(Luận văn thạc sĩ) an investigation into factors causing the 10th students’ anxiety in english reading comprehension classes at tam đảo high school

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI
UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES
FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES

TRIỆU THỊ HOÀI THU

AN INVESTIGATION INTO FACTORS CAUSING THE 10TH STUDENTS’
ANXIETY IN ENGLISH READING COMPREHENSION CLASSES AT
TAM ĐẢO HIGH SCHOOL
(Tìm hiểu về các yếu tố gây ra sự lo lắng của học sinh lớp 10 trong các giờ học
đọc hiểu tiếng Anh ở trường THPT Tam Đảo)

M.A. MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS

Field: English Teaching Methodology
Code: 60140111

HANOI - 2016


VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI
UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES
FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES

TRIỆU THỊ HOÀI THU

AN INVESTIGATION INTO FACTORS CAUSING THE 10TH STUDENTS’
ANXIETY IN ENGLISH READING COMPREHENSION CLASSES AT
TAM ĐẢO HIGH SCHOOL
(Tìm hiểu về các yếu tố gây ra sự lo lắng của học sinh lớp 10 trong các giờ học
đọc hiểu tiếng Anh ở trường THPT Tam Đảo)

M.A. MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS

Field: English Teaching Methodology
Code: 60140111
Supervisor: Assoc. Dr. Ngơ Hữu Hồng

HANOI - 2016


CANDIDATE’S STATEMENT
I certificate that this combined thesis entitled “An investigation into factors
causing the 10th students‟ anxiety in English reading comprehension classes at Tam
Đảo high school” is submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the
degree of Master of Arts is the result of my own work, except where otherwise
acknowledge and that this combined thesis or any part of the same has not been
submitted for a higher degree to any other universities or institutions.
Hanoi, 2016

Triệu Thị Hoài Thu

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The completion of this study would not have been possible without the
assistance of special and wonderful people.
First of all, I would like to acknowledge my indebtedness and gratitude to
Assoc. Dr. Ngơ Hữu Hồng, for his unfailing encouragement, constant support and
supervision during all stages of the study. His enthusiastic assistance, guidance,

support, and his wisdom greatly contributed to the fulfillment of my thesis. I would
also like to thank my supervisor for his patience in reading and editing my draft. It
must be an excruciating experience.
My heartfelt gratitude is also to the English teachers and students of Tam
Dao high school for their tremendous supports in the collection of data and
information for my study.
Last but not least, I would like to express my thanks to my beloved parents,
my husband, my sisters who continually gave me a lot of support and
encouragement for the fulfillment of this challenging work.
Last but not least, I wish to express my acknowledgment to other individuals
who have indirectly contributed to the completion of this thesis.
To all these people I only hope that the achievement of my thesis will be
favorable enough to satisfy their expectation.

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ABSTRACT
The purpose of this study aimed at finding the sources of the students‟
English reading anxiety at Tam Dao high school, Vinh Phuc. The study has been
conducted in the form of survey research with the informants of 70 students in
grade 10 were taken as the subjects. The main instruments employed for the data
collection were survey questionnaires for the students of the school. Besides, to
back up the validity of the collected data from questionnaires, semi-structured
interviews were conducted to 5 randomly selected students who have already done
the survey questionnaires. The results of this study have shown that the 10th form
students often have anxiety with the reading text factors, the personal factors and
time constraint. As a result of the study, some suggestions for dealing with reading
anxiety were proposed to reduce their reading anxiety and helps students to obtain
desirable results in learning reading. Finally, it is hoped that the results of this study

could be of much benefit for developing teaching and learning reading English at
Tam Dao high school, Vinh Phuc.

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LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

EFL

: English foreign language

ESL

: English second language

L2

: Second language

FL

: Foreign language

FLRA

: Foreign language anxiety

LA

: Language anxiety

RA

: Reading anxiety

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LIST OF CHARTS AND TABLES
Chart 1: Students' attitude towards the importance of reading .................................22
Chart 2: Students‟ interest in English reading lessons ..............................................23
Chart 3: Students‟ opinions on teachers‟ teaching method .......................................29
Table 1: Anxiety caused by reading text factors .......................................................23
Table 2: Anxiety caused by personal factors ............................................................25
Table 3: Anxiety caused by time constraint ..............................................................28
Table 4. Teaching methods in helping students overcome anxiety in reading .........30

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
CANDIDATE‟S STATEMENT ................................................................................. i
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ....................................................................................... ii
ABSTRACT .............................................................................................................. iii
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ................................................................................... iv
LIST OF CHARTS AND TABLES ............................................................................v
PART A: INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................1
1. Rationale of the study ..........................................................................................1
2. Aims of the study .................................................................................................1

3. Research questions ...............................................................................................2
4. Scope of the study ................................................................................................2
5. Methodology ........................................................................................................2
6. Significance of the study .....................................................................................2
7. Organization of the study.....................................................................................2
PART B: DEVELOPMENT ......................................................................................4
CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW ....................................................................4
1.1. Reading .............................................................................................................4
1.1.1. Definition of reading? ................................................................................4
1.1.2. Definition of reading comprehension .........................................................5
1.1.3. The importance of reading .........................................................................5
1.2. Types of reading ............................................................................................6
1.2.1. Skimming ...................................................................................................6
1.2.2. Scanning .....................................................................................................7
1.2.3. Extensive reading .......................................................................................8
1.2.4. Intensive reading ........................................................................................9
1.3. Stages of a reading lesson ...............................................................................10
1.3.1. Pre-reading ...............................................................................................10
1.3.2. While-reading ...........................................................................................10

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1.3.3. Post- reading .............................................................................................11
1.4. Anxiety............................................................................................................11
1.4.1. Definition of anxiety ................................................................................11
1.4.2. Foreign language reading anxiety ............................................................13
1.5. Previous studies on the effect of anxiety on students‟ reading comprehension
...............................................................................................................................14
1.6. Summary .........................................................................................................16

CHAPTER 2: METHODOLOGY ............................................................................17
2.1. Research method .............................................................................................17
2.1.1. The nature of qualitative research ............................................................17
2.1.2. Selection of survey research as research strategy ....................................17
2.2. The context of the study .................................................................................18
2.2.1. An introduction of Tam Dao high school ...............................................18
2.2.2. The teaching material and reading tasks in teaching reading .................18
2.3. Participants......................................................................................................19
2.4. Instruments......................................................................................................19
2.4.1. Questionnaire............................................................................................19
2.4.2. Semi-structured interview ........................................................................20
2.5. Data collection procedure ...............................................................................20
2.6. Data analysis procedure ..................................................................................21
2.7. Summary .........................................................................................................21
CHAPTER 3: DATA ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION .........................................22
3.1. Students' attitude towards the importance of reading .....................................22
3.2. Students‟ interest in English reading lessons .................................................22
3.3. Reading anxiety caused by each reading factors ............................................23
3.3.1. Anxiety caused by reading text factors ....................................................23
3.3.2. Anxiety caused by personal factors ..........................................................25
3.3.3. Anxiety caused by time constraint ...........................................................28
3.4. Students‟ opinions on teachers‟ teaching method ..........................................29

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3.5. Teaching methods in helping students overcome anxiety in reading .............30
3.6. Discussion .......................................................................................................31
3.7. Summary .........................................................................................................33
CHAPTER 4: SUGGESTED SOLUTIONS .............................................................34

4.1. Raise students‟ self - awareness of anxiety ....................................................34
4.2. Increase student‟s self-confidence ..................................................................34
4.3. Improve students‟ background knowledge .....................................................35
4.4. Apply appropriate reading strategies ..............................................................35
4.5. Develop supplementary reading materials .....................................................36
4.6. Create a pleasant and comfortable classroom atmosphere .............................36
4.7. Summary .........................................................................................................37
PART C: CONCLUSION .........................................................................................38
1. Summary of the study ........................................................................................38
2. Limitations of the study .....................................................................................39
3. Recommendations for the further study ............................................................39
REFERENCES ..........................................................................................................41
APPENDICES............................................................................................................. I

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PART A: INTRODUCTION
1. Rationale of the study
It is indisputable that English plays an important role in teaching and
learning as a foreign language. However, to master English, learners need to grasp a
lot of different skills such as listening, speaking, reading and writing. Among these
skills, reading is the most crucial skill that not only develops other skills such as
speaking, listening and writing but also expands the students‟ knowledge of the
language However, according to (Saito, Horwitz, & Garza, 1999), “reading is an
important source of input; however, it is also an anxiety provoking activity”.
Therefore, it can be undeniable that it is a difficult or a challenge to improve and
develop reading skills for both teachers and students.
In fact, in reading lessons in Tam Dao high school, teachers always try to
effectively transmit how to understand and exploit the reading text for students.

However, most of students share that they find that learning foreign language
reading as English is affected by the personal factors, especially anxiety. Therefore,
the effectiveness of students‟ reading comprehension is not as expected and they
have little attention or motivation in reading lessons.
While a certain amount of research has been conducted to investigate foreign
language anxiety and its effect on learn a foreign language, little has been done on
anxiety in learning four skills, especially reading alone in Vietnam. As a teacher of
English in this school, I recognize the importance of reading, it is strongly desirable
for me to propose “An investigation into factors causing the 10th students‟ anxiety
in English reading comprehension classes at Tam Đảo high school” to be the subject
of this thesis.
2. Aims of the study
The main aim of this study is to investigate the effect of students‟ anxiety on
reading comprehension and then suggests some solutions to reduce their reading
anxiety.

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3. Research questions
To achieve the aims mentioned above, the following research questions are
proposed:
1) . What are the causes that affect students‟ anxiety at Tam Dao high school
in reading lessons?
2) . What are some suggested solutions to reduce students‟ anxiety on reading
comprehension?
4. Scope of the study
This study focuses on students‟ anxiety on reading comprehension. Due to
the limitation of page numbers of the minor thesis, the research only involves the
10th form students at Tam Dao high school.

5. Methodology
To achieve the aims of the study, qualitative method is employed. The data
was collected by means of survey questionnaires and semi-structured interviews.
After the data is collected, analyzed and discussed, some conclusions will be drawn,
and some suggestions will be made in the thesis.
6. Significance of the study
This study investigates the causes of anxiety on students‟ reading
comprehension. It could be of some help to teachers and students at Tam Dao high
school to improve both teachers and students‟ awareness of causes of reading
comprehension anxiety. By doing this research, the researcher wishes to help the
10th form students to reduce their reading anxiety through the suggested solutions.
7. Organization of the study
The research consists of three main parts: Introduction, Development and
Conclusion.
Part A: Introduction presents the rationale, the aims, the research questions,
methods, scope, significance and organization of the study.
Part B: Development consists of four chapters:

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Chapter 1 Literature review gives the concepts of reading, reading
comprehension, its importance, types of reading and stages of a reading lesson.
Next, the concepts of anxiety, foreign language reading anxiety and the previous
studies on anxiety in reading comprehension are presented.
Chapter 2 Methodology includes the research method, the context,
participants, instruments and research procedure with the following main steps:
conducting survey questionnaires and interview collecting data and analyzing data,
and giving out conclusions from findings.
Chapter 3 Analyses were given on students‟ attitude and interests on reading,

their sources of anxiety, their opinions of teachers‟ teaching methods and how to
cope with their anxiety chapter also focuses on data collections - findings and
discussion.
Chapter 4 Some suggested solutions of the study for improving reading skills
to the students at Tam Dao high school are proposed.
Part C: Conclusion is the last part which offered a summary, some
limitations and suggestions for further studies.

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PART B: DEVELOPMENT
CHAPTER 1:
LITERATURE REVIEW
1.1. Reading
1.1.1. Definition of reading?
Reading is the most crucial aspect of any teaching program and for the
teachers to decide what they will teach in the classroom. This definition of reading
has been generally shared by other researchers.
It is simply stated as “a psycholinguistic guessing game” and involves “an
interaction between thought and language” (Goodman, 1976). He proposes that
reading is not primarily a process of identifying all elements in a letter-by-letter,
word-by-word manner, but the ability to guess which are right the first time based
on cues.
Reading is generally defined as the interaction between the reader and the
text. Aebersold and Field (1997, p.15) points out “Reading is what happens when
people look at a text and assign meaning to the written symbol in that text”.
Therefore, it is a process of negotiating understanding between the reader and the
author.
For the notion of reading, Harmer (1991) defines “reading is an exercise

dominated by the eyes and the brain. The eye receive message and the brain then
has to work out the significance of the message” (p.90). From this point of view, the
relationship of reading and understanding is concretely concerned.
According to Grabe (1991, p. 379), reading is such a “complex” process and
“many researchers attempt to understand and explain the fluent reading process by
analyzing the process into a set of component skills”. Therefore, they propose at
least six general component skills and knowledge areas:
1. Automatic recognition skills
2. Vocabulary and structural knowledge

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3. Formal discourse structure knowledge
4. Content/ world background knowledge
5. Synthesis and evaluation skills/strategies
6. Metacognitive knowledge and skills monitoring
From those above opinions, reading is considered a process in which a reader
looks at and achieves the comprehension what has been written out.
1.1.2. Definition of reading comprehension
Reading comprehension plays an important role in teaching and learning
reading foreign language. It is defined as a complex process when the readers apply
their ability to read and comprehend a text. Many definitions of reading
comprehension are given from the researchers.
Grellet (1981, p.3) points out the nature of reading comprehension that
“Reading comprehension or understanding written text means extracting the
required information from it as effectively as possible”. It can be understood that
the readers not only decode the meaning of word combination but also work in the
text actively.
When studying the reading comprehension, Snow (2003, p.1) defines reading

comprehension as the process of simultaneously extracting and constructing
meaning. In other words, extracting and constructing are a process in reading
comprehension to get the meaning and the information of the text.
In addition, Linse (2005, p.71) mentions that reading comprehension refers
to reading for meaning, understanding, and entertainment. He adds that there are
two main reasons that people read: “the first is for pleasure and the second is for
information”.
To sum up, in reading comprehension, the readers must understand what is
conveyed in the text.
1.1.3. The importance of reading
Reading has a significant role in the development of the readers‟ overall
communicative competence and in the second language classroom as well.

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Anderson (1999) discuses “the more exposure a student has to language through
reading, the greater the possibilities that overall language proficiency will increase.”
(p. 3).
Hedge (2003) points out that any reading component of an English language
course may include a set of learning goals for
- . The ability to read a wide range of texts in English. This is the long-range
goal most teachers seek to develop through independent readers outside EFL/ESL
classroom.
- . Building a knowledge of language which will facilitate reading ability
- . Building schematic knowledge
- . The ability to adapt the reading style according to reading purpose (i.e.
skimming, scanning)
- . Developing an awareness of the structure of written texts in English
- . Taking a critical stance to the contents of the texts

Reading is a crucial skill for second language learners; besides the nature of
reading, the main reading approaches are also necessary for teachers who want to
improve their reading lessons. The next part is going to show the approaches‟
strengths and weaknesses.
1.2. Types of reading
According to Macleod (n.d.), reading is categorized into four types:
skimming, scanning, extensive reading and intensive reading.
1.2.1. Skimming
Skimming is referred to as quick reading focusing on the title, headings,
topic sentence to get the main idea. According to Macleod (n.d), skimming is a
more complex task than scanning because it requires the reader to organize and
remember some of the information given by the author, not just to locate it.
Similarly, Grellet (1981, p.19), “When skimming, we go through the reading
material quickly in order to get the gist of it, to know how it is organized, or to get
an idea of the tone or the intention of the writer.”

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Below are some suggestions that may help teachers to set up skimming
activities:


Students must locate facts that are expressed in sentences, not single



Although speed is essential and the teacher often sets a time limit to the

words.

activity, skimming should not be done competitively. Students should be
encouraged individually to better themselves.


To improve skimming, readers should read more and more rapidly, to

form appropriate questions and predictions and then read quickly


Pugh (1978) as cited in (Macleod, n.d.) suggests that to assess skimming,

after the students have read and completed the assigned questions, further questions
may be asked, "beyond the scope of the purpose originally set" (p.70). If students
can answer these questions correctly, it indicates they have read the text too closely
1.2.2. Scanning
Scanning is rapid reading assisted by key words to locate specific
information or to get information that answer a special question. Grellet (1981,
p.19) states that “When scanning, we only try to locate specific information and
often we do not even follow the linearity of the passage to do so. We simply let our
eyes wander over the text until we find what are looking for, whether it be a name, a
date, or a less specific piece of information”.
Some activities are suggested for scanning as follows:


Activities may include exercises that are devised by the teacher in which

students scan for a single word or specific text.


Activities may include exercises that are often carried on as a competition

so students will work quickly.


Students use skills of prediction and anticipation. Students may do any of

the following:
- Make predictions and guesses
- Use titles and tables of contents to get an idea of what a passage is about

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- Activate prior knowledge about the topic of the passage by answering
some questions or performing a quiz.
- Anticipate what they want to learn about the top
- Use titles, pictures, and prior knowledge to anticipate the contents of the
text.
- Use key words, which may have been given to them by the teacher, that do
not appear in the text, that allude to the main idea
1.2.3. Extensive reading
Extensive reading is an activity of reading any topic of interest for pleasure.
As defined by Susser and Robb (1990), they see extensive reading as a language
teaching or learning procedure is that it is reading (a) of large quantities of material
or long texts; (b) for global or general understanding; (c) with the intention of
obtaining pleasure from the text. Moreover, because (d) reading is individualized,
with students choosing the books they want to read, (e) the books are not discussed
in class. This definition appears to have a summary of the general characteristics of
extensive reading.
In a simpler way, “extensive reading means students have a general

understanding of the text without necessarily understanding every word” (Lewis
and Hill, 1985, p.109).
For extensive reading, the students can read what they are interested in
without paying attention to the content of the long texts or understanding the whole
meaning of the words. It is because its purpose is for pleasure and information
outside their classroom and at each student‟ level and interest.
The basic principles of extensive reading are given by Day and Bamford
(2002) as follows:
 The reading material is easy.
 A variety of material on a wide range of topics is available.
 Learners choose what they want to read.
 Learners read as much as possible.

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 Reading speed is usually faster rather than slower.
 The purpose of reading is usually related to pleasure, information and
general understanding.
 Reading is individual and silent.
 Reading is its own reward.
 The teacher orients and guides the students.
 The teacher is a role model of a reader.
In short, this kind of reading is necessary for the students because it is
probable to read outside the class and gain more knowledge of their favorite topics.
Moreover, its purpose is to entertain and interest and suitable to the students‟ level
of proficiency.
1.2.4. Intensive reading
Intensive reading is the type of reading that the students read for details and
extract special information on particular topics. Bruce (2004, p.176) believes that

intensive reading is fundamentally translation as “the reader may pause to look up
words in a dictionary, radically slowing the reading rate. The reader may also
mentally or even physically translate the sentence into the reader‟s first language by
writing down the translation of words, or speaking the translated sentence aloud”. In
fact, beneficial to language learners as it helps them understand vocabulary by
deducing the meaning of words in context. In intensive reading, the reading
materials are selected from the instructor, not the reader. According to Paran (2003,
p. 40) as cited in Loucky (2005), intensive reading is needed for four main reasons:
to help learners comprehend written texts, to become more aware of text
organization to better comprehend, to learn how to use and monitor effective
reading strategies, and to develop literacy skills necessary to generate productive
expressions in L2. What is needed; therefore, is a well balanced reading program in
English which includes the following:
• Vocabulary development activities;
• Intensive classroom reading and
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• Extensive out-of class free reading activities.
1.3. Stages of a reading lesson
1.3.1. Pre-reading
Pre-reading stage is of great paramount importance as it leads students to the
reading passage they are going to read, stimulate students‟ interest and provides
them with the purpose of reading. As noted by Williams (1984, p.37), what the prereading phrase tries to do is:
1. To introduce and arouse interest in the topic.
2. To motivate learners by giving a reason for reading.
3. To provide some language preparation for the text
Besides, activating and building background knowledge can arouse students‟
interest on the topic from their personal experience such as cultural factors. Gebhard
(1987, p.21) explains that “providing background information on a reading lesson is

another way teachers can facilitate successful reading comprehension. Providing
information about a reading selection before students read provides them with the
opportunity to gain new language, as well as recall their already existing
knowledge, which they can take with them into their reading experience, and this
knowledge facilitates successful comprehension”.
1.3.2. While-reading
While-reading is the most significant part of a reading comprehension lesson.
The aims of the while - reading stage are to understand the writer‟s purpose, the text
structure and clarify the text (Williams, 1984, p.38).

He also points out the

activities of this stage should “begin with a general or global understanding of the
text, and then move to smaller unit such as paragraphs, sentences and words” (p.39).
According to Deyuan & Yufen (2006), we can also use series of statements,
instructions, and/or questions that lead students through the assigned reading and
indicates what information is important, how a paragraph or section is organized,
and what is to be learned. The teacher should be flexible in the selection of the tasks

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that depends on the nature of the reading text and the students‟ level. In this stage,
teachers should help their students comprehend the text carefully by giving students
some appropriate strategies as skimming, scanning, predicting, reading aloud or silent
reading to apply the most effectively on each task.
1.3.3. Post- reading
Post-reading activities in this stage are done after reading is completed.
According to William (1984, p. 39), the purpose of post reading activities is:
1. To consolidate or reflect upon what has been read.

2. To relate the text to the learners‟ own knowledge interest or views.
This means that for the first purpose, the important things should be
concentrated by the students as one‟s opinion, the specific phrase in the reading text
or the main ideas of the text. The next purpose is related to students‟ background
knowledge based on their interested selected topics so that they can express their
own opinion toward the text. In addition, post-reading activities is also to check the
students‟ understanding of the text by giving some questions to discuss in pairs or in
groups.
The selection of activities relies on the teacher‟s flexibility to choose them
suitably for their reading lessons. Some suggested techniques are given as
summarizing, discussing the main points and retelling.
In conclusion, teaching reading according to such three stages as: prereading, while-reading and post-reading helps learners to access the reading text
effectively. It also provides them with the skills and strategies to do numerous types
of activities in these stages.
1.4. Anxiety
1.4.1. Definition of anxiety
As Horwitz, Horwitz, & Cope (1986) points out, anxiety is the subjective
feeling of tension, apprehension, nervousness, and worry associated with an arousal
of the autonomic nervous system. Therefore, it prevents some people from

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performing successfully in foreign language learning, especially in classroom
situations, particularly stressful (p.125).
Anxiety is classified into trait anxiety, state anxiety and situation-specific
anxiety. Trait anxiety, as Scovel (1978) noted, refers to “a more permanent
predisposition to be anxious” while state and situation-specific anxiety are usually
experienced in relation to some particular event or situation (Brown, 2001).
Language anxiety, the research target of this paper, belongs to the last category,

which refers to the apprehension experienced when a situation requires the use of a
second language with which the individual is not fully proficient (Gardner &
MacIntyre, 1993).
Anxiety have negative influences, both pervasive and subtle as MacIntyre &
Gardner (1994a) suggest that language anxiety occurs at each of the three principal
stages of cognitive processing: input, processing and output.
Horwitz, Horwitz, & Cope (1986) found out three main causes of students‟
anxiety i.e. communication apprehension, test anxiety and fear of negative
evaluation.
An example cited from their finding is that “people have trouble speaking in
groups are likely to experience greater difficulty speaking foreign language class
where they have little control of the communicative situation and their performance
is constantly monitored” (p.127).
Indeed, language anxiety may be part of a culture-based syndrome (Jones,
2001). Culture is as a causal factor in language anxiety as „fear of social relations‟.
Loss of face that one has in such social interactions reflects badly on one‟s family
and social group.
According to Young (1991), teachers can start with finding out what students
are anxious about. Then, teachers can help them ease some of their irrational fears
and teach them strategies such as self-talks and doing relaxation exercises to deal
with fears.

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1.4.2. Foreign language reading anxiety
There are numerous explanations on sources of reading anxiety given by
different researchers as (Saito et al., 1999), (Brantmeier, 2005), Kuru-Gönen (2009)
and (Al-Shboul et al., 2013).
Saito et al, (1999) are the first researchers studied about foreign language

reading anxiety; they constructed foreign language reading anxiety scale (FLRAS)
to investigate reading anxiety of American students in Russian, French and
Japanese. The finding pointed out two sources of foreign language reading anxiety
as unfamiliar writing scripts and unfamiliar cultural background.
Reading task type is also a source of foreign language reading anxiety
(Brantmeier, 2005). He investigated students‟ anxiety level about reading and four
reading comprehension tasks: multiple choice questions, written recall of reading
passage, orally answering questions and reading aloud. The study found that
students were more anxious about the post L2 reading oral and written tasks than
the reading itself. However, “anxiety about oral tasks may be a factor involved in
the L2 reading process” because “different assessment tasks (oral and written) may
require different types of reading, and consequently may invoke different types of
anxiety”.
In a study with learners of English, Kuru Gönen (2009) identified personal
factors, the reading text, and the reading course as the three main sources for FL
reading anxiety. Personality factors included inappropriate strategy use, fear of
comprehension, lack of motivation, lack of self-confidence, negative background
experiences, and high expectations. The subcategories of the reading text were
topics, unknown vocabulary, complex linguistic structures, unknown cultural
content, and text format. The last main category, the reading course, included
course book, compulsory reading, teacher, and evaluation.
Al-Shboul et al., (2013) also found that there were two aspects of foreign
language reading anxiety such as personal factor and text feature. In the former
concept, two main sources of reading anxiety identified: afraid of making errors and

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worry about reading effects. On the other hand, there were three main sources of
foreign language reading anxiety in the latter concept, which are: unknown

vocabulary, unfamiliar topic, and unfamiliar culture.
1.5. Previous studies on the effect of anxiety on students’ reading
comprehension
To date, only a few studies have addressed affect and L2 reading. Wu (2011)
studied 91 university students to investigate the relationship between language
anxiety (LA) and reading anxiety (RA), and if students‟ reading comprehension
performance differs across different levels of LA and RA. The results found out
students with LA tend to have RA. The teachers should help students to improve
students‟ reading comprehension performance as well as create a low anxiety
classroom environment.
A significant research aiming at finding out EFL learners‟ reading strategies
use in relation to reading anxiety and gender was done by Lien (2011). She
conducted a research for 108 freshmen after taking part in the supplementary
requirement in the Applied English Department as English majors at a university in
northern Taiwan. The result of the research revealed that a negative correlation
between reading anxiety and reading strategies. Furthermore, it found that less
anxious readers had a tendency to monitor their own reading by general reading
strategies such as guessing; in contrast, high anxious learners employed basic
support mechanism such as translation to grasp a text.
Jafarigohar (2012) conducted a study on the correlation between the
construct of foreign language reading anxiety and reading comprehension skill
among Iranian distance EFL learners with age and gender serving as moderator. The
data for the study include Foreign Language Reading Anxiety Scale, a reading
comprehension test and a questionnaire. The findings showed that there was a
negative relationship between FLRA and reading comprehension; furthermore, no
such relationship was found between foreign language reading anxiety and finally
compared to males, females suffered more from anxiety.

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Cabansag (2013) investigated the relationship between language and reading
anxiety and reading comprehension performance of AB English students. A total of
65 AB students from Isabela State University took part in the study as subjects. He
used two measures of anxiety, and two reading comprehension tests as the main
instruments. The results revealed that RA and LA were related to Reading
Performance. The study identified a general direction of higher anxiety relating to
lower reading comprehension performance and vice versa although reading
comprehension performance did not differ significantly with the students in
different levels of LA and RA. Furthermore, no difference was found in LA and RA
based on gender.
Um, Tubsree & Surasin (2014) used two survey questionnaires and a semistructured interview to find out the levels of English reading anxiety of third year
EFL students at the Institute of Foreign Languages and how they were related to
gender and reading comprehension, and to explore the sources of their English
reading anxiety. The findings revealed that they had a low level of English reading
anxiety and this is not different between males and females. In addition, the sources
of English reading anxiety was found such as linguistic features of texts,
environment, personal traits of readers, physical look of texts, time constraint and
teachers.
The last study mentioned here was carried out by Shao (2014). He
investigated the causes of Chinese college students having English reading anxiety.
The subjects were 265 students including 136 boys and 129 girls. Through the
questionnaires and interviews, the results demonstrated that five sources were found
as lack of cultural knowledge of English-speaking countries, lack of confidence in
reading English, lack of necessary reading skills, lack of English linguistic
knowledge and lack of interest in reading English. Therefore, some measures were
suggested to alleviate student‟s anxiety in learning reading.
To sum up, there are many studies involved in the relationship between
language anxiety, reading anxiety and reading comprehension. After that, they also

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