A Study On English Reading Anxiety Of Non-English Majors

A number of learner variables are generally said to influence the success or failure of language learning. Among these, foreign language anxiety has often been cited as one of the most important affective variables. The past two decades has witnessed an explosion of research into the topic of foreign language anxiety. Numerous studies have consistently reported that language anxiety has the pervasive effects on the language-learning process.Since 1980s, researchers abroad, mainly using Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale developed by Horwitz, Horwitz and Cope in 1986, have made relatively in-depth studies on listening, speaking and test which are frequently regarded as the most anxiety-provoking for learners. Most researchers hold that reading is the least anxiety-provoking for learners. In 1999, Satio, Garza and Horwitz designed Foreign Language Reading Anxiety Scale which is used specifically to measure the learners' foreign language reading anxiety. They pointed out for the first time that foreign language reading anxiety is related to, but distinguishable from general foreign language anxiety, and that reading in a foreign language can be anxiety-provoking to some students. In China, the studies concerning anxiety primarily centered on general English anxiety. Few studies have been conducted on English reading anxiety of non-English majors. Therefore, it is of theoretical and practical significance to make a study in this field.The major purposes of this study are to answer the following questions:1. Does FL reading anxiety exist as a phenomenon which is distinguishable from general FL learning anxiety?2. Does foreign language reading anxiety have an effect on non-English majors' reading performance?3. What is the relationship between some background variables, such as gender, year of learning English etc., and FL reading anxiety? 4. What are the potential sources eliciting reading anxiety of non-English majors?Based on affective filter hypothesis and information processing theory, the author made a study on English reading anxiety of 121 third-year non-English majors from Beijing Universal group by employing quantitative and qualitative research methods.Data for the study were collected by using questionnaires including the Chinese version of Foreign Language Reading Anxiety Scale (FLRAS) and Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (FLCAS), reading comprehension tests of CET-4 and an interview. With the help of SPSS 11.5, descriptive statistics, comparison of means, Pearson correlation analysis, independent sample T-Test and reliable analysis were computed with the target samples.The major purposes of this study are to answer the following questions:1. Does FL reading anxiety exist as a phenomenon which is distinguishable from general FL learning anxiety?2. Does foreign language reading anxiety have an effect on non-English major college students' reading performance?3. What is the relationship between some background variables, such as gender, year of learning English etc., and FL reading anxiety?4. What are the potential sources eliciting reading anxiety of non-English majors?...