Reducing reading anxiety among EFL learners at the university

level

Introduction
Recent years have witnessed a phenomenon that an increasing number of university
students deem reading as of great significance to their schooling. Being an
international university student, it is a daily routine for me to read plenty of literature
in English, which lays a solid foundation for future assignments. However, while
literature reading has become an integral part of my academic life, it is still often the
case that I feel anxious when I embark on a reading task. For example, a few
unknown words as well as terms, sentences with complicated structures, and long,
endless pages would all provoke my reading anxiety.

University students tend to do the L2 (Second Language) reading much slower than
read in L1 (First Language), which is the mother tongue of the learners. Students
usually read the L1 materials in a natural way while encountering a wide array of
difficulties when reading L2 texts. When they are asked to complete the L1 reading
tasks, many of them will finish the tasks even without knowing the meanings of some
specific words. However, when it comes to L2 reading, they would pay attention to
the long new words even though the meaning of the whole text could be understood.
This might be explained by the fact that they think they lack reading capabilities, and
therefore, they could be anxious about English reading and fail to employ effective
strategies to maximise reading productivity.

Bearing this widespread phenomenon of reading anxiety in mind, this paper aims to
investigate the factors leading to EFL (Learning English as a Foreign Language)
learners’ reading anxiety, and in doing so, offers effective strategies of reducing
reading anxiety among EFL learners at the university level.

Issue
After communicating and discussing relevant issues in the class, students reached a
consensus that reading anxiety is a fairly common phenomenon that exerts a profound
effect on their reading performance.

Firstly, students with reading anxiety tend to look up all the unfamiliar words and try
to memorise them before starting their reading, which may lead to low reading
efficacy. Another effect of reading anxiety could be seen when university students
have difficulty completing the reading assignments from their tutors. Due to the
consistent anxiety experienced during the reading process, they cannot concentrate on
the reading material per se, let alone getting a satisfactory mark in the assessment.
Thirdly, with long-term reading anxiety, some students may be overwhelmed by the
reading tasks and develop hatred towards language learning. Even more so, mental
issues could arise if the anxiety persists even the reading has ended.

In light of the mentioned above, it is rather clear that reading anxiety could lead to a
range of problems. One aspect is that it could interfere with students’ understanding of
reading. Students who are terrified to read may have problems understanding the
whole context because they lack the confidence and self-efficacy to solve the reading
issues.
It is also worth mentioning that reading anxiety will decrease reading motivation. For
instance, if a student is always anxious about his reading, he will lose interest in
reading and therefore he will be less motivated to undertake reading-relevant tasks.

At the other end of the spectrum, however, reading anxiety is not always an adverse
phenomenon. In some cases, students with reading anxiety can be driven to focus on
the task consciously and largely increase their reading efficiency. Besides, students
suffering from reading anxiety will try various ways to release huge pressure. For
example, they would make full preparations before reading and spare no efforts to
concentrate on the reading tasks during the reading process. Therefore, they could
make great progress during the whole process and develop stronger reading skills. In
this way, reading anxiety may bring some benefits to overall reading performance to
some extent. To conclude, reflecting upon both negative and positive effects of
reading anxiety, there is a need for us to further identify the sources of reading anxiety
and come up with effective learning strategies to reduce the harmful influences of
reading anxiety.

Literature review
The sources of reading anxiety
Language anxiety is defined as a kind of anxiety especially in the domain of FL
(Foreign Language) learning contexts (Crookall and Oxford, 1991). Although reading
is not as anxiety-provoking as speaking, it is still a sophisticated and difficult
procedure even in a person’s mother tongue and is even more so in a foreign language
(Harrington and Sawyer, 1992; Lally, 1998; Miyake and Friedman, 1998), and reading
anxiety is one of the most studied language anxieties. Previous studies have shown
that factors influencing reading anxiety include gender, experience with the target
language country and course level (Joo and Damron, 2015), worries of
comprehension, new topics, unfamiliar pronunciation, and uncomfortable feelings
brought by reading loudly (Zhou, 2017). In one of the remarkable studies on FLRA
(Foreign Language Reading Anxiety), Saito, Horwitz, and Garza (1999) conducted
research on FLRA among learners of Japanese, French, and Russians. In their study,
two aspects of foreign reading were investigated which had great effects on eliciting
anxiety: unfamiliar scripts of writing systems and unfamiliar cultural materials (p.
203). In learners’ learning experience, problems often occur when they are not
familiar with the writing systems and unknown cultural ingredients. Since English has
already been seen as a widely used language, advanced learners may encounter little
difficulty in understanding the cultural differences while reading, and only learners of
middle or high proficiency will have problems dealing with an unfamiliar culture,
which could be a source of language reading anxiety.

Apart from the two sources of anxiety aforementioned, another factor leading to
reading anxiety is associated with unknown vocabulary. It is a common phenomenon
that numerous learners especially university tend to be anxious about the unfamiliar
words in a reading text, which may be a potential source of foreign language anxiety
(Al-Shboul et al., 2013). In this way, unfamiliar vocabulary can be seen as a source of
reading anxiety. Another aspect resulting in reading anxiety lies in an unfamiliar topic.
It seems that an unfamiliar topic has been an obstacle in reading for most students
especially university students. Zhao’s (2009) study confirmed this phenomenon and
stated that students may feel anxious when they run into certain topics that they are
not familiar with. The researcher used FLRAS to examine the FLRA level among 125
English students studying Chinese in the United States. Findings show that around
half of participants favour or strongly agree that an unfamiliar topic is at least one of
the anxiety-provoking sources in reading a Chinese passage.

The influences of reading anxiety

It is commonly acknowledged that each coin has two sides, and the same goes for
reading anxiety which brings both merits and demerits. While most people may
consider that reading anxiety exerts only harmful influences on various aspects of the
study, such as academic achievement, reading performance, and self-efficacy, it may
also bring positive influences to some extent. Among the fully-fledged research on
language learning anxiety, many studies have revealed that anxiety might lead to
various learning processes and diverging results (Alsowat, 2016; Bektas-Cetinkaya,
2011; Brantmeier, 2000, 2005). One prevalent view regards reading anxiety as a huge
obstacle, stopping EFL students from employing effective learning methods under
some circumstances (Kuru-Gonen, 2005). For instance, if a learner with low reading
capabilities comes across a piece of unfamiliar reading material, he or she is more
likely to feel anxious than learners with high reading capabilities. This being the case,
students cannot make good use of reading strategies they have learned in the past to
deliver quality performance. Another example comes from Hsu (2004), who
conducted research on reading anxiety and reading comprehension of EFL learners at
the university level and according to him, more content would be forgotten if learners
were in an anxious state. In a similar line of research, Broadbear, Guang, and Bierma
(2005) claimed that reading anxiety could trigger mental issues and hinder students’
cognitive thinking.

Despite the adverse effects brought by reading anxiety on students’ academic study
and life, in certain cases, feeling a sense of anxiety when reading a foreign language
could be a favourable phenomenon. For instance, Joo and Damron (2015) conducted a
survey and pointed out that the more reading anxiety a second-year student had, the
better reading performance they had for the test. Other former research also argued
that when students are asked to complete a simple reading task, it is impossible to
arouse such anxieties (Brantmeier, 2005; McIntyre and Gardner, 1991). In light of the
brief review above, it seems that the higher level a student has, the lower level of
reading anxiety he or she may experience. To conclude, reading anxiety could lead to
mixed effects on learners’ performance and strategies adopted, and adverse impacts
could be more frequently seen in both research and practice.

Effective ways to reduce reading anxiety among EFL learners at the university
level
It is known that strategy use has been proved helpful in FL learning, leading to
improved productivity and proficiency in the target language (Cohen, 1998; Collier,
2010; Grenfell and Macaro, 2007). In a topic-related survey, around one-third of
students still experienced a sense of anxiety when reading FL. Given this worrying
situation, it is necessary to help them reduce such reading anxiety. Several methods
have been proposed to ease EFL learners’ reading anxiety and one example is from Lu
and Liu (2015). As they indicated, teachers could help the participants release their
anxiety during the reading process by means of being empathetic and facilitative.
They could also offer more opportunities for students to engage in the class to create a
more relaxed and friendly classroom atmosphere. Besides, reading anxiety could also
be released by students’ efforts. In the study, over half of the participants adopted
different types of reading strategies such as planning, checking and confirming,
predicting, and assessing while reading English, which could also help them become
less nervous in face of FL reading Other studies also displayed some effective ways to
lower EFL learners’ reading anxiety. Echoing the method mentioned above, Sae and
Peter (2004) pointed out that by encouraging students to get involved in classroom
activities teachers could create an enjoyable atmosphere in which students could feel
less anxious and confident. Similarly, Crook and Oxford (1991) indicated that
teachers should try to lessen learners’ anxiety by “making the classroom as friendly
and relaxed as possible” (p. 142). By constantly assessing the classroom situation and
being relaxed themselves, teachers could play a significant role in increasing students’
self-confidence and reducing not only the reading anxiety but also the general anxiety
to some extent. . Likewise, this suggestion corresponds well to Horwitz et al.’s (1986)
finding that instructors can educate students to reduce such reading anxieties by
enhancing EFL learners’ self-confidence. Moreover, apart from foregrounding the
significance of students’ self-confidence and a comfortable atmosphere in the class,
the same cohort of researchers also suggested a wide array of methods to reduce EFL
learners’ reading anxiety (Sheikh Ahmad et al., 2013). For instance, teachers should
select reading materials that of students’ interest and make sure the difficulty level is
within their capacity. In the meantime, when correcting students’ errors, instructors
are supposed to be gentle so that students will not react defensively. All these teaching
techniques and instruction strategies could prevent students from feeling anxious
when reading the FL language.

As mentioned above, course instructors could be of great help to reduce students’

reading anxiety. However, these efforts were mainly useful before or after the real
reading task. When it comes to reading FL per se, it is students themselves who are
crucial in dealing with reading anxiety. One apt example is from Tsai and Lee (2018),
who discussed a series of reading strategies used by students while confronting
reading anxiety. Informed by the survey examining students’ experience of reading
anxiety, the findings indicated that the most often used methods when feeling anxious
during reading were cognitive strategies. Through using a dictionary, translation,
highlighting, and note-taking, students could feel less nervous and continue finishing
their reading tasks. (Tsai and Lee, 2018) The authors also mentioned the significant
role of teachers, corroborating former results. According to them, teachers of EFL
learners should not depend merely on specific reading strategies, they are also
supposed to create a nice and positive learning atmosphere to help students relieve
their anxiety In this way, EFL learners’ confidence and the happiness of reading could
be improved. Moreover, researchers contended that EFL learners ought to arouse their
awareness that the more time they contribute to the reading, the better they can
overcome the anxiety issue Thus, from my perspective, effective reading strategies are
not only related to teachers or instructors but also associated with EFL learners’ self-
relevant factors, such as self-confidence.

Besides, there exist a variety of research discussing the relationship between reading
anxiety and other variables, which we could also draw on to deal with reading anxiety.
For instance, Mills et al. (2006) conducted a study, focusing not only on the strategies
of reducing students’ reading anxiety, but also the effectiveness of students’ reading
efficacy beliefs. As they noted, reading anxiety has a negative correlation with reading
self-efficacy. If students believe that they are capable of reading FL, they are less
likely to feel nervous when conducting a real reading task. Therefore, one possible
solution would be to help students increase their self-efficacy beliefs which would
also help reduce reading anxiety. Bandura’s theory (1986, 1997) also corroborated this
strategy, and according to him, efficacy beliefs are pivotal in controlling people’s
anxiety Former research on how to cultivate self-efficacy beliefs in studying the first
language could also shed light on the similar construction in learning a foreign
language. As Schunk (2003) proposed, teachers could consider tailoring the reading
process, teaching FL reading strategies, arranging small-group discussions, and
helping students set achievable goals. Another insightful finding is from Mojtaba and
Emad (2019), who found a negative relationship between critical thinking skills and
foreign language reading anxiety. According to the results of their findings, critical
thinking skills are not only good predictors of critical reading but also of FL reading
anxiety. “Critical thinking is more than the successful use of the right skill in an
appropriate context. It is also an attitude or deposition to recognise when a skill is
needed and the willingness to exert the mental effort needed to apply it” (Halpern,
2000 p. 72, cited in Mojtaba and Emad, 2019). If instructors understand the meaning
and value of the development of critical thinking skills during their classes, they will
possibly find numerous opportunities to build students’ self-confidence. In order to
promote critical reading, teachers could also design reading tasks to increase students’
engagement. As Lantolf (2000, p. 44) suggested, care should be taken to consider
these tasks as “uniquely situated, emergent interactions based on participants’ goals
and not merely ask objectives and invariant tsk procedures” In this case, learners
could better deal with reading anxiety by honing their critical thinking and reading
skills (Mojtaba and Emad, 2019).

In a word, adopting appropriate reading strategies does exert positive effects on

reducing reading anxiety. A wide array of strategies and techniques are available for
both teachers and students to overcome this thorny issue. For example, language
learners could employ various strategies during the reading task such as planning,
checking, assessing. When they feel a sense of control of the reading per se, they
could be more confident to undertake this task. For instructors, they are encouraged to
pay attention to students’ mental states by creating a relaxed and comfortable
atmosphere. They could also raise students’ awareness of self-efficacy and critical
thinking as another indirect way to reduce their reading anxiety.

Conclusion
This article focuses on reducing the reading anxiety of EFL learners at the university
level. In the introduction part, the origins of this study as well as relevant backgrounds
are discussed, reflecting upon my personal learning experiences. As an international
student and English learner, reading an extensive body of research is both necessary
and significant for postgraduate study. Due to the second language barriers, numerous
students find it difficult to read FL passages productively, and it is common that they
would experience various levels of anxiety. In light of this issue, this article firstly
reviewed relevant literature on reading anxiety with an aim to investigate its
underlying contributors as well as its influences on students’ FL learning. For
instance, factors leading to reading anxiety could be gender, experience with the target
language country and course level (Joo and Damron, 2015), worries of
comprehension, new topics, unfamiliar pronunciation, and uncomfortable feelings
brought by reading loudly (Zhou, 2017). Moreover, Saito, Horwitz, and Garza (1999)
also investigated two aspects of foreign reading which had great effects on eliciting
anxiety: unfamiliar scripts of writing systems and unfamiliar cultural materials (p.
203).

While a sense of anxiety could bring mixed effects, it generally exerts a negative
effect on students’ academic achievement, reading performance, and self-efficacy.
However, this is not always the case and Joo and Damron (2015) pointed out that the
more anxious students were in the reading test, the higher score they would get. It is
worth noticing that the level of reading anxiety is in close relation to the difficulty of
the reading since a simple reading task will not arouse learners’ anxiety. (Brantmeier,
2005; McIntyre & Gardner, 1991).

Based on these discussions, the study summarises a range of methods that could
effectively reduce reading anxiety among language learners. For one thing, learners
themselves could adopt various strategies such as planning, checking, assessing to
reduce reading anxiety. For another, teachers could promote learners’ self-confidence
and create an anxiety-free classroom.

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