Investigating the Effect of Anxiety of Male and Female Iranian EFL Learners on their Writing Performance

Abstract

In an attempt to delve into the issue of affective variables related to language learning, the present study focuses on the relationship between anxiety and writing performance across Iranian EFL learners with the effect of gender. To do so, Second Language Writing Anxiety Inventory (SLWAI) developed by Cheng (2004) and writing performance test were applied to collect the data. 45 EFL learners were invited to participate in this study. T-test analysis revealed that significant difference was found in level of anxiety between male and female participants so that the male participants might experience relatively greater amount of anxiety. Additiontionally, the level of cognitive anxiety was higher in males. However, the level of somatic anxiety and avoidance behavior were not significantly different. Furthermore, significant differences were found in grammar and punctuation sub-scales of writing performance between male and female participants so that male was higher in two sub-scales than that of females. Various educational implications and recommendations for further works were proposed.