Reducing assessment anxiety: A case for using revised Bloom’s taxonomy in ESP

Abstract

This paper explores the benefits of incorporating the prepared speaking format into the final assessment in English for Specific Purposes, as a response to pandemic and the full-fledged war in Ukraine. The aim was to maintain students’ achievements and reduce examination-related anxiety triggered by war stress. As literature review suggests, anxiety blocks cognitive process and ability to critical thinking, the development of which requires focused and sustained attention and correlation of emotions and cognition. Since the critical thinking development is one of the key competences of the XXI century, the format of the designed pre-examination tasks is based on questioning techniques with trajectory on cognitive levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy, originally developed to help educators set educational objectives. In the suggested format it underwent a transformation, shifting from a teacher-centered approach to a student-centered one with the aim to enhance students’ critical thinking and the ability to ask higher cognitive questions. This study was carried out through a qualitative longitudinal approach with semi-structured interviews, a survey, and observation as data collection methods. The findings demonstrated the viability and a crucial role of prepared speaking format in eliminating anxiety, by providing the achievement-oriented strategies focusing students’ attention on effective task engagement.