English as a Foreign Language Reading Anxiety of Chinese University Students

Abstract

Given the impact of anxiety on foreign language reading, understanding how English as a Foreign Language (EFL) reading anxiety is evoked would help teachers facilitate their students in the reading process effectively. This study aimed at investigating the sources of EFL reading anxiety of Chinese university students. The data were collected from 459 non-English major students from four different universities in China, using an adapted version of English as a Foreign Language Reading Anxiety Inventory (EFLRAI) developed by Zoghi (2012). The findings showed that the participants experienced the moderate level of EFL reading anxiety overall and also categorically. The main source of anxiety was from the lack of general reading ability. Of the three key factors that seemed to arouse higher levels of anxiety than the others, one related to the general reading ability and the other two were vocabulary-related factors. Chinese university students tended to read for details and seemed to get highly anxious when they did not understand ‘everything’. These findings lend suggestions to some interventions that English teachers may use to reduce Chinese university students’ anxiety when reading.