İKİNCİ DİL ÖĞRENİMİNDE SINAV KAYGISI

Year 2006, Volume: 9 Issue: 16, 145 - 160, 01.12.2006

Selami Aydın Fatih Yavuz Savaş Yeşilyurt

Abstract

TEST ANXIETY IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE LEARNING

Abstract

Learners’ experiences, teachers’ observations and the related literature indicate that test anxiety affect foreign language learning process negatively. This study aims to find the test anxiety level of Turkish students as EFL learners and to investigate its reasons, effects and results on foreign language learning. A test anxiety scale and survey questions were given to the sample group and the data gathered were analyzed statistically and descriptively. Three results were found: First, the learners usually have test anxiety. Second, test anxiety provoking factors are low level proficiency of the learners, negative attitudes of teachers towards test applications, students’ attitudes towards language learning, test invalidity, fear of negative evaluation, bad experiences on tests, time limitation and pressure, the difficulty of course contents and parental expectations. Third, test anxiety causes physical and psychological problems, affects motivation, concentration and achievement negatively, increases errors in learning process, prevents to transfer their real performance to test results and studying efficiently and decreases the interest towards language learning. It was recommended that foreign language teachers should be aware of the test anxiety level, its causes and results

Keywords

Learning, Test anxiety, English as Foreign Language

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