An investigation into efl students anxiety in preparing for the engligh test in the national high school graduation exam

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING
UNIVERSITY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES, HUE UNIVERSITY
------------

NGUYEN TRAN BAO CHAU

AN INVESTIGATION INTO EFL STUDENTS’ ANXIETY
IN PREPARING FOR THE ENGLISH TEST IN THE
NATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATION EXAM

MA THESIS IN THEORY AND METHODOLOGY
OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING

In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts,
University of Foreign Languages, Hue University

HUE, 2020


MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING
UNIVERSITY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES, HUE UNIVERSITY
------------

NGUYEN TRAN BAO CHAU

AN INVESTIGATION INTO EFL STUDENTS’ ANXIETY
IN PREPARING FOR THE ENGLISH TEST IN THE
NATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATION EXAM

MA THESIS IN THEORY AND METHODOLOGY
OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING

CODE: 8140111

In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts,
University of Foreign Languages, Hue University

SUPERVISOR: DR. NGUYEN HO HOANG THUY

HUE, 2020


BỘ GIÁO DỤC VÀ ĐÀO TẠO
ĐẠI HỌC HUẾ
TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC NGOẠI NGỮ
--------

NGUYỄN TRẦN BẢO CHÂU

NGHIÊN CỨU ÁP LỰC TÂM LÝ CỦA HỌC SINH
KHI CHUẨN BỊ CHO BÀI THI TIẾNG ANH CỦA KÌ THI
TRUNG HỌC PHỔ THƠNG QUỐC GIA

LUẬN VĂN THẠC SĨ LÝ LUẬN VÀ PHƯƠNG PHÁP
DẠY HỌC BỘ MÔN TIẾNG ANH
MÃ SỐ: 8140111

NGƯỜI HƯỚNG DẪN KHOA HỌC:
TS. NGUYỄN HỒ HOÀNG THỦY

HUE, 2020

ABSTRACT

It is evident that a considerable number of test takers are experiencing
test anxiety. The current study aims to investigate the main causes of anxiety
among the students in preparing for the English test in the national high school
graduation exam and their responses to their own anxiety. Data were collected
by means of questionnaires delivered to eighty-four 12th graders at a high
school and then semi-structured interviews with ten among these eighty-four
students. The causes of anxiety being investigated were relevant to three main
themes, including learners‟ perceived threat of tests, learners‟ research and
learning skills, and learners‟ test performance attributions. The data was
analysed, synthesised and interpreted both quantitatively and qualitatively.
The findings identified possible causes of anxiety in preparing for the English
test in the national high school graduation exam, among which the students‟
fear for the difficult contents of the test and pressure of time to prepare for the
test, the students‟ difficulties in selecting the right materials and identifying
the appropriate methods to study efficiently, and the students‟ reliance on only
the textbook when preparing for the test were found to be prominent. Students
were also found to have both physical and psychological responses. The study
also proposed a variety of methods to alleviate the anxiety in order for the
students to perform better in the English test.

i


Acknowledgements
I wish to express my sincere gratitude and appreciation to
people who have advised and supported me, and made constructive
criticism during the research.

Firstly, I would like to show my deepest gratitude to my
respectful supervisor, who gave me a lot of professional advice on
the thesis writing. Without her generous professional support and
encouragement, this thesis could not reach this present standard.
Secondly, I would also like to acknowledge my gratefulness
to the students at Hai Ba Trung upper-secondary school who
carefully completed the questionnaires and sincerely provided me
with valuable information for this research in the interview.
Thirdly, I would like to express my sincere thanks to the
Board of Director, the Library staff at Hue University College
of Foreign Languages for their support during the time I carried
out this study.
Finally, I wish to express my deep thanks to my dear family
and friends for their love, encouragement, immeasurable support,
and concrete help for me to complete this research.

ii


TABLE OF CONTENTS
Abstract ............................................................................................................... I
Acknowledgements ............................................................................................II
Table of contents .............................................................................................. III
List of tables...................................................................................................... V
List of abbreviations ........................................................................................ VI
CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION ................................................................... 1
1.1. Background of the study......................................................................... 1
1.2. Aims of the study and research questions .............................................. 2
1.3. Significance of the study ........................................................................ 2
1.4. Structure of the study ............................................................................. 2

CHAPTER 2. LITERATURE REVIEW ....................................................... 3
2.1. Introduction ................................................................................................. 3
2.2. The concept of anxiety ........................................................................... 3
2.2.1. Definition of anxiety ....................................................................... 3
2.2.2. Types of anxiety .............................................................................. 3
2.3. Foreign language anxiety ....................................................................... 4
2.3.1. Definition of foreign language anxiety ........................................... 4
2.3.2. Sources of foreign language anxiety ............................................... 5
2.4. Foreign language test anxiety ............................................................... 12
2.4.1. Definition of foreign language test anxiety .................................. 12
2.4.2. Causes of foreign language test anxiety........................................ 12
2.5. The english test in the national graduation exam in Vietnam .............. 14
2.5.1. An overview of the english curriculum in the general education
program ................................................................................................... 14
2.5.2. A general description of the format of the english national high
school graduation test.............................................................................. 15
2.5.3. The english test matrix .................................................................. 15
2.6. Review of related studies ..................................................................... 15
2.6.1. Research on the global scale ......................................................... 16
2.6.2. Research in Vietnam ..................................................................... 17
2.6.3. Research gaps ................................................................................ 17
2.7. Summary............................................................................................... 18

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CHAPTER 3. METHODOLOGY ................................................................ 19
3.1. Introduction .......................................................................................... 19
3.2. Participants ........................................................................................... 19
3.3 Data collection ....................................................................................... 19

3.3.1. Rationale for selecting data collection instruments ...................... 19
3.3.2. Description of data collection instruments ................................... 20
3.3.3. Procedures for data collection ....................................................... 21
3.4. Data analysis ......................................................................................... 21
3.5. Summary............................................................................................... 22
CHAPTER 4. FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS ........................................ 23
4.1. Introduction .......................................................................................... 23
4.2. The causes of students‟ test anxiety ..................................................... 23
4.2.1. Causes related to learners‟ perceived threat of tests ..................... 23
4.2.2. Causes related to learners‟ research and learning skills ............... 26
4.2.3. Causes related to learners‟ test performance attributions ............. 28
4.3. Students‟ responses to their own anxiety ............................................. 30
4.3.1. Students‟ physical responses to their own anxiety ....................... 30
4.3.2. Students‟ psychological responses to their own anxiety .............. 32
4.4. Summary............................................................................................... 33
CHAPTER 5. CONCLUSION ...................................................................... 34
5.1. Summary of the key findings ............................................................... 34
5.2. Implications for teaching practice ........................................................ 35
5.3. Implications for student learning .......................................................... 35
5.4. Limitations of the study ........................................................................ 35
5.5. Suggestions for further studies ............................................................. 36
REFERENCES............................................................................................... 37
APPENDIX

iv


LIST OF TABLES
Table 4.1: Causes related to learners‟ perceived threat of tests....................... 23
Table 4.2: Causes related to learners‟ research and learning skills ................. 26

Table 4.3: Causes related to learners‟ test performance attributions ................... 28
Table 4.4: Students‟ physical responses to their own anxiety ......................... 30
Table 4.5: Students‟ psychological responses to their own anxiety ................ 32

v


LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

FLA

:

Foreign language anxiety

TA

:

Test anxiety

vi


CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION

1.1. Background of the study
Academic stress is a widespread problem across countries, cultures and
ethnic groups (Wong, Wong, & Scott, 2006). Every student strives to achieve

academic success in order to achieve esteem, family pride and social mobility
(Gow, Bella, Kember, & Hau, 1996). This leads to extremely high academic
expectations and exceptional pressure on students and teenagers in particular
(e.g. Bossy, 2000; Ho, 1996). The students are unable to enjoy their academic
life as a result of pressure and demands to perform well in the exam and it
becomes joyless and burdensome for them.
Stress can be regarded as any physical, chemical or emotional factor that
causes body or mental unrest and can be a factor in causing disease. Trauma,
illnesses, toxins, diseases, and wounds of any kind are physical and chemical
causes of stress. There are many and varying psychological triggers of stress
and tension. Sometimes a moderate degree of pressure and stress can be
helpful. For example, when performing a task or assignment, feeling slightly
anxious often helps us to do a good job, focus better, and work energetically.
But if students encounter intense stress before and during testing, it will have
implications for mental health and somatic symptoms (Lee & Larson, 2000;
Verma & Gupta, 1990). Because of high exam stress, students spent less time
socializing and engaging in passive and active leisure that can further magnify
the impact of exam stress (Lee & Larson, 2000). In reality, getting stressed a
bit about the exam means that students really care about the result they are
going to get. They are being forced to work hard to get a good ranking.
Nevertheless, when the anxiety caused by the stressful test exceeded severe or
subclinical levels, it interfered with the ability of students to perform at their
best. Stress and anxiety felt before and during the tests are often due to fear of
failure and can have a significant negative impact on the student‟s self-esteem.
Anxiety screening has been reported to produce adverse cognitive effects,
including memory problems and information retrieval.
The English test in the national high school graduation exam has become
more and more critical in the past few years in Vietnam. With English being a
compulsory subject in the curriculum, it is expected that high school students
would receive high marks in the English test in the high school graduation exam

and would be admitted to a university subsequently. Nevertheless, a large number

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of Vietnamese students have been performing worst in English in the exam, that
is, they obtained below-average scores in English, 78.22% in 2018, 68.74 % in
2019, and 63.1% in 2020, respectively. Accordingly, it is advised that students
should be able to identify the causes of their own anxiety, and equipped with
learning skills as well as strategies to alleviate test anxiety in order to achieve
better academic outcomes (Ansi-Danso, Amissah, & Effrim, 2015).
1.2. Aims of the study and research questions
Given that high school students are struggling to deal with the English test in
the national high school graduation exam, the current study aims to investigate the
causes of EFL students‟ anxiety in preparing for the English test and their
responses to their own anxiety. It endeavours to address the following questions:
1. What are the causes of anxiety among the students in preparing for the
English test in the national high school graduation exam?
2. How do the students respond to their own anxiety?
1.3. Significance of the study
First, the study aims to find out causes of anxiety among the 12 th-grade
students in preparing for English test in the national high school graduation
exam at an upper-secondary school in Hue and suggests some possible
solutions to anxiety which can help student recognize their difficulties, cope
with and reduce anxiety as well as find out some solutions to solve their
problems during the time they prepare for the test.
Second, the study is useful for the teachers to understand their students‟
obstacles. Then they might select some appropriate teaching methods to help
their students take the actual English examination with lower anxiety.
1.4. Structure of the study

The research consists of five chapters, namely Introduction, Literature
Review, Methodology, Findings and Discussion, and Conclusion.
- Chapter 1 introduces the background, the aims of the study and the
research questions, the significance of the study and the structure of the study.
- Chapter 2 presents the review of the literature relevant to the research,
particularly focusing on the related studies to the field to identify the research gaps.
- Chapter 3 provides the research methodology including information
about research participants, data collection and data analysis.
- Chapter 4 displays the findings and discussion of the study.
- Chapter 5 presents the summary of key research findings, implications
for teaching practice and students‟ learning, the limitations of the study and
the suggestions for further research.

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CHAPTER 2
LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1. Introduction
This chapter aims to introduce the concept of anxiety (2.2); foreign
language anxiety (2.3); foreign language test anxiety (2.4); the English test in the
national graduation exam in Vietnam (2.5), and review of related studies (2.6).
2.2. The concept of anxiety
2.2.1. Definition of anxiety
At the beginning of the twentieth century, Freud (1920) claimed that
anxiety resembled or terrified. Scovel (1978) indicated that anxiety is linked to
feelings of uncomfort, anger, self-doubt, fear, or worry. Horwitz et al. (1986)
described anxiety as a subjective experience of stress, anticipation, nervousness
and anxiety associated with an autonomous nervous system excitement.

In fact, anxiety is the state of the individual when he / she experiences
“discomfort, anger, self-doubt, distress, or depression” similar to any other
specific anxiety (Scovel, 1978, p. 134). But as Piniel (2006) states, anxiety as
encountered by the person while studying a foreign language is a new field of
study, which has now acquired a separate category. Language learning anxiety
is described by MacIntyre (1989) as “the worry and negative emotional reaction
produced when learning or using a second language.” Wei (2007) has drawn
attention to how language learning contexts particularly affect anxiety arousal.
ESL anxiety research is itself challenging because of numerous factors such as
competition, specific difficulties in language processing and development,
personal and interpersonal anxieties and beliefs, and also because second
language learning can challenge the learner‟s self-concept; therefore, it is not
possible to study second language learning anxiety in isolation.
Young (1991) proposed six potential sources of language anxiety: (1)
personal and interpersonal anxieties, (2) learner beliefs about language
learning, (3)instructor beliefs about language teaching, (4) instructor- learner
interactions, (5) classroom procedures, and (6) language testing.
2.2.2. Types of anxiety
A great deal of effort has been devoted to establishing the role of
psychological factors in the learners‟ success or failure in current EFL research.
Affective variables with “anxiety” as one of their sub-categories are among
these psychological causes. There are two forms of general anxiety. One of

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them is called trait anxiety and is defined as “a relatively stable tendency in a
wide variety of circumstances to show anxiety” (Phillips, 1992, p. 14). Another
type of anxiety is state anxiety, described as “situation-specific trait anxiety; that
is, individual suffering from state anxiety will manifest stable tendency to

exhibit anxiety but only in a particular situation (Phillips, 1992, p. 14). Those
who may interpret situations as threatening are known to have state anxiety, a
social form of anxiety that arises under certain circumstances. Situation-specific
anxiety or circumstance-specific anxiety refers to the recurrent and multifaceted nature of certain anxieties. This is triggered by a particular form of
circumstance or occurrence, such as public speaking, test, or class involvement.
Situation-induced anxiety is linked to aroused fear at particular events and
circumstances. Situation-clinical anxiety is triggered by particular situations or
activities such as public speaking, analysis or recitations.
Kleinmann (2011) divided anxiety into two different concepts, facilitating
and debilitating anxiety, with the former being an advantage to performance and
weakening performance-damaging anxiety. FLA itself may have opposite
effects on language learning and, as such, literature addresses both debilitating
and facilitating forms of anxiety, where debilitating anxiety poses a barrier to
language learning, while facilitating anxiety promotes or encourages it.
Although both types exist, studies have mostly concentrated on the former.
2.3. Foreign language anxiety
2.3.1. Definition of foreign language anxiety
There has been much research in foreign language anxiety over the past
two decades. It is characterized as a separate complex of self-perceptions,
values, feelings, and behaviours related to the use of a language beyond the
classroom for communication. Even though anxiety may not be the main
reason for learning failure or success, we cannot disregard its affection.
Anxiety is unavoidable when one learns a foreign language. It is believed
that when learning to speak a foreign language, anxiety is a main challenge to
be solved or overcome. MacIntyre and Gardner (1989) defined language
learning anxiety as the anxiety and negative emotional reaction produced when
learning or using a second language. Khattak, Jamshed, Ahmad and Baig (2011)
noted that the sense of stress, anxiety or nervousness of learners may slow down
or trigger problems for their language learning and performance abilities to be
achieved. In addition, anxiety may impede good performance and achievement

in language learning since a large number of foreign language learners are
frequently impaired by anxiety (Andrade & Williams, 2009).

4


2.3.2. Sources of foreign language anxiety
Here and there in the literature a great number of origins or causes of
foreign language anxiety have been reported. For example, Horwitz et al.
(1986) considered anxiety regarding foreign languages as a result of the
difficulties of learners expressing themselves authentically in the new
language. Sparks and Ganschow and their colleagues believed that the only
explanation for foreign language anxiety was poor language learning capacity
(e.g., Sparks & Ganschow, 1991, 1993a, 1993b). MacIntyre and Gardner
(1993) indicated that language anxiety originated from frequent negative
encounters linked to foreign language. Young (1991) suggested six possible
causes of language anxiety: (1) personal and interpersonal anxieties; (2)
language learner convictions; (3) language teacher beliefs; (4) language
teacher interactions; (5) classroom procedures; and (6) language testing.
Young (1991, 1994, 1999) classified foreign language anxiety sources in those
originating from the learner, the teacher, and the teaching environment.
Nevertheless, there has been no systematic and thorough coverage of all
the established sources and those possible sources which have not been
reported. Centered on a comprehensive analysis of the literature and the
observations of the researchers themselves, the present study indicates that
anxiety in the foreign language originates from major sources, i.e. the
classroom environment, learner characteristics, target language and the
learning process of foreign languages itself.
2.3.2.1. Classroom environment
To a large degree, the foreign language anxiety of learners is correlated

with classes in foreign languages. The two main indicators of anxiety in
foreign languages , i.e. The French Classroom Anxiety Scale of Gardner (
1985) and the Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scales of Horwitz et al.
(1986) (FLCAS) are based on the experience of learners in the classroom
setting. It is clear that the atmosphere in the classroom can be a source of
anxiety about foreign languages. In the classroom setting, the teacher and the
instructional activities identified by Young (1991) can be subsumed. In
addition, the teacher, the behavior of classmates and the relationship between
learners and classmates may also contribute to the atmosphere of the
classroom. Therefore, as a source of foreign language anxiety, the classroom
atmosphere consists of 3 sources, i.e. the teacher‟s role, classroom activities,
and relationships among the students in the classroom.

5


The role of the teacher
The teacher has been discovered to play a significant role in the anxiety
levels of students in a foreign language class. Allemand and Aida (1994), for
instance, were especially interested in the instructor‟s effect on levels of
anxiety. One teacher was judged to be "authoritarian" in their studies, while the
other was seen as "facilitative." On their perceptions of high stress and anxiety,
students from the "authoritarian" teacher class commented; students from the
"facilitative" teacher class were found to be more relaxed and less anxious.
Price (1991, p.106) also stated, based on the results of interviews with
anxious students, that the teacher “had played a major role in the amount of
anxiety each student had encountered in specific classes.” Price also pointed out
that some teachers who mocked student accents or high school instructors who
walked with a yard stick around the classroom and dropped it on the desk of
someone who did not listen were believed to raise the discomfort of the students.

It was also recorded that those teachers who made class time a show rather than a
learning time provoked anxiety. On the contrary, the teachers, who encouraged,
asked students to explore the value of making mistakes in language learning.
A judgment-teaching mindset was seen by Samimy (1994) as provoking
anxiety. In foreign language classrooms, Aida (1994) interpreted a harsh way
of teaching as contributing to anxiety. Young (1994) also regarded "the
teachers as creating fear in harsh ways to correct student errors." Similarly,
Palacios (1998) discovered that many instructor behaviors were associated
with anxiety. These attributes included the absence of teacher help, an
unsympathetic personality, lack of personal attention time, a feeling that the
class did not provide students with the resources required to fulfill the
standards of the teacher, and the teacher's sense of being judged or the ability
to please the teacher. On the other hand, in classes where teachers were
compassionate, patient, sarcastic, recognizing the lack of knowledge of the
students, had a willingness to help students achieve success, and cared for
students, students were less nervous.
Another source of language anxiety listed in the literature is the belief of
instructors about language teaching. The views of instructors that could trigger
anxiety among students include the following, according to Young (1994, p. 31):
1. Some intimidation of students is necessary.
2. The instructors role is to correct students constantly.
3. The instructor cannot have students working in pairs because the class
may get out of control.

6


4. That the instructor should be doing most of the talking and teaching.
5. The instructor is a drill sergeant.
In language classes, certain assumptions about language teaching are

likely to manifest in the teacher's way and teaching methods, which, in turn,
may contribute to feelings of anxiety for students.
2.3.2.2. Learner characteristics
A variety of individual learner characteristics have been related to
anxiety about the foreign language. Such attributes include competitiveness,
perfectionism, fear of negative feedback, poor self-esteem, low self-perception
of ability, and language learner values (e.g., Bailey, 1983; Price, 1991; Yan &
Horwitz, 2008; Tallon, 2006). It should be remembered that these
characteristics are possibly intricately interrelated with each other instead of
being independent of each other. They probably work together to cause
anxiety in the language foreign in complex ways.
Competitiveness
In a series of diary analyzes, Bailey (1983, p. 96) found that competitiveness
was a primary factor leading to anxiety about foreign language. Bailey
described competitiveness as the ability to outstand others in comparison.
“Others” are usually classmates of the learner in this description, but a learner
can compete with an idealized self-image, or with learners not directly
involved in the language classroom. If a learner perceives himself or herself as
lacking in comparison with others or the idealized self-image, anxiety may
result from such competitiveness. The study of Bailey‟s diary revealed that
she appeared to equate herself regularly with other students in the class, and
that she was nervous when she considered herself less qualified. Her anxiety
decreased, however, as she considered herself more qualified and therefore
better able to “compete” with her peers. Bailey (1983, p. 93) also noted that
competitive language learners shared several other characteristics, such as “the
desire to outdo other language learners,” “the focus on or concern with tests
and grades,” and “the desire to gain teacher approval.”
Perfectionism
Gregersen and Horwitz (2002) explored the relationship among preservice English teachers in Chile between anxiety and perfectionism about
foreign languages. They found that nervous learners throughout their life have

tended to be perfectionists. They also concluded that in terms of their
characteristics, nervous language learners and perfectionists had much in

7


common. Perfectionists, for example, appeared to overestimate the negative
effect of their mistakes, and the likelihood of unfavorable feedback by others.
They were too preoccupied with the ratings and views of their instructors and
peers. The non-perfectionists, on the other hand, tended to use self-evaluation
more frequently, and usually gave themselves constructive evaluations.
Furthermore, not only were the perfectionist students more concerned with their
mistakes, but also graded their mistakes more severe than the non-perfectionists.
Perfectionist students and anxious students shared many common characteristics
in Gregersen and Horwitz‟s (2002) study, and perfectionist students seemed
more likely to suffer from anxiety than non-perfectionists.
Fear of negative feedback
Horwitz et al. (1986) defined fear of negative feedback as being linked to
anxiety in the foreign language. They stated that both competitiveness and
perfectionism involve fear of negative evaluation. Horwitz et al. (1986)
attributed anxiety associated with language learning, and used the difficulties
of learners to portray themselves authentically in the new language: adults
usually view themselves as relatively intelligent, socially-advantaged
individuals, prone to various socio-cultural mores. These assumptions are
rarely challenged when communicating in a native language, as understanding
others or making oneself understood is not usually difficult. The situation,
however, stands in marked contrast when learning a foreign language. As
individual communication attempts are measured according to unclear or even
unknown linguistic and socio-cultural norms, contact with second language
requires risk-taking, and is inevitably problematic. Since complex and nonspontaneous mental operations are needed to communicate at all, any

performance is likely to question the self-concept of a person as a competent
communicator and lead to reticence, self-awareness; fear or even panic.
According to Horwitz et al. (1986), if their language skills were not
strong enough, foreign language learners were unable to communicate openly
or to view themselves authentically in the country. For example, in their native
language they could sound very funny, witty or clever, but they could not
show their charm in the foreign language in front of others. In this situation,
self-conscious language learners were worried that they would be treated
differently by people than the way they saw themselves. Horwitz (2000)
thought those feelings were close to the frustration that people would
encounter when they get a bad haircut or wear clothes they do not want. This
can be shown, fear of harsh feedback is at the heart of Horwitz‟s interpretation
of the origin of anxiety. This also appears that Horwitz‟s argumentation

8


promotes competition as a source of terror. In Horwitz‟s theory, foreign
language learners compare themselves to an idealized self-image, that is to
say, an person who is “intelligent,” “socially adept;” anxiety occurs when they
realize they can not fulfill their self-created expectations.
Low self-esteem and self-perceptions
Some researchers associated low self-esteem and low self-perceptions
with anxiety. Young (1994) cited low self-esteem as one of the learner traits
that lead to anxiety about language foreign. Young (1992) earlier conducted a
series of interviews with language experts to evoke their opinions on anxiety
in foreign languages. Krashen (1981) replied that the degree of self-esteem of
a person was highly correlated with language anxiety: The more I think about
self-esteem, the more impressed I am with its effects. For other cases this is
what triggers anxiety. Individuals with low self-esteem worry about what their

colleagues think: they want to impress others. So I believe that fear has to do a
great deal (Young, 1992, p. 15).
Price‟s (1991) study also supported the perspective. The subjects in her
study were extremely nervous language learners and most of them assumed that
their language abilities were lower than those of their peers and that everyone
else in the class looked down on them because they did a bad job in language
classes. Gardner and MacIntyre (1993) found that anxious language learners
appeared to underestimate their real language abilities, indicating that anxious
language learners appeared to have low self-esteem and poor language abilities
expectations. Competitiveness is potentially connected to low self-esteem or
poor self-perception. As previously described, Bailey (1983) indicated that
language learners tended to compare themselves to others, especially their
classmates. They became anxious or stressed when they perceived themselves
to be less proficient or have lower language learning ability.
Learner beliefs
The views of students on language learning as being correlated with
anxiety have been supported by a variety of researchers (Horwitz et al. 1986;
Horwitz, 1988, 1989; Palacio 1998; Price 1991; Young 1991). Young (1991,
p. 428) concluded that "learner beliefs in language learning are a significant
contributor to language anxiety" and that "anxiety occurs when beliefs and
reality conflict.” Many students have unreasonable assumptions about
studying language. For example, language learners in Horwitz‟s (1988) study
had the following convictions: (1) whether their utterances are correct or not is
very important; (2) “an excellent accent” is highly desirable; (3) language

9


learning involves translation primarily; (4) two years of study are sufficient to
achieve fluency in a foreign language: (5) some people have a greater ability

for learning the foreign language than others. Those views are either
misguided or irrational, as can be seen. Language learners may create negative
opinions about their capacity as a language learner when these expectations
are not met in practice (which is very likely to happen). Because low selfesteem or expectations may contribute to anxiety, these learners with such
mistaken or unrealistic views can become very nervous language learners.
In particular, two studies are exploring the relationship between
assumptions about language learning and levels of anxiety in the foreign
language, which seemed to support the above claim. Horwitz (1989) found
that, in beginning university Spanish classes, more nervous learners perceived
language learning as being fairly difficult and considered themselves to be
weak language learners. Palacios (1998) discovered many values related to
anxiety. Mastering a language, for example, is a difficult task; phonetic
translation is necessary to speak in a foreign language, and learning a language
is easier for young children. When one considers himself or herself as having a
poor language learning capacity, he or she may generally interpret language
learning as being very difficult and thus feel insecure about language learning.
The literature seems to indicate that mistaken or unrealistic beliefs in language
can lead to low perceptions.
2.3.2.3. The target language
The target language is another possible cause of anxiety which is
expressed by most language learners but has not yet been thoroughly
investigated by researchers. Many learners of Chinese as a foreign language
(CFL) who participated in Luo's (2011) study admitted that they felt more
nervous about learning Chinese than learning Spanish as a foreign language. It
seems that the explanation is plain. For American learners, Chinese is more
difficult than Spanish because Spanish is more similar to English, whereas
Chinese has foreign linguistic features including tones and characters.
Research has shown that there is a high drop-out rate in Chinese as a
Foreign Language (CFL) schools. The high drop-out rates of the less widely
taught foreign languages such as Chinese and Japanese are possibly due to the

difficulty level of these languages, according to many researchers and scholars
(Samimy & Tabuse, 1992; Norman, 1996; Pease, 1996; Oh, 1996). Studies
have also shown that drop-outs reported substantially higher levels of anxiety
(Gardner et al., 1987) and that students who were particularly nervous were at
greater risk of dropping out of their language classes (Bailey et al., 2003).

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In addition, several studies indicate that nervous foreign language
learners appear to view learning foreign languages as a very difficult activity
(Horwitz, 1989; Palacios, 1998). It is also fair to assume that the high drop-out
rate of Chinese classes in the U.S. is linked to the anxiety of students faced in
Chinese classes and anxiety, which, in turn, may be a product of the Chinese
language's difficulty level.
The target language can also be inferred from a variety of other studies
as a cause of foreign language anxiety. For example, Le (2004) found that
when studying Chinese in study-abroad programs in China, American learners
of Chinese reported the highest level of anxiety relative to the anxiety levels of
learners of other languages in other studies. Aida (1994) discovered that the
level of anxiety in Japanese students was significantly higher than in the
Horwitz‟s (1986) study. Aida (1994) thought this outcome was understandable
because students may feel more nervous about learning a non-Western,
foreign language such as Japanese than learning Western languages such as
Spanish that are commonly taught.
Furthermore, the anxiety of Japanese FL learners was found to vary in
many ways somewhat from that of French learners. For instance, the level of
anxiety of Japanese learners increased as instruction continued, while French
FL learners' anxiety decreased (Samimy & Tabuse 1992; Saito & Sammy
1996; Gardner et al., 1977; Gardner et al., 1979). The disparity in findings was

attributed by Kitano (2001) to the well-known complexity of the Japanese
language and to the much-discussed discrepancies between the cultures of
Japan and America. As previously stated, for three different target languages
(French, Russian and Japanese), learners' foreign language reading anxiety
varied significantly (Saito et al., 1999). The target language appears to be a
cause of foreign language anxiety, as can be seen. I will go a step further and
claim that language is internal or implicit in the target language-a certain
degree of foreign language anxiety.
Interestingly, however, Saito et al. (1999) found no substantial
differences among learners of the three different target languages in the degree
of general foreign language anxiety. The FLCAS, a standardized foreign
language anxiety scale that specifically discusses speaking anxiety, was used
in their analysis to assess the general foreign language anxiety of foreign
language learners for all target languages.

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2.4. Foreign language test anxiety
2.4.1. Definition of foreign language test anxiety
Test anxiety arises from a fear of failure and evaluative situations,
especially when students have poor results in previous exams (Horwitz et al.,
1986). Learners with test anxiety are afraid of negative judgement and doubt
their ability to make a proper impression (McIntyre & Gardner, 1991). In a
foreign language setting, negative judgement comes primarily from both
teachers and their peers. Students who are afraid of negative evaluation may
adopt the avoidance action. According to Aida (1994), students who are afraid
of negative evaluation might “sit passively in the classroom, withdrawing from
classroom activities that might otherwise improve their language skills. In
severe cases, students may think of cutting class to escape situations of distress,

causing them to be left behind” (p. 162). These components are considered to
have a deleterious impact on foreign language learning (Horwitz et al., 1986).
2.4.2. Causes of foreign language test anxiety
Test anxiety has been extensively examined in terms of its connection to
the test performance of foreign language learners as well as the way it
influences their performance. The factors responsible for it have been explored
in a growing body of studies.
Young (1991) has, for example, established test validity as one of the
most important factors in generating test anxiety. Young (1991) noted that if a
test contains material not taught in the curriculum or types of questions for
which students had no experience, they felt nervous. Two other causes of test
anxiety including fear of having bad grades and limited time for the test are
established by Ohata (2005). Moreover, Bachman and Palmer (1996) found
that test anxiety can be triggered by insufficient test-taker characteristics such
as topical awareness, language expertise, personal characteristics, and strategic
competence; test anxiety can also be related to the ability of learners, task
complexity and lack of preparation for a test. In the same line, language
proficiency and language history were found to have an effect on students‟ test
anxiety (Rotenberg, 2002). Specifically, learners‟ lower research skills, have
been described as the best predictor of test anxiety by Rasor and Rasor (1998),
while Horwitz (2001) indicated that inadequate language learning is a cause
rather than a consequence of test anxiety.
A number of other causes of test anxiety have also been discussed. A
relationship between the level of test anxiety and the situational variables such
as environments, form of exam halls, and sitting arrangements was concluded

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by Lee (1988) and Bushnell (1978). Moreover, Shohamy (1992) and Oh

(1992) discovered various test methods such as oral interview, cloze tests, and
think aloud processes increased test anxiety and reactions. The idea of teachers
being strict in assessment also presents problems with anxiety (Horwitz &
Young, 1991). In addition, Aydin (2008) reported the factors responsible for
arousing test anxiety as low competence level, negative attitudes of learners
and teachers, poor test encounters, time limits, complexity of course content,
test invalidity and parental expectations. Finally, some other possible causes of
test anxiety were identified by Salend (2011). These include students' learned
helplessness, unreasonable expectations, peer comparisons, low level of selfesteem and trust, negative attribution and criticism, pressure related to teacher
and school, highly competitive classes, high-stake testing and grading,
distracting testing environment, poorly designed or timed tests.
It can be seen that there are a wide range of causes of test anxiety. In
general, these causes can be summarized as being relevant to three main
themes, including learners’ perceived threat of tests, learners’ research and
learning skills and learners’ test performance attributions.
Learners’ perceived threat of tests
Several researchers (e.g., Lay, Edwards, Parker & Endler, 1989;
Schwarzer & Jerusalem, 1992) found that students with high-test anxiety
appeared to view exams as threatening experiences when they saw a traumatic
occurrence in the next evaluative circumstances. Students' reasons for this
perceived danger were that they have some personal barriers for learning or
that the particular subject matter is complex and difficult (Bandalos, Yates, &
Thorndike-Christ, 1995; Schutz & Davis, 2000).
Learners’ research and learning skills
Everson, Smodlaka, and Tobias (1995) revealed that when students had
deficiencies in finding, collecting and storing materials during test planning,
they exhibited high-test anxiety. Furthermore, students with test anxiety were
prevented from cognitive processes by the inability to employ successful study
skills. It was found that students with high-test anxiety studied far more than
their peers with low anxiety, but the methods of study were highly repetitive

and less efficient (Culler & Holohan, 1980).
Learners’ test performance attributions
Schwarzer and Jerusalem (1992) stated that as students encountered
circumstances involving internally based failure attributions, it ensured that

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the upcoming tests were likely to be dangerous. In other words, students can
pass past the "Challenge Level" of motivation and proceed to a level where
danger is dominant. The development of a "Loss of Influence" viewpoint is
promoted in cases where students develop attributions that have externalised
the locus of control.
These three main themes relevant to the causes of test anxiety would be
employed in the current study exploring the causes of anxiety in preparing for
the national high school graduation English test.
2.5. The English test in the national graduation exam in Vietnam
2.5.1. An overview of the English curriculum in the general education
program
As described in Circular 32 issued by the MOET (2018), the General
Education Program in the English language complies with the provisions laid
down in the General Education Program of the Ministry of Education and
Training, including general guidance on views, objectives, and achievement of
requirements, educational plans and orientations on educational content,
educational methods, assessment of learning outcomes and conditions for the
implementation of the program. Moreover,the English general education
curriculum is based on the view that the purpose of the teaching process is to
communicate; language knowledge is a means of learning and developing
communication skills by listening, speaking, reading, and writing.
Circular 32 (MOET, 2018) also indicates that, regarding the educational

objectives, after finishing the English curriculum of the upper-secondary
school, students are expected to use English as a communication tool through
the four skills of listening, speaking, reading, and writing to meet basic and
practical communication needs for familiar topics. Students are also expected
to continue to form and develop essential English skills, including phonetics,
vocabulary, grammar, etc. simultaneously, recognizing and respecting the
diversity of cultures through English, getting a deeper understanding of the
nation, people, and cultures of the English-speaking countries and other
countries around the world, initially reflecting the Vietnamese cultural values
in English. They should also use English to raise the quality of learning in
other subjects in general education and pursue higher academic objectives or
get into work.
After completing high school English, students are expected to reach
Level 3 of the 6-level Language Proficiency System for Vietnamese. In
particular, students can understand the key points of passages or speech in

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familiar topics such as work, school, entertainment, etc. They can control most
cases in which the language is spoken. Moreover, they can write simple
paragraphs relating to common topics or their interests. They should also have
a deeper understanding of the countries, people, cultures of English speaking
countries and other countries around the world through English; appreciate
and respect the cultural diversity, while at the same time initially reflect
Vietnam's cultural values in English; build qualities of patriotism, people,
honesty, compassion and responsibility for the environment and society.
2.5.2. A general description of the format of the English national
high school graduation test
Sixty minutes is the maximum length of time allotted for the national

English graduation test (not including delivery time). The English test is taken
in a multiple-choice format and does not include speaking and listening. When
doing the test, students have to fill their answers in the answer sheet. Students
are advised to finish all the questions in order to maximize the opportunity of
obtaining high score. Following is a general description of the test format, as
presented by Pham et al. (2016). (see Appendix 2)
2.5.3. The English test matrix
Based on the sample test issued by the Ministry of Education and Training
for the 2020 National High School Examination, knowledge of the examination
questions should be closely related to the general program. There are 50
questions in the test, and the information matrix distributed is as follows:
From the matrix analysis table (Appendix 1), we can see that the number
of application questions and the high degree of application questions
concentrate on vocabulary and reading comprehension. For the most parts, it
would be difficult for students to answer questions related to such content.
Therefore, in order to find out the causes of anxiety, the current study
specifically concentrated on analyzing vocabulary (including a phrasal verb,
word choice, antonym) and reading (including word choice, asking about the
title, closest meaning, asking about specific information, asking about
inference question) in the national English graduation test. Additionally, other
parts (such as pronunciation, stress patterned, grammar, communication
function, writing) were also covered to ensure an overview of the test.
2.6. Review of related studies
The anxiety and test anxiety studies have attracted much attention from
researchers in Vietnam and worldwide.

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2.6.1. Research on the global scale

Dewaele, Petrides, and Furnham (2008), in a large-scale survey of
multilingual adults worldwide, found that younger individuals, when they
started learning a second or third language, had lower language anxiety rates.
Lower levels of anxiety were also associated with more language skills and
higher levels of Emotional Intelligence. This article has analyzed language
learners who are successful and who use the language outside the classroom,
unlike most previous research. This study indicates that in addition to
individual factors, broader social conditions such as the availability of positive
conversational partners and L2 role models may play a role in reducing
language anxiety.
Akinleke and Adeaga (2014) investigated how the test anxiety, study
habits, and locus of control affected academic performance among college
students with 508 participants through the questionnaire. The study established
that academic performance, non-cognitive and socio-psychological changes
were closely related. Early intervention and immediate preventive
interventions were then created and applied, which would help alleviate
students' anxiety. In particular, the right study strategies were developed, such
as evaluating the level of understanding, making sense of the textbook
information, and realizing the purpose of learning a particular thing.
Akinsola and Augustina (2013) conducted the study of Test anxiety,
depression, and academic performance: Assessment and arrangement using
relaxation and cognitive restructuring techniques to investigate changes in
anxiety levels among 420 senior secondary participants. The results show that
test anxiety, trait anxiety, and depression existed together and had a positive
relationship with and adverse effects on academic performance. It is also
better to combine relaxation with cognitive restructuring treatment to reduce
anxiety and depression rather than only relaxation treatment. The findings thus
show cognitive therapy‟s efficacy in managing anxiety and depression and
improving academic performance.
Two causes of test anxiety that include fear of having bad grades and

time limits are established by Ohata (2005). Most of his study participants,
with five Japanese college students in the United States, said they were
reluctant to take tests because test-taking conditions would make them hesitant
about the adverse effects of having bad grades. They also felt often forced to
think that they had to plan their ideas in a short period.

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