Despite having learned English in both primary and secondary school, Malaysian students still struggle to speak the language fluently. The aspect of emotion in English language learning is normally overlooked which is why this study was conducted. The aim of this paper is to assess the emotions of pre-service teachers when learning the English language specifically speaking and listening skills. This study applied a quantitative approach where an online questionnaire was distributed to 120 pre-service teachers across Malaysia. The research instrument was adapted from the Achievement Emotions Questionnaire (AEQ). There are 6 emotions involved, which consist of three positive emotions (enjoyment, hope, pride), and three negative emotions (shame, anger, boredom, anxiety). The findings of this research show that the dominant positive emotion experienced by the pre-service teacher is hope. Whereas the dominant negative emotion encountered by them is anxiety. From the finding, the level of anxiety in learning speaking skills is higher than that of listening skills. This research also highlights the role of educators in making sure the emotional state of the classroom does not obstruct the students’ learning process. This research also argues that not all negative emotions hinder learning as learners are able to perceive them as positive in their language learning process. Studies on emotions in learning the English language are still inadequate and should be looked into more in the future. The findings from such studies will be able to help educators and English language learners to better understand the aspect of emotion when teaching and learning the language and how to use emotions to their advantage.
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