A study on writing anxiety among Iranian EFL students

Abstract

This article aimed at investigating the level of writing anxiety of the Iranian EFL students with different proficiency levels. To do so, 45 students (elementary, intermediate, and advanced learners) studying in Azad University of Ilam, Iran were selected based on random sampling. Second, Language Writing Anxiety Inventory SLWAI (Cheng, 2004) was used to measure anxiety. Both descriptive and inferential statistics including One-way ANOVA were run to analyze the data. Statistical analysis was conducted using Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS). The results of the study indicated that the selected Iranian EFL students majoring in English language teaching experienced a high level of anxiety. In addition, students with elementary level were found to suffer higher level of English writing anxiety than the students with intermediate and advanced levels. Finally, based on the findings, cognitive anxiety was the most common type of anxiety, followed by somatic anxiety, and avoidance behavior. The results also highlighted the fact that foreign and second language teachers should be cautious of the dangers of anxiety and try to make the atmosphere of class as stress-free as possible in order to improve students’ performance.