The effectiveness of writing anxiety on postgraduate university students' performance

Abstract EN

Foreign language anxiety, in terms of communicating, speaking, or writing, has a significant negative effect on the performance of students and it is related to the psychological and physiological aspects of learning.

This study presents the differences in the levels and types of writing anxiety among Iraqi postgraduate students.

The participants consisted of 100 Iraqi students that were divided into two groups, namely students who studied in Iraq and students who studied abroad.

Two instruments were used in this study, namely the second language writing anxiety inventory (SLWAI) questionnaire and a test of writing performance.

The results showed that the Iraqi students experienced moderate levels of writing anxiety.

Cognitive anxiety was identified as the most common type of writing anxiety among Iraqi postgraduate students.

The results of the questionnaire analysis revealed that there were no significant differences between the two student groups based on the levels and types of writing anxiety.

Linguistic difficulties, fear of negative evaluation, and low self-confidence were identified as the main causes of writing anxiety.

The writing test results showed a difference in anxiety levels for grammar and paragraphing rubrics.

Additionally, the correlation analysis revealed a negative relationship between the degree of writing anxiety and writing performance grades.