Persidangan Pembangunan Pelajar Peringkat Kebangsaan 2008 Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 22-23Oktober 2008

Undergraduates Anxiety and Coping Strategies in English Proficiency Courses

Lily Lawa, Pung Wun Chiewb, Tang Siew Kitc Centre for Language Studies Universiti Malaysia Sarawak 94300 Kota Samarahan, Sarawak Tel: 082-581781 (Fax) llily@cls.unimas.my wcpung@cls.unimas.my
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Abstract

Malaysian students with differing levels of English language proficiency entering Universiti Malaysia Sarawak are required to take up generic English proficiency courses. This study examined the language anxiety and coping strategies of 338 undergraduates enrolled in seven generic English courses. A questionnaire was used to identify the undergraduates anxiety type, the anxiety level and the coping strategies. The data were analysed to find out whether there was a relationship between anxiety levels and choices of the coping strategies. Results showed that the undergraduates indicated three anxiety types with Communication Apprehension as the most experienced anxiety type. Five categories of coping strategies were reported to be used by the undergraduates and a third of them stated that they prepared themselves for the classes as a means of overcoming their anxiety. Indicators for determining undergraduates anxiety and their use of strategies are discussed. Keywords: anxiety, types, levels, coping strategies

1.

Introduction

The relationship between anxiety and learning has long been studied. Several studies have shown that anxiety has a negative effect on language learning (Horwitz, 2001; Kondo & Yang, 2004; Pappamihiel, 2002; Sparks & Ganschow, 2007; Worde, 2003). High anxiety level may cause learners to withdraw from classroom interactions, suffer from concentration problems, as well as perceive themselves as ineffective or slow. Nevertheless, there have also been studies that point to anxiety having a positive effect on learning (Brown, 1993; Scarcella & Oxford, 1992; Scovel, 2001). A certain amount of anxiety is said to help keep learners alert, thus speeding language acquisition. Foreign language anxiety can be categorised into three types communication apprehension, test anxiety and fear of negative evaluation (Horwitz, MacIntyre & Gardner cited in Brown, 1993). According to Horwitz (2001), communication apprehension is anxiety that causes learners to be quiet, withdrawn and passive in the classroom; test anxiety is fear of failure or apprehension over academic evaluation; and fear of negative evaluation arises from the learners need to make a positive social impression on others based on their performance and competence in the target language.

In a study on second language learning among Mexican immigrants, Pappamihiel (2002) found that the participants experienced all three anxiety types - communication apprehension, test anxiety and fear of negative evaluation. Nonetheless, the study also revealed that anxiety levels differ between boys and girls. Girls were reported to have higher levels of anxiety, being more stressed about the social aspects of interactions with peers and their academic performance in class. A typology of anxiety coping strategies was developed by Kondo and Yang (2004) in their study on university students learning English in Japan. The findings listed 70 basic tactics for coping with language anxiety and they were grouped into five categories Preparation, Relaxation, Positive Thinking, Peer Seeking and Resignation. Preparation refers to efforts to reduce anxiety by improving learning strategies. Relaxation involves bodily release of tension such as taking a deep breath and saying a prayer while Positive Thinking aims to transform negative thoughts to positive ones. Peer Seeking is finding comfort in the knowledge that there are other learners facing the same problem as they are. Finally, Resignation refers to learners reluctance to do anything to alleviate their anxiety. In the Malaysian context, a study on 186 third year undergraduate university students conducted by Nor Shidrah, Nurahan & Noor Lide (2004)

Persidangan Pembangunan Pelajar Peringkat Kebangsaan 2008 Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 22-23Oktober 2008 focused on a different factor of anxiety and found that students performance ability had a bearing on their anxiety level - low performing students had higher anxiety level compared to high performing students. However, as yet, there is no similar study in the local context on the anxiety types and coping strategies of Malaysian university students. Hence, a study to find out students anxiety types and their coping strategies in all UNIMAS English generic courses was deemed apt. In addition, the researchers felt the study should also take into consideration students gender, as the study conducted by Pappamihiel (2002) revealed it being a contributory factor in learners anxiety levels. Hence, the purpose of the study was to find out the anxiety types and coping strategies of students taking the English generic courses in UNIMAS. The objectives of the study were to find out: (1) the anxiety type experienced by most students taking English generic courses in UNIMAS; (2) the anxiety level of these students; (3) whether there was a relationship between gender and anxiety levels; and (4) the anxiety coping strategies most often used by students.

No.ofres pondents

E nglis hfor P rofes s ional P urpos es C reative Writing Academic R eadingand Writing E nglis hfor theR eal World E nglis hfor S elf E xpres s ion P reparatory E nglis h1

E ng lis hg eneric c ours es

Figure 1: Number of Male and Female Respondents According to their Respective English Courses

2.

Method

There are seven English generic courses offered in UNIMAS (1) English for Self Expression; (2) English for Real World; (3) Academic Reading and Writing; (4) Creative Writing; (5) English for Professional Purposes; (6) English Preparatory 1; and (7) English Preparatory 2. All UNIMAS undergraduates need to take a minimum of two English generic courses or a maximum of four English generic courses as a requirement for graduation. For those scoring Band 3 and below in their Malaysian University English Test (MUET), it is compulsory for them to take the English Preparatory 1 and the English Preparatory 2 courses. These courses do not carry any credit hours. Therefore, students will need to take another two English generic courses upon completion of these two preparatory courses. On the other hand, students with MUET Band 4 and above are exempted from the preparatory courses, and they can take any other two English generic courses. 338 students comprising 114 male and 224 female participated in the study. They represented the whole student population taking the seven English generic courses. Selection of sample was made based on cluster sampling whereby the participants were students of any two randomly assigned classes of each of the 7 courses by the course coordinators. Details of the respondents are shown in Figure 1 below.

The study used the questionnaire as its survey method. The questionnaire consisted of three parts. Part 1 of the questionnaire asked basic background information such as respondents gender, age and generic course attended for the semester. Part 2 aimed to find out the anxiety type as well as the anxiety level respondents experienced in class. There were 20 items in Part 2, whereby respondents determined their level of agreement or disagreement with the items, ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 4 (strongly agree). The items modeled the English Language Anxiety Scale (ELAS) developed by Pappamihiel (2002) in his study on Mexican immigrant students and the Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (FCLAS) designed by Hortwitz (1991 cited in Pappamihiel, 2002). Lastly, Part 3 of the questionnaire collected data on respondents anxiety coping strategies. Again, the Likert-scale from 1 (strongly disagree) to 4 (strongly agree) was used. There were 24 statements in this section, adapted from the statements used in Kondos & Yangs (2004) study on university students learning English in Japan. The statements were grouped under five strategy categories Preparation, Relaxation, Positive Thinking, Peer seeking and Resignation. All questionnaire items (from Part 1 to 3) were worded in both the English language and the Malay language. This was to minimise misinterpretation of questionnaire items due to language incompetency.

3.

Results and Discussion

3.1 Most Experienced Anxiety Type The findings reveal that performance-related anxiety was the anxiety experienced by most students - communication apprehension was the most experienced anxiety type. Out of the 338 respondents in the study, 186 experienced communication apprehension anxiety. This was

P reparatory E nglis h2

60 50 40 30 20 10 0

21 24 11 17

13 35

17 40

22 31

15 35

15 42

Persidangan Pembangunan Pelajar Peringkat Kebangsaan 2008 Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 22-23Oktober 2008 followed by fear of negative evaluation (88 respondents) and finally, test anxiety (64 respondents) (Figure 2). In addition, these learners were employing an anxiety coping strategy that would not only help reduce their anxiety level, but also their language learning by improving their learning strategies.

64 19%

Communication Apprehension 186 55% Fear of Negative Evaluation Test Anxiety

88 26%

250 200 150 100 50 0

Low Anxiety Level

133 88 79 19 62 12 80 64 10 16 18 5 3

Figure 2: Distribution of the 3 Anxiety Types This finding suggests students may find understanding and tackling language exercises difficult, hence, bringing about anxiety. There are several possible reasons for this (1) the questions or tasks were too difficult for students; (2) the instructors explanation prior to the tasks was not effective or clear enough; (3) the students English proficiency level was not good enough to carry out the tasks without any apprehension. 3.2 Anxiety Coping Strategies The findings also show three coping strategies were dominant Preparation, Positive Thinking and Peer Seeking. Relaxation and Resignation were less used by the respondents, as shown in Figure 3 below.

n o i t a r a p e r P

e v i t i s o P

g n i k n i h T

g n i k e e S r e e P

n o i t a x a l e R

n o i t a n g i s e R

Moderate Anxiety Level High Anxiety Level

Figure 4: Coping Strategies according to Anxiety Levels 3.3 Students Anxiety Levels The results of the study also show that most students experienced only low and moderate anxiety levels in all the courses. Only less than 10% of the respondents indicated they experienced high anxiety level. As such, it is possible that anxiety had a positive, rather than a negative effect on language learning. A high anxiety level could inhibit language learning, but a certain amount of anxiety could in fact, speed language acquisition. (Brown, 1993; Horwitz, 2001; Pappamihiel, 2002; Scarcella & Oxford, 1992; Scovel, 2001; Worde, 2003).

39 3 7% 1% 154 26% 231 38%

Preparation Positive Thinking Peer Seeking Relaxation

162 28%

Resignation

Figure 3: Distribution of the 5 Categories of Anxiety Coping Strategies This finding indicates that regardless of students anxiety levels, problem-focused coping strategies are still the preferred strategies rather than emotion-focused or avoidance-oriented coping strategies. This finding is in line with the findings in Kondos & Yangs (2004) study. This finding is perhaps positive, as it is an indication that the respondents were proactive learners who would do something deliberately to overcome their anxiety. Figure 5: Distribution of Respondents According to Anxiety Level 3.3 Relationship between Gender and Anxiety Levels However, the findings of this study reveal that gender is not an influencing variable in students anxiety level; there is not much percentage difference between male and female students in all

Persidangan Pembangunan Pelajar Peringkat Kebangsaan 2008 Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 22-23Oktober 2008 anxiety levels. This refutes the claim derived from study on the relationship between gender difference and anxiety levels conducted by Pappamihiel (2002). As such, differences in culture and personal characteristics of the respondents between those in the present study and that in Pappamihiels (2002) could be a factor. On the other hand, an analysis of students anxiety levels in individual courses show that not all courses bring about the same anxiety level on students, as shown in Figures 6,7, and 8. For example, the percentage of students with moderate and high anxiety levels is higher than students with low anxiety level in English for the Real World course. In contrast, there is a much higher percentage of low anxiety level students in Creative Writing course compared to students with moderate and high anxiety levels.

9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0

1 8 3 1 1 2 2 5 1

Male Female

Figure 8: Distribution of Male and Female Students with High Anxiety Level In addition, the distribution of male and female students experiencing low, moderate and high level of anxiety in individual courses also differ. For instance, female students experienced high anxiety level in all courses except the Academic Reading and Writing course. On the other hand, male students with high anxiety level were found in only three courses Academic Reading and Writing, English for Self Expression and Preparatory English 1. As such, the findings indicate that the different nature of the various generic courses, task requirements, learning activities, assessments, learning environments and learning community were possible variables that influence respondents anxiety levels. There also seems to be a relationship between the nature of the courses and anxiety levels in male and female students. Hence, a future study to explore the relationship between these factors and anxiety levels may be necessary. This helps provide useful feedback to course designers to review the course requirements, learning activities and assessments so as to ensure maximum learning on the students part.

40 30 20 10 0

11 16

10 14

7 16

6 11

12 15

8 19

10 25

Male Female

Figure 6: Distribution of Male and Female Students with Low Anxiety Level

35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 10 5 1 2 19 21 14 11 5 8 6 16 11 5 Male Female

English for Professional Creative Writing Academic Reading and English for the Real English for Self Preparatory English 1 Preparatory English 2

4.

Limitations in the Study

English for Professional Creative Writing Academic Reading and English for the Real English for Self Preparatory English 1 Preparatory English 2

Figure 7: Distribution of Male and Female Students with Moderate Anxiety Level

Nonetheless, there are limitations to the study. As the questionnaires used in the study only required respondents to rate statements pertaining to their anxiety and coping strategies, they did not allow respondents to pen down their opinions or comments. As such, data on reasons why respondents felt a certain way about some aspects of their lessons or experiences in class could not be collected. These data would have been valuable in providing reasons or explanations for the studys findings. Also, the frequent revision of course materials, course assignments, learning tasks and course assessments would limit the reliability of the studys findings to that particular semester in which the study was conducted.

English for Professional Creative Writing Academic Reading and English for the Real English for Self Preparatory English 1 Preparatory English 2

Persidangan Pembangunan Pelajar Peringkat Kebangsaan 2008 Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 22-23Oktober 2008 6. 5. Conclusion R.C. Scarcella & R.L. Oxford, The tapestry of language learning: the individual in the communicative classroom, Heinle & Heinle, U.S.A, (1992) 54-56. R.L. Sparks & L. Ganschow, Is the foreign language classroom scale measuring anxiety or language skills? Foreign Language Annals. 40(2), 260-287. R.V. Worde, Students perspectives on foreign language anxiety. Retrieved 29 July, 2007 from Inquiry 8(1), 2003. Virginia Community College System. http://222.vccaedu.org/inquiry-spring2003/i81-worde.html Siti Norfishah Hj. Mohd. Zain, Anxiety in English language classroom: a survey on UNIMAS English for Social Purpose 1 students, Unpublished B.Ed dissertation, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak, 2005.

The study set out to investigate the anxiety type experienced by most students taking English generic courses in UNIMAS and the anxiety level of these students. It also aimed to examine whether there was a relationship between gender and anxiety levels and the anxiety coping strategies used most often by students. The results of the study show that comprehension anxiety was the most experienced anxiety among students taking English generic courses in UNIMAS. As a coping strategy, preparation was the strategy employed by most students. Nonetheless, most students still generally experienced low and moderate anxiety levels. However, contrary to the findings in study conducted by Pappamihiel (2002), there appear to be no relationship at all between gender and anxiety level. On the other hand, there seem to be a relationship between course type and anxiety level instead. A further investigation into this area of research would enable one to find out exactly which aspects of the course that have any bearing on students anxiety level. An implication of the studys findings on the classroom is perhaps to provide more collaborative language tasks to reduce students anxiety. As the study reveals comprehension anxiety as the most experienced anxiety type, having students work on tasks in groups or pairs may be less apprehensive compared to tackling the tasks on their own.

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10. T. Scovel, Learning new languages: a guide to second language acquisition, Heinle & Heinle, Boston.

REFERENCES 1. D.S. Kondo & Y.L. Yang, Strategies for coping with language anxiety: the case of students of English in Japan, ELT Journal. 58(3). E.K. Horwitz, Language anxiety and achievement, Annual review of Applied Linguistics. 21 (2001) 112-126. H.D. Brown, Principles of language learning and teaching (3rd ed), Prentice Hall, Eagewood Cliffs, NJ, 1993. N.E. Pappamihiel, Moving from the ESL classroom into the mainstream: an investigation in the mainstream classroom, Research in the Teaching of English. 36(3), 327. Nor Shidrah Mat Daud, Nuraihan Mat Daud & Noor Lide Abu Kassim, Second language writing anxiety: cause of effect? Retrieved October 8, 2007 from MELTA. http://www.melta.org.my/Doc/second_lang_w riting_anxiety.pdf

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