Chapter OneIntroduction
1.1 Background of the Research
As one of the basic skills of language learning, reading plays an irreplaceable role in theprocess of language learning. Reading is not only a way for learners to acquire knowledge ofthe target language, but also an important means for readers to obtain external knowledge andinformation and enjoy reading. Carrel (1989:10) once stressed the importance of reading bystating “reading is the primary source of new information about all sorts of topics in both firstand second language reading.” Besides, Krashen (2004:23) pointed out that “reading is anunique way, which can make us become good readers. It can help us develop good writingstyle and spelling ability, acquire vocabulary knowledge and master grammar.” However,though Chinese learners have learned English for year, few of them can comprehend Englishreading well and English reading achievement is a big concern for them. Therefore, how toimprove the reading ability of learners has become an urgent problem in English teaching.
Language learning is a complex process, which is restricted by many factors, such asmotivation, emotion, cognition and personality (Arnold, 2005:80). Krashen’s (1982) AffectiveFiltering Hypothesis emphasizes the impact of affective factors on learners’ languageacquisition. It holds that the affective factors existing in learners’ learning process, especiallylearning motivation, self-confidence and anxiety, have a filtering effect on learners’ languageacquisition. Anxiety is considered to be an important factor affecting language learning.Foreign language learning anxiety (FLLA) is first proposed by Horwitz et al. (1986:128), theythought it as “learners’ unique and complex self-awareness, beliefs, emotions and behaviorsrelated to classroom foreign language learning due to the uniqueness of foreign languagelearning process.” Meanwhile, since reading is usually done privately, learners tend to beanxious and unconfident when they encounter difficulties (Lee, 1999). Saito et al. (1999) alsomaintained that learners’ lack of cultural knowledge of the target language will bringdifficulties in reading and induce anxiety. Therefore, reading anxiety is an important affective factor that should be taken into consideration in learner’s reading achievement.
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1.2 Need of the Research
The review of literature shows that reading anxiety has gained attention both abroad andat home in recent years.
Up to now, the existing studies on foreign language reading anxiety (FLRA) have doneon these topics: the correlation between general foreign language anxiety (FLA) and FLRA(e.g., Saito et al., 1999; Sellers, 2000; Brantmeier, 2005; Wu, 2011), factors that influenceFLRA (e.g., Sparks et al., 2000; Ipek, 2005; Liu & Shi, 2006; Zhao, 2013; Emre, 2015), andthe relationship between FLRA and reading achievement (e.g., Saito et al., 1999; Shi YunZhang, 2006; Rajab, 2012). Among these topics, there has been a heightened interest in thestudies of the relationship between FLRA and reading achievement.
However, though there were numerous studies, the results turned out to be inconsistent.Most studies revealed that these two elements were negatively related (Saito et al., 1999; ShiYunzhang, 2006). While some researchers (Sellers, 2000; Mills, 2006) found that there was nocorrelation between FLRA and reading achievement, and they all assumed the readingmaterial difficulty may be an influential factor. However, researchers stated above just assumetheoretically that the relationship between FLRA and reading performance may be affected byreading material difficulty, but there are few empirical studies at home and abroad thatconfirm this hypothesis.
In short, it is necessary to conduct an empirical study to test whether the relationshipbetween FLRA and reading performance is affected by reading material difficulty. Hopefully,the results of this research will help reveal the current state of vocational college students’English reading anxiety and offer some useful pedagogical implications to vocational collegeEnglish teachers.
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Chapter TwoLiterature Review
2.1 Theoretical Foundations
This part introduces the theoretical basis of FLRA, including Humanistic Psychologyand Krashen’s Affective Filter Hypothesis. These two theories explain that anxiety is animportant factor to exert influence on learners’ English reading performance.
2.1.1 Humanistic Psychology
For a long time, researchers have been paying attention to emotional problems inlanguage learning. In the early 1920s, the western humanist and educationist put forward thataffective domain and cognitive domain are both important content and objectives in Englisheducation. Later in the 1960s, some theories and viewpoints put forward by westernhumanistic psychologists, such as Maslow and Rogers, provide inspiration for languageteaching. Considered as one of the leading architects of humanistic psychology, Maslow(1943) developed a hierarchical theory of human motivation, they are physiological needs,safety, belongingness and love, esteem, and self-actualization. Only when the more primitiveneeds are met can the individual progress to higher levels in the hierarchy. People reachingself-actualization will have fully realized their potential. The concept of the self is animportant point for most humanistic psychologists. Roger (1959) believed that human beingshave one basic motive, that is the tendency to self-actualize i.e., to fulfill one’s potential andachieve the highest level of “human-beingness” we can. Like a flower that will grow to its full potential if the conditions are right, but which is constrained by its environment, so peoplewill flourish and reach their potential if their environment is good enough.
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2.2 Anxiety
Inspired by the Affective Filter Hypothesis, many researchers in the field of secondlanguage acquisition emphasize the importance of affective factors. As a major factor, anxietyobtains much attention and its definitions are varied from perspective to perspective.
2.2.1 Definitions of Anxiety
Anxiety is usually defined as “a complex state that includes cognitive, emotional,behavioral, and bodily reactions” (Sarason, 1984:931). In Merriam-Webster’s CollegiateDictionary (1988:27), anxiety is defined as “an abnormal or overwhelming sense ofapprehension and fear often marked by physiological signs (such as sweating, tension,increased pulse).”
From the psychological perspective, anxiety is a mental state. For example, an Americanscholar thought it as “a status of apprehension, a fuzzy fear that is only indirectly associatedwith an object” (Scovel, 1978:134). Whereas, Spielberger (1983:1) considered the “feeling ofanxiety” as an immediate, temporary emotional experience with immediate cognitive effectsthat is pronounced by feelings of worry, nervousness, and tension in response to a specificsituation (e.g., teaching and learning contexts). And Zhu Zhixian (1989:137) put forward thatanxiety was a kind of negative emotion and it was a state of tension, fear and unease.
From the behavioral perspective, anxiety is usually defined as “a feeling of one’s owndisadvantage and inability to deal with real or imaginary threats” (MacIntyre and Gardner,1991:115). Wolman (1989) proposed that anxiety was a feeling of weakness andincompetence in the face of real situation or the imaginary threats, which mainly came fromone’s tension and lack of self-confidence.
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Chapter Three Research Methodology................................... 18
3.1 Research Questions....................................18
3.2 Subjects................................. 18
3.3 Instruments..................................19
Chapter Four Results and Discussion................................... 25
4.1 Results...................................25
4.1.1 Results of the ERAS..................................... 25
4.1.2 Results of Reading Test.................................26
Chapter Five Conclusion.......................................44
5.1 Major Findings............................44
5.2 Pedagogical Implications............................. 45
Chapter FourResults and Discussion
4.1 Results
4.1.1 Results of the ERAS
In order to summarize the obtained data in a clear and simple way, descriptive statisticswere provided. Table 4.1 presents the descriptive statistics of the ERAS scores.
As can be seen from Table 4.1, participants in this sample have a mean score of 64.20(SD=12.477) in the ERAS. Furthermore, it can see that the minimum score is 28 while themaximum score is 90, which indicates that there is a big difference (range=62) in the state ofvocational college students’ English reading anxiety.
The mean value in the Likert 5-scale equals to or higher than 3.5 can be classified ashigh degree, the mean value equals to or lower than 2.4 can be classified as low degree, andthe mean value between 2.5 and 3.4 can be classified as moderate degree (Oxford andBurry-Stock, 1995). As shown in the Table 4.2 below, overall, vocational college studentsexperienced moderate degree of English reading anxiety (M=3.22), as the average scores onthe four scales range from 2.95 to 3.56. Among the four scales, the score of reading detailsanxiety (3.56) is the highest, which belongs to the high degree, and the score of readinglearning difficulties (2.95) is the lowest, which belongs to the moderate degree, and the othertwo scales (reading comprehension anxiety=3.35; reading confidence=3.21) belong to themoderate degree.
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Conclusion
5.1 Major Findings
The purpose of this research is to explore the relationship between English readinganxiety and reading performance in different reading task difficulties. After collecting andanalyzing the data from 221 participants of five freshmen non-English major classes selectedfrom a vocational college in Zhejiang province, the major findings of this thesis are listed asfollows:
Firstly, the non-English major vocational college students really experience moderatelevel of English reading anxiety when they are doing English reading tasks. In this research,the 221 participants experience a wide range of English reading anxiety levels. There are threeanxiety levels: low reading anxiety group, middle reading anxiety group and high anxietygroup. From the data, it can be seen that most of the participants (52.04%) are in the middlereading anxiety group and more than a third (36.20%) participants belong to the high readinganxiety group, and the rest belong to the low reading anxiety group.
Secondly, the research explores the correlation between English reading anxiety andreading performance on the basis of high-difficulty and low-difficulty reading tasks. In thehigh-difficulty reading task, the correlation analysis shows that English reading anxiety andEnglish reading task scores are significantly negative correlated. However, when the subjects’anxiety level reaches above moderate level, there is no significant difference in readingperformance among students with middle and high reading anxiety. In the low-difficultyreading task, the correlation analysis shows that there is no significant negative correlationbetween English reading anxiety and English reading task scores, and one-way ANOVAresults indicates that there is no significant difference in reading performance among studentsin three different reading anxiety groups in low-difficulty reading task. The result of this research explains empirically the inconsistent results of previous studies.
Lastly, this study identifies four sources of English reading anxiety: excessive attentionto reading details, worrying about comprehension, unfamiliar cultural background and lack ofreading confidence.
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