Anxiety remains a significant barrier in the effective acquisition of the English language, particularly among Indigenous People learners in rural educational settings. This study aimed to determine the level of anxiety and difficulties in learning English among Grade 10 Indigenous People (IP) in the school districts of Bukidnon, for the School Year 2024–2025. Specifically, it examined the respondents’ level anxiety in terms of communication apprehension, test anxiety, and fear of negative evaluation, their level of difficulties in learning English language in linguistic challenges, speech processing, academic and conversational English Skill, and access to speaking opportunities. It also examined if there is significant relation between the two variables.  A total of 175 Grade 10 Indigenous People from seven public secondary schools were selected using stratified sampling technique. Employing a descriptive-correlational research design, the study utilized modified survey questionnaires as research instruments. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics: mean and standard deviation and Pearson-r correlation, to identify significant relationships between variables.

The findings revealed that respondents generally experienced a High level of anxiety, with Test Anxiety and Fear of Negative Evaluation being the most prominent. Likewise, a level of difficulty in learning English, was Access to Speaking opportunities emerging as the most challenging area. A statistically significant positive correlation was found between anxiety and language learning difficulties, with Test Anxiety having the strongest impact. The study concludes that heightened anxiety negatively affects respondents’ ability to acquire English effectively. It is recommended that educators should foster a supportive learning environment, implement anxiety-reducing strategies, and provide targeted language instruction to enhance respondents’ confidence and language performance.