental Factors

Environmental related factors such as facilities (class room, dorm room, building, library, etc.), ambiance (noise etc.), and class size are major stressors for Korean students in learning English language, followed by class conduciveness which is to high extent.

As noticed, environmental factors are the major sources of stress compared to other related factors.

Recommendations

After determining the related stressors of Korean students at Asia Pacific College (APC) English School the following are the researchers’ recommendations:

1. Asia Pacific College English School should formulate clear institutional rules and regulations to all incoming foreign students.
2. The faculty members particularly Filipino nurses must have a training regarding culture and language of Koreans.
3. The administrators, teachers, other personnel, students must conduct an orientation before the start of classes.
4. Monitoring and evaluation must be conducted weekly to determine the problems experienced by the Korean students, teachers and administrators.
5. The administrators should have a complete/ advance technology to facilitate learning the English language by the Koreans.
6. The administrators must improve their facilities such as size of the classroom, completeness of the library materials, and conduciveness of the environment for the Koreans.
7. Counseling area for students particularly to those suffering from intense stress should be provided.
8. Further, similar research studies must be conducted to explore other areas of concern of foreign students.

LIST OF TABLES

Table 1 – “Frequency and Percentage Distribution of

Respondents According to Age”

Table 2 – “Frequency and Percentage Distribution of

Respondents According to Gender”

Table 3 – “Frequency and Percentage Distribution of

Respondents According to Civil Status”

Table 4 – “Frequency and Percentage Distribution of

Respondents According to Educational Background”

Table 5 – “Mean Distribution of the Students

According to Teacher Related”

Table 6 – “Mean Distribution of the Students

According to Peer/Classmate Related”

Table 7 – “Mean Distribution of the Students

According to Academic Related”

Table 8 – “Mean Distribution of the Students

According to Environmental Related”

Table 9 – Correlation of the Profile of the Respondents

with Teachers, Peers, Academic and Environmental

Weighted Mean

Nursing Intervention Table

LIST OF FIGURES

Research Paradigm

Chapter THE PROBLEM AND ITS SETTING

Introduction

“Stress and anxiety can affect learning which necessitates a change in the learners, self structure and occurs more easily in a situation in which external or internal threats are at a minimum.” “It depends on how the student achieves their adaptive mechanism.” “Any adjustment of the body to the different circumstances and conditions is adaptation whenever the person is exposed to stress such as learning process.” The ability to cope with stress and to relieve anxiety varies from one person to another. The appropriateness and strength of a person’s coping or defense mechanism determines the success or failure in overcoming stress that may cope with learning the English language. Considering that the students experience many storms and stresses and are in a period of heightened emotionally that they are capable of behavior adjustment. Students, therefore, need to know the behavioral strategies they employ to handle stressful experience. It is important to know how students overcome fears and frustrations and how their personality and environment interact. As a key healthcare provider, nurses play a significant role in minimizing stressors experience by many, particularly students learning different levels of profession. According to general rule, nurses could serve as teachers, counselors advocate, entrepreneurs, clinical practitioners and others. Learning is the outmost reason why majority of Asians flock the shores of the Philippines. To these reasons, learning English for survival gets the biggest percentage that creates another job opportunity for the English speaking Filipinos. Korean-owned language schools occur around the metro like wild mushrooms decorated by Filipino native like English speakers. Korean students coming to a foreign land to learn a foreign language adds up to their anxiety. For the said Koreans they spend long hours of memorizing English grammar, attending classes of numerous teachers venturing on different macro skill of language learning, creating tasks based on special classes such as TOEIC, TOEIC Speaking, IELTS, TOEFL, CNN among others, and compromising the accent and all to save up the expenses, thinking that they could learn it along the way. With these lessons, stress is a very common experience to a Korean student.

A nurse has roles that can be played in an environment such as in a Korean school. One of the most important roles is being a counselor who can guide and help a student cope with stress and anxiety that is incorporated with learning.

Stress is the "wear and tear" our bodies experience as we adjust to our continually changing environment; it has physical and emotional effects on us and can create positive or negative feelings. As a positive influence by nurse-teachers, stress can help compel us to action; it can result in a new awareness and an exciting new perspective. As a negative influence, it can result in feelings of distrust, rejection, anger, and depression, which in turn can lead to health problems such as headaches, upset stomach, rashes, insomnia, ulcers, high blood pressure, heart disease and stroke. The role of nurses in this situation is to more or less minimize the condition experienced by the individual.

With the death of a loved one, the birth of a child, a job promotion, studies, exams or a new relationship, individual experiences stress us, as we readjust our lives. In so adjusting to different circumstances, stress will help or hinder individual depending on how we react to it.

As observed by the researcher, a common reaction to stress is anxiety as experienced during the conduction of lecture, a state of mental uneasiness, apprehension, a feeling of helplessness related to an impending or anticipated unidentified threat to self or significant relationships.” “The anxiety and physiological arousal created by stressful situation are highly uncomfortable; the individual is motivated to do things to alleviate the discomfort.” The process by which a person attempt to manage stressful situations is called coping, and it takes two major forms. The one focus is the emotional; response to the problem; the individual evaluates the stressful situation and does something to change or avoid it. The other focus on the emotional response to the problem; the individual tries to reduce the anxiety without dealing directly with anxiety producing situation. The former is required to a problem focused coping and latter as emotion- focused coping.

Anxiety reactions are common to situations perceived as threatening; however, excessive anxiety may paralyze an individual and interfere with effective functioning. Anxiety and stress are very common reasons college students seek counseling. Stress is a normal, but often-uncomfortable part of being a student. Concerns about grades, projects, relationships, sex, family and friends can accumulate and become overwhelming. A certain amount of stress is actually a good thing. Stress keeps us focused and aware of all the things that need to be done. It can motivate you to study harder when you just aren't in the mood and to be thorough with your work.

But when your stress level becomes more problematic than motivating, you may need to apply stress management techniques to your daily routine. The counselors at Health Services can teach you ways to better manage your stress. As an educator particularly in classroom handling foreign students learning English language the physical, behavioral, and mental techniques that can increase the individual ability to handle stress and anxiety.

“Stress and anxiety can be involved in any type of work or activity such as playing, interaction with different kinds of people and especially studying. An event is considered stressful depending on the person’s resources, psychological defenses and coping mechanism.” (Korean students)

Normally, an individual is in an equilibrium or homeostatic state. Every day, a person had new experiences in different aspects such as physical, social, environmental, emotional and psychological or a combination of these. Individuals are constantly subjected to variety of agents capable of inducing stress and anxiety. These agents are commonly referred to as stressors. Stressor is any stimulus that evokes stress, and stress reaction is the observable consequences of the stressor.

It is thus important that students are equipped with behavior strategies. These enable them to grow through conflicts and crises, and develop increase strength and coping skills. They will be able to build into their personality a defensive structure to anxiety. Educators and psychologists believe the personality characteristics of teachers are important variable to investigate in relation to dealing with pupils in their respective stations. This is so teachers are considered not mainly as a source and transmitter of information but also act as models of personality which their pupils consciously or unconsciously admire and imitate.

These observations motivated the researcher to study the student’s repertory of adjustment mechanism. There are some behavioral strategies that are wholesome and some students who have been unsuccessful in their development of certain coping patterns. However, there are students with an inappropriate coping mechanism, and who have not employed a variety of mechanism to varied situation. It is hoped that this study will give insights into behavioral strategies that students may experience to varied conflicting situations.

Nursing practice is holistic, meaning that we treat the client as a whole both physical and psychological need. We all have body, mind and spirit dimensions that make up our whole selves.

Theoretical Framework

This study is anchored in the Psychoanalytical theory of Sigmund Freud. He proposed that unconscious psychological forces powerfully affect human thought and behavior. These forces originate in the emotions of childhood and continue their influence throughout life. The Korean culture is a diverse condition from other nationalities and because of this, according to Freud, the ego uses various strategies to resolve intra-psychic conflict. “Defense mechanism are psychological strategies by which person reduce or avoid negative state such as conflicts, frustrations, anxiety and stress.” These defense mechanisms are adopted if direct expression of the id impulse is unacceptable to the superego, dangerous in the real world. All defense mechanism begin with repression of unacceptable impulses, that is, forcing them to be conscious.

The theory of self identity development is similarly developed and provided by the researcher to describe development of defense mechanism during the interaction of Korean student respondents learning English language in the institution for 8 weeks. The interactions with students, both in and out of class and the curriculum that involves students actively in their learning reflect these seven factors as we work with students to:

1. develop intellectual, physical, and manual competence
2) manage emotions
3) move toward interdependence
4) develop mature relationships
5) establish identity
6) develop purpose in future directions
7) develop a value system

The theory of transformation, find that students bring to belief systems about their abilities, and these beliefs affect the way they view themselves.

The theory of learning styles and preferences identified field-dependent and field-independent learners, with those who are field-dependent as having more difficulty distinguishing significant from non-significant details. If teachers provide some direction, this structure aids field-dependent learners, especially within the social interaction of the classroom, while not interfering with field-independent learners. Students need a variety of instructional approaches to meet different learning preferences. Learning preferences can be modified if students incorporate learning strategies into their structures for learning. They provide a variety of lesson formats to address differences in learning styles and preferences.

The theory of meta-cognition helps explain how one knows himself and the task at hand so as to use his repertoire of learning strategies to approach new learning.

Interpersonal relations and the socialization process are important to how individuals feel about themselves. There are individuals that strive for security and relief from anxiety to protect their self-systems. And according to some psychologists, anxiety is the first great educative experience in living. And also this is one of the great tasks of psychology to discover the basic vulnerabilities to anxiety in interpersonal relations, rather than to try to deal with the symptoms of anxiety.

It is critical that nurses recognize the choices or potentials that exist in the emerging relationship between the client and the nurse. In Interpersonal Relations in Nursing, Peplau addressed the term unexplained discomfort, which includes the needs, frustrations, and conflicts that arise within the relationship. She considers them to be experiences that influence behavior by providing energy to the relationship.

Hans Selye was one of the founding fathers of stress research. His view was that “stress is not necessarily something bad – it all depends on how you take it. The stress of exhilarating, creative successful work is beneficial, while that of failure, humiliation or infection is detrimental.” Selye believed that the biochemical effects of stress would be experienced irrespective of whether the situation was positive or negative.

Since then, a great deal of further research has been conducted, and ideas have moved on. Stress is now viewed as a "bad thing", with a range of harmful biochemical and long-term effects. These effects have rarely been observed in positive situations.

The most commonly accepted definition of stress and anxiety (mainly attributed to Richard Lazarus) is that stress is a condition or feeling experienced when a person perceives that “demands exceed the personal and social resources the individual is able to mobilize .

This theory will serve as a guide of whom mechanisms are commonly used by the students in coping with stressful experience. With these mechanisms one can prevent stress and anxiety to happen that affects the personality of an individual. They use other behavioral strategies to improve their personality. It will also guide the individual to prevent or lessen stressful experience.

The Nursing Intervention is provided by the researcher to cope with the different factors that may or may not be experienced by the Korean student respondents in terms of relationship relative to different socio economic, co-students and values status of peer/classmate factors. Second factor deals with academic requirements such as examinations, projects, grades, lessons, activities and rules and regulations in the classroom. Third factor deals with environmental variations such as class conduciveness, class size, facilities and ambiance. The fourth factor is focused on teacher related which includes attitude towards the Korean English learner students of Asia Pacific College (APC) English School. Within this factor knowledge of the teacher plays an important part in dealing with methodologies and strategies towards teaching. The profile was tested against the above mentioned factors to determine whether there is significant relationship.

illustration not visible in this excerpt

Figure 1: RESEARCH PARADIGM OF THE STUDY

Stressors of Korean Students at Asia Pacific College English School in Learning English: Basis for Nursing Intervention Program

Statement of the Problem

This study sought to determine the stressors of Korean students of Asia Pacific College (APC) English School in learning English language.

Specifically, the study attempts to answer the following questions:

1. What is the profile of the respondents in terms of the following variables:
1.1 Age,
1.2 Gender,
1.3 Civil status,
1.4 Educational Background?
2. To what extent do stressors affect the respondents’ study of the English language in terms of the following factors:
2.1. Teacher related,
2.2. Peer related,
2.3 Academic related, and
2.4. Environmental related?
3. Is there a significant relationship between the profile of the respondents and stressors that affects their learning such as teacher, peer/classmates, academic and environmental factors?
4. Based on the result or findings of the study, what nursing intervention can be proposed to make Koreans cope with stressors in learning the English language.

The Hypothesis

There is a significant relationship between the profile of the Korean student respondents and the stressors in learning the English language.

Scope and Limitation

This study is focused on the stressors of Korean students in Asia Pacific College (APC) English School in learning the English language for 8 weeks. The study was conducted at Asia Pacific College (APC) English School SY, June 2011. Also in this study, the researcher included the profile of the respondents in terms of their age, gender, civil status and educational background of the Korean students. The instructional program of the school which the researcher believes is one focused on stress which served as basis to formulate the nursing intervention program for the Korean students. However, there were other stressors not included in the study such as the instructional program of the school because of the restrictions coming from the management.

Discussion of the topics was delimitated to the profile of the students in terms of their age, sex, civil status and educational background. It involved 48 Korean English learners.

Significance of the Study

The findings of this study will be of great significance to the following:

Student. They may provide themselves with coping strategies to be able to cope with the anxiety level in connection with their learning.

Instructors. This will be a great help in teaching Korean students in learning English language thus promote better relationship with them which can create a stress free classroom.

Administrator. This study will serve as an eye opener in accepting Korean students and provide them ahead of time the rules and regulations of the school so as to prepare them to cope with stress factors such as teacher, peer/classmate, environmental and academic.

Researchers. This will serve as a document that can be a basis for improving teaching methodologies, understanding the communication gap between Korean students and other foreign nationalities. It can be a guide to the researcher, whenever she goes to a non-English speaking country.

Koreans. This will be a guide for Koreans in making their experience of learning the English language easier for them. This will also serve as their basis for other Korean students who wish to study English language in the Philippines.

Definition of Terms

For clearer understanding, the following terms are defined as used in the study.

Stressors This refers to the factors that are internal or external to the body that affect the learning of English language by the Korean students such as teacher related, peer related, environmental related and academic related at Asia Pacific College (APC) English School.

Students This refers to 48 Korean students enrolled in 8 weeks English program at Asia Pacific College (APC) English School and were chosen as respondents.

Academic-Related This refers to the completion of requirements as to grades, examinations, homework and other related classroom projects by the Korean students at Asia Pacific College (APC) English School.

Teacher-Related This refers to the knowledge, skills, and attitude of teachers teaching English to Korean students at Asia Pacific College (APC) English School.

Environmental-Related This is focused on the surroundings of Asia Pacific College (APC) English School in terms of class conduciveness, facilities and class population during the 8 weeks of stay of Korean students in the institution.

Nursing Intervention – This refers to the assessment of the stressors of the Korean students learning English language and the formulated strategies and methodologies identified by the researcher in coping with the stressors.

Chapter 2 REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

This chapter presents the local and foreign related literature and studies both focused on the stressors that may be experienced by foreign and local students in learning English language which were reviewed by the researcher to substantiate the information and give better views to the cited problems of the study. This chapter contains adequate literatures and studies.

Foreign Literature

One thing is certain, people have many different ideas about the process of learning English and stress and anxiety is a part of it. Since stress is the way one reacts physically and emotionally to change or in emotional crisis. According to Kranes (2005) stress can either be positive or negative and that it may be the sense of concentration one feels when faced with a new and challenging situation. Or it may be the vague sense of anxiety one feels after “one of those days”. But in any situation individual can learn to manage stress and anxiety so they can be in control as Kalman(2005) had added.

Ross (2005).Stress and anxiety in its positive aspect can help one concentrate, focus, perform and can often help a person to reach peak efficiency. Many people do their best work when under pressure. Then when the challenge has been met people take time to relax and enjoy their achievement

Conditioning occurs when one is continuously taught a behavior until it becomes automatic. Conditioning for some people is a way for them to handle a great deal of stress while others find a minimum of stress intolerable. Other reasons which affect a person’s beliefs about their ability to handle the stressful event are previous success and failure in coping and the amount of cumulative or concurrent stress that must be handled.

A common problem encountered by students is unrealistic expectations. People often become upset about something, not because it is innately stressful, but because it does not occur with what they expected. When expectations are realistic, life feels more predictable and therefore more manageable. There is an increased feeling of control because they can plan and prepare themselves (physically and psychologically).

Learning another language far from what an individual used to study is a great deal of stress and interferes with the process of learning. Recognizing that individuals create most of their own upsets is an important first step to dealing with them.

Rhem (2010) To maximize language learning outcomes, ESL teachers need to prepare adult students for the language demands of the problem-solving activity. Activities to prepare students vary according to their proficiency levels. These may include pre-reading or prewriting exercises, discussions to link the problem with the students’ knowledge and experiences, or pre-teaching vocabulary and structures that will be useful in finding solutions to the problem.

Micaller (2007) wrote in an article, that there have been complaints from teachers that students nowadays do not study their lessons, a charge which cannot be conclusively proved. The truth of the matter is that most of the students today do not know how to study. This is proven by the fact that in many instances they waste their time and effort copying everything word-for-word the whole chapter of a book to accomplish an assigned lesson. The task therefore of the teacher is to develop on the part of the students the skills and abilities that will enable them to get the most of what they read.

Maddox (2010) indicated that many highly intelligent students fail because they do inefficient work and have never learned how to study effectively. He further remarked that important skills for study have to be learned and practiced. Moreover, students who put in more classroom hours and work to a more regular program of study have better academic achievement. As such, effective study techniques such as note-taking, making plans and schedule, reviewing, using the library, developing reading skills, etc. have to be learned.

Stillman (2009) said that in order to teach students how to think and study, it is necessary for the teacher to provide students with the tools of thinking in the form of habits and skills.

Rommers (2007) believed that the children’s success in their studies is greatly dependent upon their attitude towards them. Their attitude also effects what they perceive, what they remember, and in fact, what they think. Unless students have favorable attitudes towards a set of instructional objectives and put it up as a desirable goal for them, the educative process will not be maximally effective. The unfavorable attitude of the children towards their studies is a great barrier to their progress.

Robinson (2005) believed that the way to achieve effective study is not by repeated studying or more determined concentration, but by changing the study methods.

The brighter the student is, the more he gains from utilizing techniques for effective study habits. The importance of teaching the students how to study, rather than teaching them the subjects, must not be overlooked. Knowing the subject matter will come easily if the students have the proper study techniques and the positive attitude toward their study.

Foreign Studies

A vast number of studies exist in the relevant literature identifying the main problems facing teachers and students. The bulk of evidence points to specific factors that are responsible for high levels of psychological pressure for teachers and students, such as: high ratio between teacher-pupils, limited progress of pupils, heavy workload, role overload and role conflict, relationships with colleagues/poor working environment, insufficient salary, status, time/resource difficulties Problems in learning a foreign language may be related to an identifiable condition or situation and interfere with effective functioning. Anxiety may be thought of as an emotional process marked by subjectively unpleasant experiences (American Psychiatric Association, 2008). Reports of numbing, detachment, loss of control, and difficulty concentrating are common in students suffering from anxiety disorders. These symptoms may be activated when a student is exposed to a stimulus situation considered to be stress provoking. Stress and anxiety, and the multiplicity of ways they manifest, may be difficult to identify (unhcc.unh.edu/resources/transtocollege.html). Physical, emotional, cognitive, and behavioral indicators might be evident only to the trained eye and often go undetected. Stresses may aggravate anxiety, where the learner who performs well under non-stressful conditions may suddenly experience anticipatory anxiety.

Aydinili (2007) The roles and responsibilities of both teachers and learners are different from those in more traditional types of school-based learning. Generally, in problem-based classrooms, the teacher acts as a coach for or facilitator of activities that students carry out themselves. The teacher does not simply present information or directly control the progression of work. Instead, the teacher provides students with appropriate problems to work on, assists them in identifying and accessing the materials and equipment necessary to solve the problems, gives necessary feedback and support during the problem solving process, and evaluates students’ participation and products, with the goal of helping them develop their problem-solving as well as their language and literacy skills.

According to Krashen (2006) there are two independent systems of second language performance: 'the acquired system' and 'the learned system'. The 'acquired system' or 'acquisition' is the product of a subconscious process very similar to the process children undergo when they acquire their first language. It requires meaningful interaction in the target language - natural communication - in which speakers are concentrated not in the form of their utterances, but in the communicative act.

Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) affects approximately 3-4% of the population in the United States and is characterized by exaggerated concern and tension that is often unfounded (adaa.org/AnxietyDisorderInfor/gad.cfm). The essential manifestations of GAD include symptoms that may present for up to 6 months, affecting specific areas of functioning. Someone suffering from GAD is unable to relax and may experience fatigue, trembling, muscle tension, and headaches. If the resultant behavior is sufficiently intense, a disturbance of the cognitive systems may become activated and the individual may remain in a hyperactive state. Cognitive processes under a perceived stressful situation are then impaired, and the student performs below average academically. There seems to be an issue in assessing both cognitive and non-cognitive variables when determining levels of anxiety and test performance. High levels of anxiety may contribute adversely to performance of skills required of nursing students and affect the learning process.

Videbeck (2009) Teacher- Related anxiety causes uncomfortable cognitive, psychomotor, and physiologic responses such as difficulty with logical thought, increasing agitated motor activity, and elevated vital signs. To reduce these uncomfortable feelings, the person tries to reduce the level of discomfort by implementing new adaptive behavior or defense mechanisms.

“Mild anxiety can actually be an asset to clients by making them more alert and ready to learn.” “It does not require any specific intervention by the nurse.” “Anxiety can also result from experiencing the unknown.” Individuals may have a vague sense of dread when they do not know what to expect. Anxiety is caused not so much by any one specific event as by how an event is perceived by the individual, what else is happening in the client’s life, and what skills and resources the individual has to cope with it. (Eby, Brown 2005)

Weiten, (2009) Anxiety is a constant companion of education. Every student feels some anxiety at some time while in school, but for certain student’s anxiety seriously inhibits learning or performance, particularly on tests. The main source of anxiety in school is the fear of failure, and with it, loss of self-esteem, teacher related factors, peer or classmate related factors, academic related factors and the physical environment. Low achievers are likely to feel anxious in school, but they are by n o means the only ones; we all know very able, high- achieving students who are also very anxious, terrified to be less than perfect on any school task.

Tobias(2011). Anxiety can block school performance in several ways. Anxious students may have difficulty learning in the first place; they may have difficulty using knowledge on tests.

Slavin (2008) There are many strategies teachers can apply to reduce the negative impact of society on learning and performance. It is clear that creating a classroom climate that is accepting comfortable and noncompetitive helps. Giving students opportunities to correct errors or improve their work before handling it in also helps anxious children, does providing clear, unambiguous instructions. In testing situations, teachers can do many things to help anxious students to do their best. One is to avoid time pressure, to give students time to complete a test and check their work.

Anxiety can have a various effects on learning. Highly anxious students often engage in failure avoiding strategies because they cannot emotionally handle failure. Such efforts and attention that night lead to learning. Anxious students my not attend to many academic tasks because they are preoccupied with worry and feelings of inadequacy. They may have unusual difficulty in learning material that is not well organized, and when given a chance, may choose easier tasks (in which success is more certain) to avoid negative evaluations.

Gearheart (2009) Environmental elements have different effects on students. Noise is important in terms of a student’s ability to tolerate sounds while learning. Some students are able to block out extraneous noises, whereas others need a quiet environment. Lighting may also affect students in different ways- some students prefer a brightly lit area, whereas others prefer subdued light. Some students prefer an easy chair when tackling a difficult learning task, whereas others prefer a straight back chair and desk. Although teachers may not be able to modify all aspects of the environment significantly, they should consider its effects. If a student’s difficulty seems to be related to an environmental problem, attempts should be made to adapt or modify conditions as necessary.

Charles (2009) Ambiance refers to the totality of intangible impressions that pervade the physical classroom- an atmosphere that at its best conveys excitement, aesthetics, comfort, security and pleasure. It is created in large part by the contents of the room, which many teachers further enhance with art and music. Ambiance deserves this attention because it helps teachers provide students comfort, enjoyment, stimulation and satisfaction.

Gorman, Raines, and Sultan (2009) And because everyone has experienced anxiety, there are a variety of methods used to cope with it. Some common coping mechanisms are talking about problems with others; physical work or activity; systematic problem solving; avoidance of the stressful situation; crying or laughing; expressing intense emotions verbally; using humor; praying; sleeping excessively; distracting oneself from one stressful situation with other activities(reading, music, hobbies).

Gestwicke (2009) People use coping behaviors to adapt or manage stress and anxiety or change. To control anxiety, people develop patterns of coping behavior. Coping behaviors can be adaptive or maladaptive. Some people seem to be more resilient or resistant to anxiety. Others cannot cope or they become physically ill under similar circumstances. Characteristics of “stress resistant” people are healthy lifestyle, balanced diet, regular exercise, use of others for support.

The goal of an English program is to graduate competent English speakers. As a result, there are numerous stressors and anxiety associated with English learning as the student develops critical thinking and language skills. Several potentially stressful times are during the process of acquiring and demonstrating skill competence and during written examinations with the application of critical thinking skills. The question then becomes how best to address Korean students' test anxiety in terms of enhancing their ability to perform well on written examinations and on the interview or oral exams. Minimizing student anxiety should enable the student to meet these objectives and to perform appropriately when they are back to their home country to apply for jobs of their dreams.

Local Literature

Dizon (2008) Emotions give life its meaning and feelings. They enrich life. Without emotions, things would be quite a routine and dull. Emotions are positive or negative feelings generally in reaction to stimuli that are accompanied by physical, psychological arousal and related behaviors. Some emotions are very common.

Lara (2008)As defined by Hans Selye, “stress is a nonspecific response of the body to any demand made upon it”. It is not nervous tension, but the wear and tear of life. Stress described the effects of the body’s reaction to pressure.

Unfortunately, there are times when we cannot fully manage our stress levels. When stress becomes a "constant" in a person's life, it can develop into overwhelming anxiety. Too much anxiety can be crippling rather than motivating. It prevents you from completing projects because every little detail might not be "perfect" so you are afraid to hand your project in. You worry about things you know you have no control over, but you just can't stop worrying. You can't concentrate because you are distracted by other concerns. You may even have physical symptoms that scare you, like a rapidly beating heart, or you may fear you are having a heart attack or are even going to die. That is too much anxiety. If these concerns are intense enough or last for a period of time, you may have an anxiety disorder.

Vargas (2007) Dr. Margie Holmes remarked that, “If we didn’t have any stress and anxiety in our lives, we will actually be stressed out. Stress and anxiety is any change that needs to be adopted or adapted to. I t can impair the functioning of the immune system. It is not only biological factors that cause stress, but also the psychological factors. Stress and anxiety reaction may manifest themselves differently for different age groups.

Philippine Journal of Education (2010). Approaches to language teaching vary greatly from school to school, not just from country to country. Even if the national directive is to teach languages communicatively, with emphasis on all four skills, in practice this will not necessarily have been taken up at grass roots level. Even within one school one teacher may favor more speaking and listening work, with videos and lots of communication activities, while in the same building a more traditional colleague may prefer to work with more translation and grammar work. Most teachers help themselves to a variety of techniques which they feel comfortable with.

Lara (2009) Students also try to cope with the changing environment. Coping is a process by which an individual deals with stressors on his own unique manner. People used both forms of coping in virtually every type of stress encounter or any stressful situations. Through coping, individual decided on actions that are relevant to their welfare.

Tumaob (2011) expressed that teachers should encourage their students to read worthwhile materials those which make the reader think, choose, compare, analyze and question. In stimulating reading interest among students, Tumaob suggested making the school library attractive and inviting to students so that they may be encouraged to go inside it and read undisturbed. The magazines, newspapers and books should be arranged so that the students find it pleasant to investigate, select and read. The tables and chairs should be comfortable and the room properly lighted and attractively painted. The bookcases and shelves should be within easy reach so that they may want to read, with little or no assistance from the librarian. In essence, Tumaob’s article implied development of study habits and making provisions for enhancing the process. When certain stressors make demands on a person, anxiety will occur and the person anticipates that he/she will not be able to cope with them adequately or he/she believes that he/she will not be able to cope without endangering other goals.

Local Studies

Dizon (2011) Anxiety is a general feeling of insecurity, of fear, usually associated with a certain kind of situation either real or imaginary. It can also be a simple feeling of apprehension that we feel before taking the exam. Anxiety is an inescapable part of everyday life. Learning to cope with anxiety is a necessary part of growing up. The more we are in panic-anxiety, the less mature and the more neurotic our behavior becomes. Often, it helps to discuss our emotion with someone else. It may provide ways to reduce our anxiety.

Alejandro (2009) underscored the desirability of developing effective study habits. He claimed that the education of many individual is no longer confined to formal class meeting within the four walls of the classroom. There are many avenues to learning from which one can draw enrichment of the knowledge, understanding and sensitiveness, and one of these is for the students to develop good study habits.

Stress and anxiety reaction may manifest themselves differently for different age groups. Stress reactions are considered normal unless they are in exaggerated forms or they persist beyond four to six weeks or appear six months after the traumatic experience. The stress and anxiety reactions to watch for among preadolescents and adolescents include: withdrawal and isolation, physical complaints, such as headaches and stomach pains, school problems such as avoidance disruptive behavior, and academic failures; sleep disturbances; confusion and suicidal ideation.

Aranza (2008) quoted about giving the child the place and time for study. He stated that the learner in school always has activities that have to be done at home. The child is instructed on how to go about doing them but if parents have not provided him an appropriate place for study and the conditions for learning, the extension of learning activities from the school to the home would fail.

Celedrino-Bucu( 2009) for adults (21 years old and above), there are three levels by which adults react to anxiety namely; physical, behavioral and psychological. Physical reactions include rapid pulse, increased perspiration, pounding heart, tightened stomach, tense arms and legs, shortness of breath, gritted teeth, clenched jaws, inability to sit still, racing thoughts and compelling emotions. Behavioral reactions include; smoking, increased used of medications, nervous tics or mannerisms, absent-mindedness, accident proneness, hair pulling, nail biting, foot tapping, increased or decreased eating. Psychological response include inability to concentrate, difficulty in making decisions, loss of self confidence, irritability, frequent anger, irrational fear or panic.

Stress and anxiety also increases one’s heart rate and can cause arteries to constrict, causing obstruction in the blood flow. It has also been known to signal the body to release fat into the bloodstream temporarily raising the blood cholesterol levels. In women, chronic stress is known to reduce estrogen levels. Many people turning to alcohol or drugs in dealing with this disease of change stress. Stress, on the other hand, is not a negative force. Stress, is not after all, what happens to you or to us but “how we react to”. And how we react is controlled by our minds and our emotions.

Kapman (2009) However, larger schools, oversized classes, inadequately trained teachers, inadequate knowledge and understanding of the student and adolescent psychology, increase of subjects and electives, newer techniques of teaching, curricula based on books written by American authors, indifferences of teachers, to community needs, unhappy home and school experiences- all these cause anxiety to students.

Today, we have courteous guidance-conscious teachers, and the classroom activity is more “teacher-guided” rather than “teacher-dominated”. Some teachers tend to show favoritism toward students who are more cooperative and studious than the others. Consciously or unconsciously, teachers should make every student feel that he is as important as the others. Anxiety may develop if a student feels that he or she is ignored in class.

Kapman (2009) The relationship between the student and the teacher should be friendly, but within the limits of dignity, that is, the relationship must be a strictly student-teacher relationship.

Effective teachers seek to provide a classroom atmosphere that is supportive of students and their efforts, where all students feel welcome and accepted by the teacher. Teachers whose classes are friendly and positive find that their students learn to behave and decrease anxiety better than those whose classes are restrictive and repressive. One way of providing a classroom environment that is friendly and positive is to get to know the students and recognize each as a valuable and unique learner.

Garcia (2011) The classroom should be a pleasant place for each student to come to and learn in. All students feel welcome in the classroom and accepted as an individual with dignity. Some specific ways by which a positive classroom environment can be created is through involving students in every aspect of their learning, including the planning of learning activities and making the classroom an attractive place to be.

Teaching and taking an English course outside ones home country is indeed stressful and anxiety causing, adaptation or survival in this course must be tolerated. The above literatures suggest that in order for the student to cope with stress they must learn to identify the negative and positive effects of stressors and identify what manner of adaptation they must use.

Relevance of the studies Reviewed to the Present Study

The literature and studies provided the background ideas of the different stressors experienced by learners young /adult with regard to English language and other related problems. Related literature and studies here and abroad have similarities and differences in terms of factors that may alter the capacity of the learner in acquiring excellent methodologies and strategies in the classroom setting. Similar with the present study of the author, the reviewed literatures and studies seemingly interrelated to the identified problem of the researcher. These helped the author to formulate the entire content of the study. The difference of the present study to the reviewed literatures/studies is that the present study focused more on the English course not just an ordinary college classroom setting. And not all of the reviewed literatures/studies are applicable to the present study of the author due to cultural indifferences.

Chapter METHODOLOGY

This chapter deals with the methods of research which were employed to systematically answer the specific problems in the study. It describes briefly the method of research, the respondents (Korean students), the instrument used to gather data on stressors of Korean students at Asia Pacific College English School in learning English. This is also systematically provides step by step procedure, methodologies followed by statistical treatment based on the gathered information.

Research Method

This research study made use of the narrative descriptive method. The main purpose of using this method is to find out through gathering of data on the stressors of Korean students which affect the learning of English language using a set of approved questionnaire. These also picture out the present situation of the Korean students regarding their problems at Asia Pacific College English School in learning English.

In using the descriptive method, Sevilla (2006) states that the descriptive method of research is a useful tool for specific investigation which aims to describe the existing status of the events or phenomenon.

The study was further derived through accurate observation, structured interviews to concretely indentify the problem data gathered, to assert the nature of prevailing conditions or practice in learning English.

Population and Local of the Study

Asia Pacific College (APC) English School was established by Park Cheonche and Leeo Kim in June 2005.They started the school with 20 Filipino teachers and 30 students. The first school was in Humabon St. Magalanes Makati on the tenth floor of Asia Pacific School. Since 2005, there were more than a thousand students who have finished the English course. But for the past years there were struggles that the students were asking the teachers to have a solution with. The students of Asia Pacific College (APC) English School served as the respondents of the study; these respondents were enrolled in S.Y. June of 2011 and stayed for 8 weeks in the Philippines. There were 48 respondents selected at random, regardless of their age, sex, civil status, educational background.

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