Reading Anxiety Research Articles

THE CORRELATION BETWEEN EFL ANXIETY AND STUDENTS’ READING COMPREHENSION”.

The objective of the current study examined whether there was any significant correlation between foreign language classroom anxiety and students’ reading comprehension. In this regard, hopefully, this study provided English language lecturers to recognize the most provoking factor that affect learning a foreign language, such anxiety and helped students to solve language anxiety to become better English language students. This researcher was conducted at Lakidende University, particularly 32 university students of English Language Teaching Department who enrolled in academic year 2018/2019. The data were obtained from students’ reading comprehension test and questionnaire that is Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (FLCAS) and to analyze the data this study applied Pearson Correlation analysis. The finding revealed that there was a significant relationship between foreign language classroom anxiety and students’ reading comprehension, p (.061) 0.05. Meanwhile, the strength of correlation between reading anxiety and students’ reading comprehension was categorized “moderate” according to table Guidelines of Interpreting Pearson's Correlation Coefficient (r =.381). It might be the fact that most of students frequently experienced moderate level of foreign language classroom anxiety in their reading comprehension class.

Anxiety, Motivation, and Competence in Mathematics and Reading for Children With and Without Learning Difficulties.

Knowledge of the relations among learners' socio-emotional characteristics and competencies as they engage in mathematics and reading is limited, especially for children with academic difficulties. This study examined the relations between anxiety, motivation, and competence in mathematics and reading, within and across domains, in an academically-diverse set of 8–13-year-old learners (n = 146). To measure anxiety and motivation across domains, we paired existing measures of math anxiety and reading motivation with researcher-developed analogs for reading anxiety and math motivation. Participants completed standardized assessments of mathematics and reading, anxiety and motivation surveys for math and reading, and a measure of nonverbal cognitive ability. Results showed high internal consistency for all anxiety and motivation scales (Cronbach's alpha = 0.76–0.91). Pearson correlations showed that within and across domains, participants with higher competence had lower anxiety and higher motivation. Higher anxiety was also associated with lower motivation. Regression analyses showed that for both math and reading, within-domain motivation was a stronger predictor of competence than anxiety. There was a unidirectional across-domain relation: socio-emotional characteristics for reading predicted math competence, after accounting for nonverbal cognitive ability, age, gender, and within-domain anxiety and motivation. Results contribute to knowledge of the socio-emotional characteristics of children with and without learning difficulties in association with reading and math activities. Implications of a unidirectional socio-emotional link between the two domains can advance research and theory of the relations among socio-emotional characteristics and competence for academically-diverse learners.

Foreign language reading anxiety and its correlates: a meta-analysis

Foreign language reading anxiety and its correlates: a meta-analysis

Students' Reading Anxiety: A Rasch Model Analysis

The aim of this study is to determine the instrument and the students’ responses of reading anxiety. The approach of this research is qualitative descriptive. The gathered data were analyzed qualitatively by using Rasch Model. A questionnaire was used as an instrument to get the data. 14 female students of SMP Islam De Green Camp were involved in this research. The FLRAS by Horwitz et al was used to create a questionnaire that contained 20 items. The study showed that the quality of the instrument and the students’ responses were not good enough to be used due to their small amount. Therefore, teachers must choose and creates a good instrument to know their students’ responses about reading anxiety. Then, students are recommended to read more English texts to minimize their reading anxiety.

A Descriptive Quantitative Study of Students’ Anxiety in Reading and Writing in Learning English at the Eighth Grade of Mts Hadharatul Islamiyah Sipispis

This study was about students’ anxiety in reading and writing in learning English at the eighth grade of Mts Hadharatul Islamiyah Sipispis. In this research, the researcher used quantitative descriptive method. This study is aimed to find out the students’ anxiety level in reading and writing in learning English. The data was collected by using questionnaire with two aspects includes reading and writing. In this study, the researcher found that the students’ anxiety in reading are categorized in low anxiety level there are 6 students (22%), students who categorized in medium anxiety there are 10 students (37%), and the high anxiety level are 11 students (41%). While in writing anxiety in this study shows that the students categorized in low anxiety level are 4 students (15%), in medium anxiety category are 13% students (48%), and the high anxiety category are 10 students (37%). It can be concluded the students’ anxiety level in reading English at the eighth grade of MTs Hadharatul Islamiyah Sipispis is categorized in the high anxiety level. Whereas students’ level anxiety in writing in categorized medium anxiety level.

The Relationship between Reading Anxiety and Reading Performance: A Comparison Study of Chinese Postgraduates in China and in the UK

This study investigated three aspects that related to Foreign Language (FL) reading anxiety: the FL reading anxiety levels; the relationship between FL reading anxiety and reading performance; the main sources of FL reading anxiety. With both quantitative and qualitative research method, the total amount of 47 Chinese postgraduates took part in a paper questionnaire including Foreign Language Reading Anxiety Scale (FLRAS) and reading test, Cambridge Advanced English (CAE). According to the FLRAS scores, 12 of them had one-to-one semi-structured interviews. The results shows that most Chinese postgraduates experienced a moderate level of English reading anxiety, and that international students have higher reading anxiety than domestic students. No statistically significant relationship was found between FL reading anxiety and the reading test. After thematic coding analysis, the main sources of English reading anxiety among international students were found to be ‘demanding text feature’ and ‘different class settings in the UK’. For domestic students, limited English exposure was the main source. Recommendations for teachers and for both groups of students are provided, and the limitations of the present study and suggestions for future research are discussed at the end of the paper.

Effects of multidimensional foreign language reading anxiety on achievement in Japanese EFL classrooms

A fine-grained understanding of individual differences in reading in English as a foreign language (EFL) is critical because a significant amount of EFL reading is essential for successful EFL learning. This study examined the effects of multidimensional EFL reading anxiety on learners’ achievement in EFL classrooms. In a preliminary study, an item pool comprising approximately 150 statements was compiled and tested with multidimensional item response theory for the assessment of cognitive, metacognitive, and classroom aspects of perceived EFL reading anxiety. The main study provided evidence of the replicability of the multidimensionality of EFL reading anxiety and its differential effects on EFL reading proficiency and course achievement. The results showed that cognitive anxiety influenced EFL reading proficiency negatively, but not course achievement. Classroom anxiety inhibited EFL course achievement more strongly than did reading proficiency. Metacognitive anxiety was a significant predictor of both EFL reading proficiency and course achievement. Mediation analysis revealed that although the anxiety scales partly reflected learners’ levels of EFL reading proficiency, the direct effects of EFL reading anxiety on course achievement were still significant. Theoretical, methodological, and pedagogical implications are discussed with respect to the multidimensional model of EFL reading anxiety.

Students' progressive behavioral learning patterns in using machine translation systems – A structural equation modeling analysis

The study investigated the motivation and anxiety of 681 undergraduate students from a medical university who used machine translation systems to read textbooks written in English. Questionnaires were collected from Mandarin Chinese speakers who were not English majors. Technology Acceptance Models were developed to illuminate the relationships among perceived usefulness of machine translation systems, perceived ease of use, learning motivation for English, and foreign language reading anxiety. The results showed that overall, using machine translation systems produced benefits, including increasing the students' motivation to learn English and further decreasing their anxiety when it comes to reading textbooks written in English. Also, when the students become more familiar with using machine translation systems, they gain a better understanding of the systems' possibilities as well as their limitations. The greater the ease of use and the more usefulness that students experience while employing the systems, the stronger the impact of the systems on increasing students’ motivation to learn English and decreasing their learning anxiety.

Examining the domain-specificity of language mindset: a case of L2 reading comprehension

ABSTRACT Purpose: The present study investigated the domain-specificity of language mindset with a focus on foreign language (L2) reading mindset. We further examined whether L2 reading mindset could predict several L2 reading-specific outcomes, including L2 reading achievement and L2 reading emotions above and beyond general language mindset.Design/methodology/approach: We gathered data from 489 Iranian university students during regular classroom hours. Participants completed the questionnaire which included L2 reading mindset, general language mindset, L2 anxiety, and L2 enjoyment items. They further took an L2 reading comprehension test. Findings: Results of the confirmatory factor analysis supported a two-factor solution for both L2 reading mindset and general language mindset scales, corresponding to the fixed and growth categories. Furthermore, the findings of hierarchical multiple regressions indicated that adding L2 reading mindsets significantly added to the explained variance in L2 reading anxiety, L2 reading enjoyment, and L2 reading achievement. Originality/value: Findings of this study supported the incremental validity of L2 reading mindset as it could predict L2 reading outcomes above and beyond general language mindset. This finding empirically supports the domain-specificity of language mindset. Therefore, both L2 researchers and teachers should be aware of the unique role that L2 reading mindset plays in L2 reading skill.

Effects of online flipped classroom on foreign language classroom anxiety and reading anxiety

In this study, we aimed to integrate the flipped classroom model into “Advanced Reading and Writing” course and to investigate the effect of the flipped classroom model on pre-service English language teachers’ foreign language classroom anxiety (FLCA) and foreign language reading anxieties (FLRA). This study involved two groups (34 in the flipped group and 32 in the non-flipped group) of first-year English language teachers in Turkey. Within this framework, Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale and Foreign Language Reading Anxiety Scale were employed to determine pre-service English language teachers’ FLCA and FLRA levels before and after the treatment in the flipped and the non-flipped groups comparatively. There was a significant decrease in the FLCA and FLRA levels in the flipped group. However, there was no significant change in the non-flipped group. Supplemental data for this article is available online at https://doi.org/10.1080/09588221.2021.1950191 .

The Correlation Between Students’ Reading Anxiety and Their Reading Comprehension in ESP Context

This study aimed to analyze the relationship between reading anxiety and reading comprehension of ESP students in Universitas Muhammadiyah Malang. The participants in this study were 50 first-year Governmental Science students who took intensive reading I. This study used correlational design to analyze the relationship between two variables (Reading anxiety and Reading comprehension). In collecting the data, the English Foreign Language Reading Anxiety Inventory (EFLRAI) questionnaire was used to investigate the level and potential causes of reading anxiety. Moreover, in assembling students' reading comprehension data, the researcher constructed a reading comprehension test specifically for governmental science students. Based on the study results, the non-English department students belong to moderate a level of reading anxiety. Specifically, reading anxiety is divided into three main aspects; top-down reading anxiety, bottom-up reading anxiety, and classroom reading anxiety. It was found out that the most potent sources of reading anxiety were in bottom-up reading anxiety, namely unclear-meaning vocabulary in English written text. Regarding students reading comprehension level, the ESP students have a low reading comprehension score. Besides, the research findings illustrated that there is a negative moderate-strong relationship between reading anxiety and Comprehension of ESP students. In means, the higher anxiety the students have, the lower their comprehension score they obtained. Thus, by knowing this, the teacher should select a carefully teaching method in their ESP classroom to decrease their reading anxiety and encourage them to improve their reading comprehension and deal with their anxiety.

The underlying factors of foreign language reading anxiety: Their effects on strategy use and orientation toward reading

Both positive and negative emotions have been the focus of a wealth of language learning research in recent years. This can mostly be attributed to the established links between an individual’s psychological responses, existing and emerging from learning, the learning processes they engage in, and the outcomes they achieve. A look at advanced research on language anxiety, a negative emotion that appears to be strongly involved in learning, has shown that specific information about reading anxiety is comparatively insufficient. This study, therefore, examines the underlying factors of reading anxiety in Korean university students, using the Foreign Language Reading Anxiety Scale. Subsequently, it explores how these anxiety factors are related to strategy use (i.e., metacognitive, cognitive, and support strategies) and orientation toward reading, which demonstrates a reader’s active involvement while reading. Three sub-factors of reading anxiety were found: anxiety experienced during the process of reading English, confidence in reading, and anxiety when reading English characters. Interestingly, confidence or positive emotion was found to be a far more powerful positive contributor to Korean EFL university readers’ use of metacognitive strategies and the degree of orientation to reading than was anxiety experienced while reading. Pedagogical implications are discussed.

The Effects of Online Learning on Alleviating Students’ Chinese Language Learning Anxiety: A Study in a Chinese University

This study aims at investigating the effects of online learning on alleviating international Chinese as a Second Language students’ foreign language anxiety. Participants of the study were 240 international students enrolled in a Chinese university, being divided into two groups. In-class Group remained their routine Chinese learning by following a traditional textbook-based approach, while Online Group employed computers and the Internet. Data collection were administrated via two questionnaires with all 240 participants, in-depth individual interviews with eight student participants and their reflective reports. This study found that online learning could relieve international students’ listening, speaking and writing anxiety, but increase students’ reading anxiety. The study also revealed the sources of students’ anxieties in Chinese learning in both contexts. Implications for the employment of the online approach in Chinese language learning and teaching for further development are made on the base of these findings. Recommendations for future studies are also provided.

Mindfulness, Reading Anxiety, and Self-Efficacy of Korean EFL College Students

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether the state of mindfulness exhibited by Korean EFL college students had an effect on the level of anxiety and self-efficacy they experienced during their L2 reading. The following research questions were constructed. First, is there a relationship between mindfulness and anxiety in L2 reading? Second, is there a relationship between mindfulness and self-efficacy in L2 reading? A total of 108 male and female students attending a University in Daejeon, Korea participated in the study at the end of the 2020 spring semester. Data collected from a self-report questionnaire were analyzed using SPSS. Regression analyses revealed two findings. First, the participants with higher states of mindfulness tended to read English with less anxiety. Second, the students who exhibited higher states of mindfulness had greater self-efficacy than those with lower states of mindfulness. Hence, EFL college students’ state of mindfulness can affect their reading anxiety and self-efficacy related to L2 reading. Pedagogical implications as well as directions for future research are provided.

The Effect of Reading Comprehension Strategies Instruction on EFL Learners’ Reading Anxiety Level

This experimental study, using pretest-intervention-posttest design, investigated whether or not teaching English as a foreign language (EFL) learners to use comprehension strategies when they read English passages, decreases their English reading anxiety. The participants were 55 EFL learners in Turkey who were at lower-intermediate level based on the results of the Oxford Quick Placement Test. Data were collected via Saito, Garza, and Horwitz’s (1999)Foreign Language Reading Anxiety Scale (FLRAS). The whole treatment/control period lasted for 11 weeks during a reading course. The experimental group (n = 28) received instruction in reading comprehension strategies (i.e., previewing, scanning for details, skimming, identifying the topic and main idea, finding supporting details, making inferences, understanding the author’s purpose, making predictions, dealing with unfamiliar words, using context clues, and summarizing). The control group (n = 27) received instruction by traditional teaching methods (i.e., reading, paraphrasing, translating, and answering the exercises).The results of the Mann-Whitney U Test indicated that instruction in English reading comprehension strategies had a positive effect on EFL learners in terms of reducing their English reading anxiety.

Reading Anxiety, Engagement, and Achievement: A Comparison of Emergent Bilinguals and English Monolinguals in the Elementary Grades

AbstractSocioemotional constructs have been receiving increased attention as contributors to individuals’ literacy development. However, in comparison with positive socioemotional constructs, negative socioemotional constructs have been understudied with respect to their role in reading achievement in both emergent bilinguals (EBs) and English monolinguals (EMs). In the present study, we addressed this gap by examining reading anxiety in 339 EBs, who primarily spoke Spanish as their first language, and 178 EMs in grades 3–5, using a latent variable approach. We used structural equation modeling to form latent variables for reading anxiety, reading engagement, and reading achievement; compare latent variable means for EBs and EMs; and examine relations among the three focal constructs across the two language groups. The EBs and EMs showed similar levels of reading engagement, whereas the EBs showed a trend toward greater reading anxiety and statistically significantly lower reading achievement. Further, for both EBs and EMs, reading anxiety related negatively to reading achievement, both directly and indirectly through reading engagement, controlling for grade level. However, both the direct and indirect effects were greater for EBs than EMs. We interpret these results in the context of theoretical views of potential mechanisms linking reading anxiety and achievement, giving attention especially to the multidimensional nature of reading engagement. Based on the current findings and those of other research, we conclude by contending that reading anxiety merits increased scrutiny by researchers and educators endeavoring to understand and strengthen students’ reading achievement and socioemotional development during the elementary school years.

The Impact of Authentic Materials on Reading Comprehension, Motivation, and Anxiety Among Iranian Male EFL Learners

This study aimed to investigate the effect of using authentic materials on English as a foreign language (EFL) learners’ reading comprehension, reading motivation, and reading anxiety. In this study, 58 Iranian male EFL learners were selected and randomly assigned to an experimental and a control group. Both groups were pretested through a reading comprehension test and the motivation for reading questionnaire (MRQ) to test their reading comprehension ability and reading motivation. Having participated in a period of 20 sessions in which the experimental group received treatment of exposure to authentic materials and control group to simplified materials, the students took a posttest of the reading comprehension test and completed the MRQ. Additionally, to test students’ reading anxiety, the two groups completed Foreign Language Reading Anxiety Scale (FLRAS) in two pre- and posttest assessments. The scores obtained were analyzed using one-way analysis of covariance and paired samples t-tests. The results indicated that authentic materials enhanced Iranian learners’ reading motivation and their reading comprehension ability. In addition, the findings suggested that the use of authentic texts significantly improved EFL learner’s anxiety in the experimental group. The implications of the study are discussed.

English as a Foreign Language Reading Anxiety of Chinese University Students

Given the impact of anxiety on foreign language reading, understanding how English as a Foreign Language (EFL) reading anxiety is evoked would help teachers facilitate their students in the reading process effectively. This study aimed at investigating the sources of EFL reading anxiety of Chinese university students. The data were collected from 459 non-English major students from four different universities in China, using an adapted version of English as a Foreign Language Reading Anxiety Inventory (EFLRAI) developed by Zoghi (2012). The findings showed that the participants experienced the moderate level of EFL reading anxiety overall and also categorically. The main source of anxiety was from the lack of general reading ability. Of the three key factors that seemed to arouse higher levels of anxiety than the others, one related to the general reading ability and the other two were vocabulary-related factors. Chinese university students tended to read for details and seemed to get highly anxious when they did not understand ‘everything’. These findings lend suggestions to some interventions that English teachers may use to reduce Chinese university students’ anxiety when reading.

Respiratory Sinus Arrhythmia Mediates the Relation Between "Specific Math Anxiety" and Arithmetic Speed.

There is a growing consensus that math anxiety highly correlates with trait anxiety and that the emotional component elicited by math anxiety affects math performance. Yet few studies have examined the impact of “specific math anxiety” (high math anxiety and low other kinds of anxiety) on math performance and the underlying physiological and affective mechanism. The present study examines the mediation effect of heart rate variability—an affective measurement indexed by respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA)—in the relationship between specific math anxiety and arithmetic speed. A total of 386 junior high school students completed a self-reported questionnaire to measure their anxiety level. Among this sample, 29 individuals with specific math anxiety (high math anxiety and low reading and trait anxiety), 29 with specific reading anxiety (high reading anxiety and low math and trait anxiety), 24 with specific trait anxiety (high trait anxiety and low math and reading anxiety), and 22 controls (low math, trait and reading anxiety) were selected to participate in an arithmetic task and a reading task while RSA was recorded when they performed the tasks. Results revealed that individuals with specific math anxiety showed lower RSA and longer reaction time than the other three groups in the arithmetic task. Regression and mediation analyses further revealed that RSA mediated the relation between specific math anxiety and arithmetic speed. The present study provides the first account of evidence for the affective hypothesis of specific math anxiety and suggests that affective responses may be an important mechanism underlying the detrimental effect of specific math anxiety on math performance.

The Role of Reading Anxiety among Struggling Readers in Fourth and Fifth Grade

Cognitive predictors of reading are well known, but less is understood about the roles of “noncognitive” factors, including emotional variables such as anxiety. While math anxiety has been a focus of study, its analogue in the reading literature is understudied. We assessed struggling fourth and fifth graders (n = 272) on reading anxiety in the context of general anxiety, cognitive predictors (working memory, verbal knowledge), and demographics. Regressions tested for unique contributions to three reading outcomes: word reading accuracy, oral reading fluency, and reading comprehension. Reading anxiety and general anxiety correlated moderately (r = .63) but were differentially related to reading. Reading anxiety predicted comprehension when all other predictors were considered, and predicted oral reading fluency until word reading accuracy was added to the model. Results offer a more nuanced understanding of the nature of reading anxiety, and its implications for struggling readers.