Factors Associated with Foreign Language Reading Anxiety in the University Academic Setting

The study investigates foreign language reading anxiety of students in university subject-matter courses and background variables associated with reading anxiety. Specifically, the study addresses the following: 1) the underlying constructs of reading anxiety as experienced by the university students in subject-matter courses; 2) the degree of reading anxiety depending upon individual background variables, and 3) the relationships between reading anxiety, academic achievement, perceived competence, and measured proficiency in reading. One hundred and twenty-one university students completed the Foreign Language Reading Anxiety Scale (FLRAS) coupled with a background information survey. The students’ final course grades, self-ratings in reading and actual reading scores of a modified TEPS were operationalized as performance variables. Through factor analyses, four factors were extracted to represent the data: (1) Form-driven Reading Anxiety; (2) Self-efficacy in Reading; (3) Message-oriented Reading Anxiety; and (4) Culture-bound Reading Apprehension. Further analyses revealed that the degree of students’ reading anxiety was not affected by such individual ariables as gender, year of study, and overseas experience. On the other hand, their FLRAS levels significantly increased with their perceived difficulty of English textbooks. Correlation analyses indicated that the FLRAS scores were inversely related to both the students’ perceived competence and measured performance in reading, but not their final grades. Ultimately, the students’ perceived competence in reading, not the actual competence, turned out to be the most powerful predictor of the foreign language reading anxiety, suggesting the role of self-related cognition in language learning process.