Strategies for Overcoming the English Reading Anxiety of Freshmen in English Major—on the Basis of the Correlative Study of Chinese Freshmen’ English Reading Anxiety and English Achievement

【Abstract】： English reading anxiety is a kind of synthesis about self-consciousness， emotion， action， and correlated with the English classroom learning in English learning process. The first year of university is the key stage that learners develop into profession; if teachers know the difficulties that freshmen encountered in the learning process and put forward to actual solutions， and students themselves can adjust their condition in appropriate ways， freshmen will prepare well for the better development. With the data of Duan， I will put forward several suggestions for averting the anxieties from the English learning process.

【Key Words】： English reading anxiety "suggestions

I. the Correlations between the English Reading Anxiety and the English Achievement

With the importance of second language acquisition focused by most people， the major factors that influence learners’ achievement is necessary to analyze and adopt some teaching procedures for improving learners’ comprehensive English level. The objectives of English language learning include language skills， language knowledge， leaning strategies， cultural awareness， attitudes and affections （National English Curriculum， 2001）. Brown （1973） proposed that the affective variables in language learning are related to the second language acquisition. Through the theory of Brown， Gardner and MacIntyre （1991） indicated the anxiety is the major variable that influences learners’ achievement.

Through research method of random sampling， Duan （Duan Li， Zhu Yongjin， 2006） choose 212 samples （average age is 21.1years old） from 4650 English major freshmen in one key university. They applied three questionnaires， that is， self conditions， FLCAS and FLRAS， and 5 reading texts from CET 4 examination several years ago. They trained teachers seriously and gave the same instructions before their investigation， and then randomly examined 60 freshmen， which found that the reliability of his questionnaires is high. They arranged teachers to distribute questionnaires at the first English class in the second month within 40 minutes， and the examinees should do the 5 reading texts in 50 minutes. After examinees fill in the questionnaires and reading texts， the responsible teachers should write the investigate time， place， the numbers of distribution and taking back. The FLRAS and FLCAS used the Likert scale， that is， when choose A （extremely agree）， you will get 5 scores， B （agree） means 4 scores， etc. The processing and analysis of the data were done through SPSS （11.5）. The results of both FLRAS and FLCAS are negatively relate to the English CET4 examination performances， while the extent of negative relation is not bigger than previous researches.

II. Strategies for dealing with the English Reading Anxiety of freshmen

2.1 Building up freshmen’s Self-Confidence

Lack of self-confidence is reported to be one of the main anxiety sources in English learning in present study. Hembree’s （1988， cited from Wang Qin， 2007： 44） investigation of the relationship between ability and anxiety revealed that students who started out with a self-perceived low ability level in a foreign language or second language were the likeliest candidates for language anxiety or any other type of anxiety for that matter. Students’ self-confidence will be strengthened by making them interested in what their anxiety is about. The more interest a learner has， the less anxiety he will get （Shu Sanhua， 2007）. So if students are interested in English， they may have positive attitudes toward English classes and be active in English learning without feeling tired， which in turn make them spend more time studying English and can get good result. And then it is natural that they will feel more confident in English learning.

2.2 Making Proper Expectations

It is very important that English learners， especially those with low English proficiency should make realistic expectations in English learning.The present study reports that some students are afraid of speaking English because of their poor pronunciation， local accents and grammar mistakes， which hinders their oral expression in English classes. They say that they dare not speak in English until they can speak fluently and with a standard accent. In this case， English teachers should make it clear that students should not pay special attention to the mistakes but focus on their language competence in their expression and that making errors or mistakes are normal and common during English learning process. English achievement can be obtained through mistakes and mistakes correction.

2.3 Guiding Freshmen to Reduce Test Anxiety by Proper Assessment

Test anxiety is the most anxiety –arousing factor because of the pressure from society， schools， teachers and parents. Most of the students complain that they are afraid of taking English tests and worried the consequences of failing English class. These students are used to attaching their English level to test results because they are always judged by scores of examinations. So they feel very anxious before or while taking tests. To make students reduce such anxiety， on the one hand， as suggested by Xiong Suchun （2005：45）， English teachers and parents should not exert excessive demands on the students， but help them estimate themselves properly and make them realize that the importance of English learning is not on test results but on proficiency， test is only a transient summary of their achievements. On the other hand， before English tests， English teachers had better tell students the range of tests， the types of tasks， the way of making answers in order to make them prepare for tests very well. Relatively speaking， in this way， they will have more confidence to take English tests， and then test anxiety will also be reduced to some extent. At last， teachers should not care too much about summative assessment but formative assessment. As formative assessment attaches importance to students’ learning processes and progresses， and it can help them know their current English level so that they set realistic goal and find learning methods.

2.4 Creating a Pleasant Teaching and Learning Environment

The present study reports that some freshmen are afraid of speaking English in front of English classes or classmates because they are worried that others will laugh at them because of their local accents. It is very important for English teachers to create a pleasant， secure and comfortable atmosphere in English classes. Price （1991） claimed that instructors had played a significant role in the amount of anxiety each student had experienced in particular classes. English teachers may consciously create a pleasant atmosphere by subtle gestures， postures and facial expressions. When they are conveying message， their friendly eye contact， smiling faces， soft voice， encouraging comments and appreciative attitude can make students relaxed and secure in the new class， which will make students feel less anxious in English learning. Besides， both in and outside class group or pair work may be provided more opportunities for students to study from each other， which can make them know more about each other and develop a good relationship. Willis （1996） suggested “In pairs and small groups， learners would get plenty of opportunities to interact freely and gain confidence”. Making good use of the class environment and design some interesting activities during teaching will be helpful to freshmen.

2.5 Improving Students’ English Cultural Knowledge

Some students complain that because of lack of English cultural knowledge and less making contact with native speakers， they are very nervous when communicating with native speakers. So on this problem， inputting cultural knowledge into English teaching is very important and necessary for the students to improve their communicative competence. English teachers should impart cultural knowledge when teaching in class. Besides， English teachers should encourage them to read original material and watch TV programs which are effective measures to get known the knowledge of target cultures. Once students possess the knowledge of English culture， can they understand English native speakers deeply and communicate with them more freely. In the meantime， English teachers should make full use of every opportunity to let students communicate with native speakers. For example， they can occasionally invite native speakers to take classes and encourage students to take actively part in English corner where many foreigners get involved

2.6 Reducing Peer Competition

It is worth noticing that competition is another source of anxiety in present study. We know that a little competition can motivate students to work hard and make them get progresses， but too much competition may produce big pressure on them which could result in learning anxiety. In English class， if English teachers create an atmosphere in which there doesn’t exist competition among peers or classmates， students will learn better. Cooperative learning allows students to work together to reach common goal is a good way to reduce English learners’ competition. So in English class， English teachers should encourage students to engage in cooperative and sharing activities such as completing all kinds of English learning tasks， which can avoid putting stress on the individual learner and reduce competition and every member of the whole group makes contribution to the successful completion of the English learning task. By cooperating learning， students can get support， learn more from each other and put themselves into greater likelihood of success than individual does. What’s more， the successful results of learning through cooperation can build up learners’ greater confidence and self-esteem on the whole， which will reduce their English learning anxiety to some extent.

2.7 Slowing Down the Pace of English Class

Many students complain that their English teachers speak so quickly that they can’t understand him or her completely. Freshmen just come to the university， and they probably have not adapted the new environment. So freshmen’s English teachers can take students’ English level into consideration， and abide by Krashen’ input hypothesis. Krashen （1985） pointed out that the best way to teach the students was to provide them with comprehensible input. He proposed the mode of “i+1”， “i” represented the current level of the students， “i+1”represented the next level of the students on the basis of the current level， which should be understood by them. In class， to alleviate students’ anxiety， English teachers should speak at appropriate rate and use easier words and simple sentences in order to make students grasp the meaning of the teacher’s words. So freshmen’s English teachers should carefully choose their words， and if necessary， they can use the mother tongue when they explain important and difficult points.

2.8 Updating English Teachers’ Professional Knowledge

English teachers’ quality is of great significance to reduce students’ English learning anxiety. Underhill （1989） claimed that， as a language teacher， he/she must make a sustained effort to improve himself/herself because the development of our teaching practice is closely connected with their personal development. To be a popular and successful English teacher， they should possess profound knowledge of English and English culture， and then apply this knowledge to their practical teaching， should master teaching theory and students’ psychology， and update and strengthen knowledge constantly by reading such books related with foreign language pedagogy， foreign language education， psychological linguistics， sociolinguistics and so on.

III. Conclusion

In recent years， with the improving of Chinese to English cognitive level， especially influenced by the new curriculum reform in middle and high school， students’ English levels are gradually increasing. Through the study of Duan， compare with previous studies， the English reading anxiety is decreasing. The paper suggests English learners and teachers to overcome anxieties that exist in learning process. Now， the course design， teaching and learning of English courses in university should focus on learners’ reading after class， and cultivate learners’ subjective initiative and skills of self-judgment， so that improve learners’ reading skills. Teachers should guide and encourage learners read more both on textbook and on the information about learners’ major and current development， and gain more cultural background knowledge. During teaching， educators should not frustrate students but to increase students’ self-confidence.

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