Test Anxiety: A Case of ESL Vocabulary Testing Using Multiple-Choice Items and Error Identification Tests

Abstract

The current study seeks to discern the impact of test anxiety on English language students’ test performance. The major instruments which helped gathering data were two different formats of vocabulary test and a questionnaire survey which identified the level of anxiety. Participants were fifty female English language learners who were studying at intermediate and upper-intermediate levels of English. These students were grouped into two groups of MC and EI according to their scores in the examinations they were given in the pre-test phase, multiple-choice test and error identification test. The survey after the pre-test indicated the level of anxiety these tests have brought. During a span of twenty-week period students received different teaching plans respectively. The same tests in pre-test were administered in the post-test phase and the questionnaire illustrated the level of anxiety after each student has received particular treatment. The findings showed that the level of test anxiety is higher in the group which received and tested on error identification format of vocabulary knowledge test. This increase of test anxiety was by definition significant in comparison with the other group, MC. The other important part of this study was coming to this conclusion that while students were given their particular teaching plans, debilitative anxiety still impedes them from having a strong and high performance which in turn needs more considerations from their teachers and examiners.

A Study of Foreign Language Vocabulary Test Anxiety in the Context of Concrete/Abstract Word Test

“…In foreign language learning, on one hand, more linguistics manage to explore the relationship between vocabulary and learning anxiety [4] [5]. On the other hand, both vocabulary and test anxiety is generally related with language skill test, test performance and item tests [6][7] [8][9] [10]. However, prior studies have seldom targeted for the isolated vocabulary test anxiety.…”