English writing anxiety among undergraduate EFL students in Saudi Arabia

The purpose of the present study was to address the phenomenon of English anxiety and writing anxiety in Saudi undergraduate students in their first and second years of studying the English language at the university level. The level of foreign language anxiety and the factors leading to English writing anxiety among English undergraduate students were explored using a sequential mixed-method design with a survey and semi-structured interviews. Data were collected quantitatively via an online self-reported survey to determine the level of foreign language anxiety and anxiety in English writing classrooms among EFL undergraduate students. The semi-structured interviews were used to learn about students' and teachers' strategies in dealing with English writing anxiety, as well as to provide additional information about factors associated with the writing anxiety of undergraduate students. The questionnaire and the interview questions were adapted from Horwitz et al.’s (1986) Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (FLCAS) and Cheng's (2004) Second Language Writing Anxiety Inventory (SLWAI). The most common factors emerged from the interviews associated with the writing anxiety of EFL undergraduate students were “time limit”, “fear of negative evaluation”, “lack of students’ understanding”, “classroom environment”, “exam”, “lack of preparation”, “work team in writing class”, “previous writing experiences”, and “lack of motivation in writing classroom”. Furthermore, the most common coping strategies used by undergraduate students were positive thinking, relaxation techniques, working in groups, preparation, motivation, and peer seeking. The study discusses practical and instructional implications and suggests several strategies based on pedagogically sound approaches to help reduce writing anxiety in apprehensive language learners.