The Role of Teachers in Reducing/Increasing Listening Comprehension Test Anxiety: A Case of Iranian EFL Learners

Abstract

Three components have been introduced for foreign language learning anxiety in the literature: Test anxiety, fear of negative evaluation and communication apprehension. This study teases out the first of the three components with special focus on listening comprehension test to investigate the correlation between listening test results and foreign language anxiety. More importantly, the study aims at questioning the role teachers can play in either alleviating or aggravating the anxiety which has been triggered in the listening test takers. For this purpose, a number of 60 intermediate-level EFL learners participated in the study. To measure the level of anxiety in the testees, a modified and translated version of foreign language class anxiety scale (FLCAS) (developed by Horwtiz, Horwitz, and Cope, p. 1986) was used to be correlated with the testees' scores in listening comprehension test. The results showed a moderate but significant negative correlation between FLCAS and listening comprehension (r=-.469). To answer the second research question, the high anxious participants underwent a treatment, which was designed to alleviate their foreign language learning anxiety. Immediately after the treatment, another listening comprehension test was administered to them to find out whether the treatment session can influence the test results. Using the statistical technique of t-test, the results showed that the high anxious informants had a significant improvement in the second listening comprehension test results due to the reduction of their level of anxiety in the treatment session. Finally, some suggestions were made to the teachers who seek to alleviate the amount of anxiety in their students.

Relationship among Iranian EFL Students’ Foreign Language Anxiety, Foreign Language Listening Anxiety and Their Listening Comprehension

“…The result supports the findings from previous studies which investigated the correlation between foreign language class anxiety and learners' listening performance (Baily, 1983;Aida, 1994;Cheng et al, 1999;Horwitz et al, 1986;MacIntyre & Gardner, 1991;Phillips, 1992;Saito et al, 1999;Sellers, 2000;Sadighi, et al, 2009 andAtasheneh &Izadi 2012). …”

Studying the Effects of an EFL Curriculum for Young Adults in Brazil

“…The operational definition of language classroom anxiety and the questions on the LAMS measuring the construct were adopted from Gardner's original study (1985), and measure a participant'sdegree of comfort or discomfort while participating in language class activities. The results from the current study supports research connecting language classroom anxiety to EFL student performance on oral language assessments (Atasheneh & Izadi, 2012;Hewitt & Stephenson, 2012).…”

“…Research has demonstrated that foreign language teachers can reduce student anxiety through interventions that help them build confidence (Atasheneh & Izadi, 2012), and that exposing learners to the kinds of communicative tasks and the expectations to be met in those tasks throughout curriculum implementation can lower the anxiety levels of learners in testing situations (Gorsuch, 2009). This would suggest that curriculum implementation incorporate repeated opportunities for learners to engage in the kinds of communicative tasks reflected in assessments used to measure learner outcomes.…”

Integrating Arts in EFL Curricula: A Focus on Language Listening Skills

“…The state has classically been described by Charles Spielberger (1983, 1) as 'the subjective feeling of tension, apprehension, nervousness, and worry associated with an arousal of the autonomic nervous system.' Multiple studies have shown that the level of anxiety is negatively tied to academic success and can well predict students' academic abilities ( Alrabai, 2014;Anyadubalu, 2010;Atasheneh and Izadi, 2012;Batumlu and Erden, 2007;Hewitt and Stephenson, 2011;Horwitz, 2001;Mahmood and Iqbal, 2010;Wilson, 2006). In Gallagher's (2012) National Survey of College Counseling, college students have ranked anxiety as a major factor for their low academic achievement.…”