A Study On English Reading Anxiety Of English-major Uyghur Students In Xinjiang

In the early 1940s, the initial research on anxiety began psychologically. In the late 1970s, Krashen put forward a set of hypotheses about second language acquisition and was expanded into a broader-based model in the early 1980s, consisting of five inter-related hypotheses: Acquisition-Learning Hypothesis, Natural Order Hypothesis, Monitor Hypothesis, Input Hypothesis and Affective Filter Hypothesis. Krashen (1982:33) claims that"comprehensible input and the strength of the filter are the true causes of second language acquisition."According to the Affective Filter Hypothesis (Krashen 1982), there is an affective filter which either allows or screens out the linguistic input entering the brain's processing system. Krashen stated that anxiety may function as an affective filter, hampering the process of second language acquisition. In other words, anxiety plays an important affective role in second language learning.The studies on foreign language anxiety were made in the middle of 1980s. In 1986, Horwitz et al., the pioneer researchers, distinguished foreign language anxiety as a separate and distinct phenomenon in language learning. Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (FLCAS) proposed and developed by Horwitz et al. (1986) has been widely used on languages studies, such as listening and speaking which were frequently regarded as the most anxiety-provoking for foreign language learners. However, there existed doubts about whether this foreign language anxiety instrument was capable of identifying students'anxiety over performing language skills other than speaking. In the late 1990s, attempts were made to examine this issue. Saito et al. (1999) first proposed the concept of foreign language"reading"anxiety and developed the Foreign Language Reading Anxiety Scale (FLRAS). Saito et al. (1999) proved empirically that foreign language reading anxiety does exist, and it is related to but distinguishable from general foreign language anxiety. Saito et al. (1999) found that learners'reading anxiety levels increased with their perception of the difficulty of reading in their foreign language, and reading anxiety in foreign language was negatively correlated with language performance.Saito et al. (1999) stated that"reading plays a substantial role in the second language curriculum."In fact, reading proficiency lays a foundation for acquisition of other target language skills such as listening, speaking, and writing. Anxiety is a key blocking affective factor for learners to acquire foreign language reading proficiency. Therefore, the research on foreign language reading anxiety has its pedagogical importance to promote foreign language teaching and learning effectiveness. In China, the studies on foreign language reading anxiety are mainly concerned with Han nationality students in universities and colleges and a few are focused on minority college students. As an English teacher in English Department of Changji College in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Regions, the author thinks it is of pedagogical importance to understand the reading anxiety state of English-major Uyghur students in English reading. This empirical study is made to explore the English reading anxiety of English-major Uyghur students.The present study is designed to explore three questions:(1) Does English reading anxiety exist among English-major Uyghur students in Xinjiang? If yes, what is the reading anxiety state of English–major Uyghur students in EFL classroom?(2) Is there any significant correlation between levels of English reading anxiety and individual variables, such as gender, personality, subjects'interest in English reading, self-perceived difficulty of English, and self-perceived English reading ability?(3) What are the main sources of their English reading anxiety? A total of 33 English-major Uyghur students in junior English classes participated in the study. The study was carried out quantitatively, qualitatively and the data were collected by distribution of questionnaires to the subjects. With the help of SPSS 11.0, descriptive statistics, reliable analysis, independent samples t-test, one-way ANOVA and Pearson correlation analysis were computed with the target samples. The results of the data analysis yield the following findings: (1) English-major Uyghur students did experience anxiety in response to English reading comprehension. They suffered high levels of reading anxiety in terms of culture, new grammar rules, intolerance of ambiguity and comprehension of the overall meaning of English passages. Meanwhile, English-major Uyghur students showed a low level of anxiety on items concerning their self-confidence and interest in English reading. In addition, Uyghur students did not worry about a few unfamiliar words in a passage because they could guess the meaning from the context.(2) No significant differences, in general, were found in levels of English reading anxiety in terms of gender and personality. The study showed that the levels of English reading anxiety of English-major Uyghur student were influenced by their individual variables, such as their interest in English reading, their self-perceived difficulty of English, and their self-perceived English reading ability.(3) The study identified five main sources which possibly elicit reading anxiety of English-major Uyghur students: English reading materials with many new words and grammars, students'states or moods (either physical ones or psychological ones), background knowledge, timed reading and fear of their slow reading speed.The findings of this study prove that English-major Uyghur students indeed experienced English reading anxiety to different degrees. Given the importance of reading in English teaching and learning, language teachers should be aware of English reading anxiety levels of their students and take appropriate measures to reduce anxiety arising from reading. For the sake of diminishing the negative effects of English reading anxiety, several pedagogical implications to teachers are provided.