EFL Writing Anxiety: Level, Types, and Causes
Kurniasih, S.Pd., M.A
Faculty of Teacher Training and Education, Islamic University of Malang
kurniasih_suheman@yahoo.com
Abstract
This study attempts to investigate the writing anxiety among EFL learners. To be more specific, the researcher wants to measure the EFL learners’ writing anxiety level, figure out types of writing anxiety (i.e., Cognitive Anxiety, Somatic Anxiety, Avoidance Behavior), and elaborate the causes of writing anxiety. The research subjects were 44 students who registered for Writing III in English department, Faculty of Teacher Training and Education, Islamic University of Malang. Two different questionnaires were used to collect data; SLWAI questionnaire designed by Cheng (2004) and another questionnaire developed by Zhang (2011). To measure the level of writing anxiety and its types, the data from the SLWAI questionnaire were analyzed and calculated to find the mean. Furthermore, to investigate the causes of writing anxiety, the data from the second questionnaire were ranked from 1-7 based on the most chosen items. The findings of the study reveal that students experience high level of anxiety (M=65.86, >65). Then the most common type of anxiety is Cognitive Anxiety, and the mean score is 23.9 in which it is the highest of all the types. Furthermore, linguistics difficulties (80%), lack of topical knowledge (68%), and insufficient writing technique (59%) are the major sources of students’ writing anxiety.
Keywords: EFL learners, writing anxiety (level, types, and cause)
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