Anxiety is described as an uncontrollable state that can make thelanguage learning situation problematic and stressful. This studyinvestigates the degree of language anxiety of Turkish universitystudents. It also examines the relationship between foreign languagespeaking anxiety and achievement.IntroductionIt is true that learners bring many individual characteristics to thelearning process. Anxiety, as one of the learner characteristics, hasbeen subject to a considerable amount of investigation (Williams andBurden, 1997). According to Freud, anxiety is “an unpleasant affectivestate or condition similar to dread or nervousness, with physiologicaland behavioral manifestations” (Spielberger, 1972. cited in Kunt, 2001).As for language learning anxiety, it is defined as a “distinct complex ofself-perceptions, beliefs, feelings, and behaviors related to classroomlanguage learning arising from the uniqueness of the language learningprocess” (Horwitz et al. 1986, p. 128).In recent years foreign language researchers have paidconsiderable attention to the effects of anxiety on language learning anddemonstrated that language anxiety is most closely related to theacquisition of a foreign language (Horwitz et al., 1986). The research onlanguage anxiety has addressed three key issues: (1) the sources oflanguage anxiety, (2) the nature of the relationship between languageanxiety and language learning, and (3) how anxiety affects learning.Thus, this study focuses on determining the foreign language anxietylevels of Turkish university students studying at the ELT department ofÇanakkale Onsekiz Mart University and aims to find out therelationship between their anxiety level and oral communicationachievement. To this end, this study addressed four research questions:1- What is the degree of language learning anxiety among firstyear ELT students?2- What is the anxiety level difference among the studentsaccording to their gender? 3- What is the anxiety level difference among the studentsaccording to their age?4- Is there a relationship between the students’ speakinganxiety levels and achievements?Review of research into language classroom anxiety and languagelearningAlthough there is a wide agreement about the sources of languageanxiety in classroom settings, there is less agreement about therelationship between language anxiety and learning. Ellis (2008)identifies three positions: (1) anxiety facilitates language learning, (2)anxiety has a negative impact on language learning, and (3) languageanxiety is the result of difficulties with learning rather than their cause.Eysenck and MacIntyre (1979; 2002. cited in Ellis 2008) notedthat low levels of anxiety can lead to more effort and facilitative anxietyleads to increased motivation. Chastain (1975) found that measures ofanxiety were positively related to marks achieved by one group of audiolingualFrench learners, indicating that learners with higher levels ofanxiety did best. However, Language anxiety generally has been foundto have a negative effect on learning. Horwitz et al., (1986) found anegative correlation between foreign language anxiety and the gradesstudents expected in their first semester language class. Their researchindicated that students with higher levels of foreign language anxietyboth expected and received lower grades than their less anxious friends.Similarly, in an Asian EFL context Kim, (1998) found significantnegative relationships between FLCAS scores final grades of theparticipants.The research on issue in Turkey seems to be limited. Kunt (1997)investigated beliefs about language learning and foreign languageanxiety and found lower levels of foreign language anxiety in Turkishspeakinguniversity students of English. Aydın et al. (2006) investigatedthe test anxiety level of Turkish students as EFL learners and itsreasons, effects and results on foreign language learning by found thatparticipants usually had a high level of anxiety.Dalkılıç (2001) conducted a study focusing on the relationshipbetween anxiety and achievement of the Turkish EFL students. In thestudy, test anxiety was not the focus but a factor that has an effect onlanguage anxiety. In a similar research study, Batumlu and Erden(2007) examined the relationship between foreign language anxiety andstudents’ English achievement and found that for all levels of students,there was a significant negative relationship between students’ foreignlanguage anxiety and their English achievement at the significance levelof 0.45.In the present study, the researcher aimed to investigate theforeign language speaking anxiety experience and the relationshipbetween speaking anxiety and success of English-major students. It ishoped that the findings will contribute to the field and help teachertraineesand trainers be aware of the role of anxiety on speaking andspend effort to cope with it.MethodologyThe main objective of this study is to review foreign languageclassroom anxiety experience and examine the relationship betweentheir anxiety level and achievement. To this end, a quantitative researchmethod was employed. The research study was conducted at the ELTDepartment of Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart University in the spring term of2010-2011 academic year. The data were collected from 77 first yearstudents consisting of 50 females and 27 males. The researchinstrument used for this part of the study was a translated version ofthe FLCAS designed by Horwitz et al. (1986), which had demonstratedsatisfactory reliability co-efficient. The researcher compiled the surveyscores and final Communication Skills Course scores and conducted astatistical analysis to look for correlations among the scores.Results and DiscussionsThe research results showed the existence of considerable level ofanxiety in the foreign language classes