Students’ English Learning Anxiety Regarding Gender

This study presents the results of a correlational design to assess the relationship between high school students’ English learning anxiety and gender among 120 high school EFL students (60 males and 60 females) in Tikme Dash City, East Azarbaijan Province who had about 6 years of experience of English learning. Two instruments were used for this study. There was a questionnaire assessing students’ anxiety level and an achievement test. The test was used to assess students’ English achievement was the final exam administered at the end of the semester. The results of Independent-samples t-test indicated that there was a significant difference in scores for male students (M=94.95, SD=9.93) and female students (M=88.68, SD=19.97; t (118) = 2.17, p=0.03, two-tailed).It is concluded that the male participants experience relatively greater amount of anxiety than females. It is extremely recommended that teachers should take the affective factors into account through creating a comfortable classroom atmosphere for students and involving them in learning which can make them feel safe to express themselves and participate eagerly.

Keywords:

learning anxiety , gender