Test Anxiety and Foreign Language Reading Anxiety in a Reading-Proficiency Test

Abstract

Problem statement:The impact of foreign-language anxiety has been researched with respect to the reading domain; however, how it affects reading proficiency in relation to test anxiety in a test situation is yet to be explored. Approach: This study investigated possible relationships between test anxiety, foreign language reading anxiety and English reading proficiency by using scales published in previous studies. A total of 302 EFL college freshmen enrolled in Freshman English were assessed with the Test Anxiety Scale, the Foreign Language Reading Anxiety Scale and a readingproficiency test. Data were analyzed by means of Pearson's product-moment correlations and independent-samples t-tests. Results: Several findings were reported. First, English reading proficiency was found negatively related to test anxiety and foreign language reading anxiety. Second, test anxiety was found correlated positively with foreign language reading anxiety. Third, the readingproficiency difference between Low Anxiety Testees and High Anxiety Testees did not reach a significance level. Fourth, the reading-proficiency difference between Low Anxiety Readers and High Anxiety Readers did not reach a significance level, either. Conclusion/Recommendations: It was possible that the sample sizes may not be enough to make the reading-proficiency difference between LAT and HAT or between LAR and HAR reach a significance level. In addition, the readingproficiency test in the form of multiple-choice questions could not have differentiated low anxiety participants from high anxiety ones. In the future, the number of participants should be increased to increase the power of the statistical procedure. In addition, various reading-proficiency assessments should be considered.

Foreign Language Anxiety in Higher Education: A Practical Framework for Reducing FLA

“…This finding is in accordance with Liu (2012) who found a negative significant relationship between anxiety and reading among 150 EFL freshmen from a university in central Taiwan. It also goes in line with Tsai & Li (2012) who investigated the relationships between anxiety and English reading proficiency of 302 EFL Taiwanese college freshmen enrolled in Freshman English and found that English reading proficiency was negatively related to foreign language reading. Grammar was also negatively significant related to anxiety (r=-.247), and this finding is in accordance with Nahavandi & Mukundan (2013) who investigated the relationship between language anxiety and the four skills of 548 students (elementary to advanced learners) studying in JahadeDaneshgahi institute of Tabriz, Iran.…”

The Correlation among EFL Learners’ Test Anxiety, Foreign Language Anxiety and Language Achievement

“…Namely, TA and FLA are related constructs and they are not independent of each other. Current finding is also consistent with previous research (Covington, 1992(Covington, -1998MacIntyre, Noels, & Clement, 1997;Bailey, Onwuegbuzie & Daley, 2000;Koralp, 2005;Önem, 2010;Tsai & Li, 2012;Tsai, 2013;Salehi & Marefat, 2014). Few previous research contended that test anxiety was not related to language anxiety (MacIntyre & Gardner, 1989;Aida, 1994;Matsuda & Gobel, 2004).…”

Secondary School Students’ Reading Anxiety in a Second Language

“…In the area of reading and testing, Tsai and Li (2012) examined if there is a relationship between test anxiety, foreign language reading anxiety and English reading proficiency. Three instruments were used for collecting data from 302 Taiwanese college students: Test Anxiety Scale, Foreign Language Reading Anxiety Scale and reading comprehension in a simulated General English Proficiency Test.…”