Gender Differences in Written Communication Anxiety among Libyan Postgraduates in Malaysia

Abstract

Writing represents an essential language skill. However, anxiety is often an obstacle to students’ positive writing outcomes. In Libya, students face detrimental challenges in English writing due to factors such as a high level of Foreign Language Anxiety (FLA) which affects their written communication performance. This study, therefore, aims to examine gender differences in the level of written communication anxiety amongst Libyan postgraduates studying in Malaysian universities. The study employed a descriptive survey in which a self-administered questionnaire was used as a data-collection tool. The analysis was performed using descriptive statistics, including frequency and the Chi-square test. The findings revealed that most Libyan postgraduates in Malaysia experience a moderate level of writing anxiety, whereas none of them experience a low anxiety level. Additionally, no significant differences exist between male and female students regarding the level of written communication anxiety. It is hoped that this study could provide useful information that can be used by instructors to help students overcome writing anxiety and achieve positive learning outcomes. Nevertheless, this analysis is limited to gender differences in the level of written communication anxiety across gender and does not consider the types of anxiety experienced by Libyan postgraduates, which can be an important step for further investigation.