Foreign Language Reading Anxiety Research Articles

The Study on English Reading Anxiety of Chinese College Undergraduates Based on the Broaden-and-Build Theory

Among many factors that affect students' English reading performance, reading anxiety, which is an important emotional factor in English learning, has gradually attracted attention in recent years. There is enough evidence that anxiety, as a kind of negative emotion, can significantly affect students' reading performance. However, the current researches mainly focus on the differences in students' reading performance caused by anxiety. Relatively few studies have been carried out on the correlation between reading anxiety, anxiety causes and coping strategies. Therefore, this paper aims to explore the causes and coping strategies of English reading anxiety based on quantitative and qualitative research. The research refers to Saito's Foreign Language Reading Anxiety Scale to design a questionnaire and measure the degree of Chinese college students' English reading anxiety. Based on the broaden-and-build theory and combined with the interview results, it is concluded that Chinese college undergraduates have English reading anxiety in general. Nevertheless, by establishing pleasant reading resources and adopting effective coping strategies, learners can reduce English reading anxiety, thus improving reading ability and enhancing reading interest.

Electrophysiological evidence of lexical processing impacted by foreign language reading anxiety

Extensive studies have been conducted on the impact of foreign language reading anxiety on reading, primarily focusing on pedagogy and behavior but lacking electrophysiological evidence. The current study aimed to investigate the influence of foreign language reading anxiety on reading and its underlying mechanisms. The results revealed a negative correlation between foreign language reading anxiety and foreign language reading performance, irrespective of the native language. Adults with low levels of foreign language reading anxiety (LFLRA) demonstrated a significant difference in early lexical component N170 amplitude between foreign and native languages. However, this effect was not observed in adults with high levels of foreign language reading anxiety (HFLRA). In terms of N170 latency, HFLRA showed a longer N170 for the foreign language compared to the native language. Furthermore, the N170 effects were predominantly localized over the left occipitotemporal electrodes. Regarding N400 latency, a significant difference was found in LFLRA individuals between foreign and native language processing, while HFLRA individuals did not exhibit this difference. These findings suggest that HFLRA individuals experience inefficient lexical processing (such as orthography or semantics) during reading in foreign language.

Chinese Senior High EFL Learners’ Foreign Language Reading Anxiety: Profile and Sources

In comparison with other skill-specific foreign language anxiety, foreign language reading anxiety (FLRA) was a less-researched realm. The purpose of the study was to investigate the general profile and possible sources of FLRA in the under-explored Chinese senior high EFL students. The 60 participants were from 2 high schools in China. The study employed the “explanatory sequential mixed method design” (Creswell & Plano Clark, 2018). First, the quantitative data were collected via the adapted Foreign Language Reading Anxiety Scale (FLRAS) (Lu & Liu, M., 2015), and analyzed with SPSS. Then, based on participants’ scores on FLRAS (adapted), specific responses, and consent to further interviews, 4 subjects were selected as sources of qualitative data. The conclusions were drawn that (1) more than half the learners (78.33%) were generally exposed to little FLRA (M=2.57); (2) possible FLRA sources could be divided into 4 main categories, with overall 16 subsets: (a) individual factors (reading interest, self-expectation, reading strategy use, background knowledge); (b) textual factors (topic, task type, text length, tested vocabulary, grammar, text structure, rhetoric); (c) instructional factors (teaching method, evaluation); (d) situational factors (teacher-student dynamic, parental anticipation, peer pressure). Despite limitations such as limited sample size and scope, absence of further validation testing, and neglect of examination of background variables, the study purveyed valuable suggestions for language educators to enhance strategies addressing FLRA among Chinese EFL senior high learners. These suggestions included considering the impact of text structure and rhetorical devices on FLRA, prioritizing vocabulary instruction, and implementing anxiety-reducing interventions, e.g. the “flipped classroom model” (Gök et al. 2021). Furthermore, the study emphasized the need for further research on the more representative FLRA profile of Chinese young EFL learners, statistical examination of the relevance of various sources to FLRA, investigation of the relationship between background variables and FLRA among Chinese senior high EFL learners, and exploration of the universality and language-specific nature of different FLRA sources.

Differential effects of foreign language reading anxiety on the reading-related networks in the cerebellum and cerebrum

Differential effects of foreign language reading anxiety on the reading-related networks in the cerebellum and cerebrum

Anxiety in L2 Chinese from different angles

Abstract The current study examines the influence of experience, reading and writing anxieties, and self-assessed proficiency on foreign language anxiety in the context of learning Chinese as a foreign language. Data were collected using questionnaires from 93 learners of Chinese and analyzed using correlational and multiple regression methods. Results indicated that learners at level 200 (i.e., intermediate low/mid) were more anxious compared to those at level 400 (i.e., advanced low/mid). Foreign language anxiety, foreign language reading anxiety, and foreign language writing anxiety were significantly correlated with each other. Foreign language reading anxiety, foreign language writing anxiety, and self-assessed proficiency (listening and reading) were shown to significantly predict foreign language anxiety in the context of L2 Chinese.

An Exploration of Foreign Language Reading Anxiety of Young EFL Students

Despite the extensive research attention foreign language anxiety has received, most studies have focused on foreign language classroom anxiety or foreign language speaking anxiety of EFL learners at the university level. Foreign language reading anxiety (FLRA), particularly that of young EFL learners under the age of 12, has been understudied. The present study examined the foreign language reading anxiety level of 137 young EFL learners in a primary school in China. A questionnaire adapted from Saito et al.’s (1999) Foreign Language Reading Anxiety Scale was adopted to determine the level of students’ FLRA. The potential sources of their FLRA were identified with an adapted version of the questionnaire devised by Ahmad et al. (2013). Results of the present study indicate that young EFL learners generally have medium-level FLRA. In addition, textual features, including unknown words and unfamiliar words, have been identified as the main source of FLRA of young EFL learners, whereas personal factors are not as prominent as shown in previous studies conducted on adult EFL learners.

Exposing EFL Students’ FLRA in Reading Section: The Case of TOEFL Course

Foreign Language Reading Anxiety (FLRA) becomes increasingly crucial for EFL students since it prevents the learners' reading grasp. This study reports on college students’ reflections on reading. The study's main objective was to determine students' reading anxiety levels and discover the most potential factors contributing to students’ Foreign Language Reading Anxiety (FLRA) in TOEFL Test. It was administered to 22 students of the English Department in Universitas Pembinaan Masyarakat Indonesia using purposive sampling in the academic year 2022/2023. To achieve this purpose, this study utilized both quantitative and qualitative approaches. The data were collected using a Foreign Language Reading Anxiety Scale (FLRAS) questionnaire with five-point Likert scale participants and an interview sheet to examine the levels of their reading anxiety and its factors. The results demonstrate that the student's reading anxiety levels were 18% in the low category, 64% in the medium category, and 18% in the high category. It indicates that they experienced a medium level of anxiety while reading with unfamiliar vocabulary and unknown topics, and the fear of making mistakes was identified as the significant factor of FL reading anxiety.

IMPACT OF STRATEGY-BASED READING INSTRUCTIONS ON READING ANXIETY OF UNIVERSITY-LEVEL ESL STUDENTS OF PAKISTAN

There is a scarcity of research on the effects of strategy-based reading instructions on reading anxiety in Pakistan. This action research study fills this gap in the literature by examining the impact of strategy-based reading instructions on the reading anxiety of ESL students at the university level in Pakistan. Employing quantitative analysis, this research explored the effects of strategy-based reading instructions on reading anxiety. With a total of 60 participants—30 students in each cycle—the study was carried out in two action research cycles. Over the course of four months, the participants in both cycles received strategy-based reading instructions. The data was gathered by means of a survey of reading strategies (SORS) and the Foreign Language Reading Anxiety Scale (FLRAS) which was administered during the pre-intervention and post-intervention phases of both cycles. The results of this study demonstrate that implementing strategy-based reading instructions effectively reduces reading anxiety in students. The findings of this study provide valuable insights for educators and curriculum developers, emphasizing the significance of integrating reading strategies into instructional practices as they can help reduce reading anxiety.

INVESTIGATING ENGLISH LANGUAGE READING AND WRITING ANXIETY AMONG PAKISTANI UNIVERSITY STUDENTS: A CORRELATIONAL STUDY

The undertaken study investigated the correlation between English language reading anxiety and English language writing anxiety. A survey research design was employed, and a sample of 298 BBA students from a private university in Karachi was utilized. The students completed two anxiety-measuring questionnaires: The Foreign Language Reading Anxiety Scale (FLRAS) and the Second Language Writing Anxiety Inventory (SLWAI). Descriptive statistics revealed that the majority of students experienced moderate to high levels of English language reading and writing anxiety. Pearson Product-Moment correlation analysis indicated a strong positive correlation between English language reading anxiety and writing anxiety. This means that students with high levels of reading anxiety were likely to also experience high levels of writing anxiety and vice versa. These findings suggest that teachers should not teach reading or writing in isolation. Instead, they should focus on reducing anxiety levels in reading and writing classrooms. Curriculum developers should also consider incorporating strategies for reducing anxiety into their programs.

The relationship between reading and listening anxieties in EFL classrooms: Exploring the mediating effect of foreign language classroom anxiety

AbstractThe purpose of the current study is threefold: (a) to present a descriptive picture of classroom anxiety (FLCA), reading anxiety (FLRA), and listening anxiety (FLLA) in foreign language classrooms; (b) to explore the association between FLCA, FLRA, and FLLA; and (c) to test the mediating effect of FLCA on the relationship between FLRA and FLLA. The participants included 341 tertiary-level students studying at the English Preparatory Program of four public universities in the Turkish EFL context. The data were collected at the beginning of the 2022 fall semester through the Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale, Foreign Language Reading Anxiety Scale, and Foreign Language Listening Anxiety Scale. The descriptive findings indicated a moderate level of FLCA, FLRA, and FLLA among the participants. In addition, significant and positive correlations were found between these three types of anxieties, with the strongest correlation between FLRA and FLLA. In the last stage of the analysis, it was found that FLCA partially and significantly mediated the relationship between FLRA and FLLA. Finally, directions for further research on investigating skill-based anxieties are presented.

An Investigation of Reading Anxiety among Vietnamese English Major Students

Understanding EFL students' anxiety when performing a reading task has gained much attention in recent research. In Vietnam, not much research focuses on the anxiety level of English-major students. This study aims at measuring linguistics students' reading anxiety levels using the English as a Foreign Language Reading Anxiety Inventory (EFLRAI) (Zoghi & Alivandivafa, 2014). A total of 72 linguistics students from two Reading classes at the International University, VNU-HCMC, took part in this study. A follow-up interview was carried out with the students to further investigate the factors, including top-down reading anxiety, bottom-up reading anxiety, and classroom reading anxiety. Quantitatively, the findings revealed that the majority of students experienced low to moderate levels of reading anxiety. Most students reported that their reading background knowledge and reading ability, namely the top-down factors, accounted the most for their negative emotions while performing the task. Importantly, some solutions related to teaching strategies were recommended by students for a better learning environment.

Foreign language reading anxiety and reading comprehension of Korean secondary EFL students

This study examines the foreign language reading anxiety of Korean students and its relation to reading comprehension. Furthermore, it investigates the main sources which affect foreign reading anxiety. Forty-eight students participated in a survey, in which they took the Foreign Language Reading Anxiety Scale (FLRAS) and an English Reading Comprehension Test (ERCT). Their scores of each FLRAS and ERCT were compared to see the correlation. The result found that there was a positive relationship between reading anxiety and reading comprehension. In addition, the primary factors that affect reading anxiety were text-related reading anxiety which becomes the first rank of the causes of anxiety followed by cognitive anxiety including feeling intimidated in understanding and remembering while reading. This study is implicative for understanding L2 learners’ psychological aspects such as apprehension and having an appropriate attitude and approach in guiding students with fears in foreign language learning.

A Longitudinal Study of Foreign Language Reading Anxiety and Its Predicting Effects on Chinese University Students’ Reading English Performance

A Longitudinal Study of Foreign Language Reading Anxiety and Its Predicting Effects on Chinese University Students’ Reading English Performance

Understanding foreign language writing anxiety and its correlates.

Despite the increasing number of empirical studies that investigated foreign language writing anxiety and its correlates, there is still a lack of quantitative meta-analytic attempt on the effect sizes among these studies. To bridge the gap, this study identified 84 effect sizes from 22 primary studies to meta-analyze the correlations of foreign language writing anxiety and several key high-and low-evidence correlates. For the two high-evidence correlates, moderator analyses were also conducted, which demonstrated that foreign language writing anxiety has a moderate correlation with foreign language writing self-efficacy and foreign language writing performance. The three low-evidence correlates have positively moderate effects of foreign language listening anxiety, foreign language speaking anxiety and foreign language reading anxiety. The significant moderating effects of learners' age and language proficiency were obtained. With respect to the results, pedagogical implications were discussed as well.

Psychometric assessment of individual differences in second language reading anxiety for identifying struggling students in classrooms.

Assessing learners' individual differences helps identify students who need teacher support in classrooms. Previous studies have examined second language (L2) achievement based on reading anxiety because reading is an input-based activity essential for successful L2 learning. This study applied a latent rank model to identify L2 learners who are likely to be struggling or successful in classrooms according to their L2 reading anxiety symptoms. Moreover, a psychometric function was developed to determine the cutoff anxiety scores that discriminate against their substantial differences. The model was applied to responses from the Foreign Language Reading Anxiety Scale (FLRAS) provided by 335 Japanese learners of English. The results showed that the FLRAS classified students into three ranked groups with ordinal information regarding L2 reading anxiety. Rank 1 exhibited good conditions in L2 reading anxiety. Rank 2 reported high anxiety toward unfamiliar grammar during L2 reading. Rank 3 had even higher anxiety levels, especially for vocabulary and grammatical knowledge deficits and reading difficulty. The cutoff anxiety scores estimated by the model detected students who failed their L2 class with 79% accuracy. Theoretical, methodological, and pedagogical issues in language anxiety were discussed in terms of diagnosis and different approaches to teaching L2 reading.

Strategies to Overcome Foreign Language Reading Anxiety among Globalized EFL Learners

Perhaps, one of the most well-articulated hurdles daunting globalized EFL learners’ academic literacy dynamics can be attributed to foreign language reading anxiety. Under the massive expansion of foreign language reading anxiety, EFL learners commonly experience a higher level of perturbation while attempting to comprehend the contents forming in their specific reading texts due to the inevitable complexities presented during this process. This current small-scale library study aimed to exhaustively investigate particular effective strategies to overcome foreign language reading anxiety among globalized EFL learners to provide some illuminations for ELT experts, practitioners, and educators to devise more sophisticated reading strategies that can potentially alleviate foreign language reading anxiety. There were three main themes inferred in this present small-scale qualitative study namely: (1) The internalization of more comprehensible reading materials, (2) the promotion of more enjoyable reading circumstances, and (3) the inducement of more relevant reading strategies. For the future betterment of worldwide L2 reading enterprises, second language teachers are strongly commissioned to identify particular situations provoking excessive foreign language reading anxiety among EFL teachers in order to progressively design more authentic and meaningful reading activities.  

Understanding EFL reading anxiety in relation to learning motivation, attitudes and strategies for Chinese and Spanish undergraduates

The present study explored the relationships between English as a foreign language (EFL) reading anxiety and learning motivation, attitudes, and strategies in two groups of EFL learners with different first language (L1) backgrounds. Thirty-five Chinese EFL undergraduates and thirty-seven Spanish EFL undergraduates participated in this study via a questionnaire. Quantitative analyses indicated different types of relationships between EFL reading anxiety and the abovementioned factors between these two groups of learners. While learning attitudes had a predictive effect on EFL reading anxiety for both Chinese and Spanish EFL undergraduates, the predictive effect of learning motivation and strategies were significant only among Spanish undergraduates. In addition, with learning attitudes as a mediator, learning motivation had an indirect effect on Chinese undergraduates’ reading anxiety. These findings expand previous studies by exploring the relationships between EFL reading anxiety and these correlates among EFL learners with different L1 backgrounds and provide reference and basis for the intervention of FLRA throughout the language learning process.

Sources of Turkish EFL Learners’ Foreign Language Reading Anxiety

The purpose of this study was to investigate possible sources of reading anxiety experienced by Turkish EFL learners. The participants of the study were 50 first year university students studying at the English Language Teaching program of a public university in Turkey. The study employed the explanatory sequential mixed methods design. First, the quantitative data were collected through Foreign Language Reading Anxiety Scale (FLRAS), and then the qualitative data were collected through semi-structured interviews for the purpose of better understanding quantitative data findings. For analyzing the quantitative data, each participant's mean score from FLRAS was computed. As for the qualitative data, the transcribed interviews were analyzed using the constant comparison method, for which the researcher identified the recurring themes through coding, prioritizing and connecting the pieces of data. Results indicated that the participants of the study, in general, experience a moderate level of FL reading anxiety. The following three main categories of FL reading anxiety sources were identified with their ten sub-categories: (1) personal factors (inappropriate reading strategy use, lack of self-confidence, high expectations), (2) features of the reading text (topic familiarity, unknown vocabulary, complex reading structure, text length, figurative language), and (3) reading course (compulsory reading, exam).

Sources of Turkish EFL Learners’ Foreign Language Reading Anxiety

The purpose of this study was to investigate possible sources of reading anxiety experienced by Turkish EFL learners. The participants of the study were 50 first year university students studying at the English Language Teaching program of a public university in Turkey. The study employed the explanatory sequential mixed methods design. First, the quantitative data were collected through Foreign Language Reading Anxiety Scale (FLRAS), and then the qualitative data were collected through semi-structured interviews for the purpose of better understanding quantitative data findings. For analyzing the quantitative data, each participant's mean score from FLRAS was computed. As for the qualitative data, the transcribed interviews were analyzed using the constant comparison method, for which the researcher identified the recurring themes through coding, prioritizing and connecting the pieces of data. Results indicated that the participants of the study, in general, experience a moderate level of FL reading anxiety. The following three main categories of FL reading anxiety sources were identified with their ten sub-categories: (1) personal factors (inappropriate reading strategy use, lack of self-confidence, high expectations), (2) features of the reading text (topic familiarity, unknown vocabulary, complex reading structure, text length, figurative language), and (3) reading course (compulsory reading, exam).

FLRA and Its Influence on EFL Students’ Reading Achievement Amid the Pandemic Covid-19

Foreign Language Reading Anxiety (FLRA) is a symptom of anxiety in reading which becomes increasingly challenging for EFL learners. FLRA is an influential interruption that might prevent EFL learners to derive a reading grasp. The pandemic situation borders teachers’ and students’ activities in the learning process. In this condition, numbers of students in Indonesian schools perform different reading comprehension achievements, including low, middle, and high levels. The researcher noted that several Indonesian students feel anxious in the second language (L2) reading with certain reading troubles. The purpose of this study was to examine FLRA and its influence on the students’ reading achievement amid the pandemic COVID-19 schooling including identifying potential factors which affect their anxieties in reading and investigating their influence on their reading achievement. This study used a quantitative research method. The research was carried out in the Eagle Class students of LinkAge education, in Lombok, Indonesia. The sample of this study was 20 students selected using the purposive sampling method. The data were collected using a questionnaire namely the Foreign Language Reading Anxiety Scale (FLRAS) which was developed by Saito et al (1999) with a five-point Likert scale. The researcher analyzed the data using descriptive statistics. The results demonstrate that the students’ anxiety level is 58.25 which indicates that they experience a high level of anxiety although the value is a little bit lower than the limit of moderate level. There are some symptoms of reading anxieties commonly recognized by the students.