SUMMARY
Anxiety in spoken English is a common topic in ELT research. However, little is discussed in the literature regarding anxiety in English public speaking particularly in a very awaited yet the most thrilling event called a Thesis Defence Examination (TDE). Therefore, this study aims at investigating postgraduate students’ anxiety in facing TDE at the end of their study program at the Postgraduate Program of English Education, Syiah Kuala University, Banda Aceh, Indonesia. Conducting quantitative research, we distributed questionnaires to 23 students who have undertaken TDE at the postgraduate program in the odd and even semesters of one academic year. The questionnaires were adapted from the Personal Report of Public Speaking Anxiety (PRPSA) by McCroskey (2013). The results of the analysis indicate three big topics that we have discussed thoroughly in this paper; these are anticipatory anxiety, physiological symptoms and lack of control during speech performance. Students are less anxious when they are in total control and understanding of their own data before giving a thesis presentation. They are not concerned about the uncertainty aspects that will occur during the performance nor did they feel worry about what they ought to anticipate. The palpitation of heart-race might be the most pronounce physiological response over the mental disturbance. Meanwhile, cognitive-declined, behavioural avoidance, and psychological dimension of fear can transpire from the result of lack of control during speech performance.