Download This PaperQuantitative Analysis of the Foreign Language Anxiety: Chinese and Pakistani Postgraduates in Focus
Arab World English Journal (AWEJ) Volume 11. Number1 March 2020
16 Pages Posted: 18 May 2020
Date Written: 2020
Abstract
The current research study aims at inspecting various levels of apprehension and anxiety faced by university postgraduates in Pakistan and China when learning a foreign language (FL). The target population of this research was the university postgraduates from a Chinese university in Wuhan, and a public sector university in Lahore, Pakistan. The sample of this study was 206 postgraduates, out of which 106 (male =28, female= 78) from a Chinese university and 100 (male=53, female= 47) from a Pakistani university in Lahore. The sample was selected randomly and aged (21-30), and all participants belonged to the postgraduate level. Horwitz’s foreign language classroom anxiety scale (known as FLCAS) was used as a survey model, a theoretical framework for collecting data from both universities. The Statistical Package of a Social Sciences (SPSS version23) was used to get quantitative results. Descriptive statistics were used to investigate the anxiety level. Mean score and standard deviation were computed of both groups, besides it, the independent samples t-test was run to compare the mean score of both groups and infer if there existed any difference in the target language anxiety level. The results revealed that Chinese postgraduates face more anxiety than Pakistani postgraduates, and there existed significant differences in foreign language anxiety levels of both groups. Based on the results, it can be implicated that combined efforts of mentors and students can pave the way in tackling anxiety among university postgraduates.
Keywords: anxiety, apprehension, anxiety levels, foreign language, university postgraduates
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation