English Classroom Anxiety, Learning Style and English Achievement in Chinese University EFL Students

Abstract

The present study examined the relationship between English classroom anxiety (ECA) and learning style and their predictive effects on students’ English achievement. In total, 691 Chinese university EFL (English as a foreign language) students answered the English Classroom Anxiety Scale, the Perceptual Learning Styles Preferences Questionnaire and a background information questionnaire. Major findings were: (a) the two scales were highly reliable and significantly inversely related to each other, (b) the respondents generally had a medium ECA level and selected auditory, kinesthetic, visual, tactile, group and individual styles as their minor preferences, (c) no significant differences occurred in ECA levels between students of varying genders and disciplines, (d) male students preferred group learning significantly more and individual learning significantly less than their female peers, and engineering students preferred group learning significantly more and individual learning significantly less than their peers of social sciences and humanities, (e) ECA was significantly negatively correlated with and predicted students’ English achievement, and (f) each learning style was significantly positively correlated with students’ English achievement, and visual and group styles significantly positively predicated the latter. These findings confirm the role of foreign language anxiety and learning style in second/foreign language learning.