Gender-Based Differences in Level of Writing Anxiety in Malaysian Tertiary Education System
Abstract
There are many opportunities for students to develop writing anxiety because writing is considered the most difficult skill to learn in an ESL environment. It was determined that this deficiency is a result of students' fear of receiving negative comments from the ESL instructors, lack of confidence, inadequate subject knowledge, poor writing abilities, and pressure from time constraints. In addition, expectations for writing anxiety vary according to gender roles in language acquisition. A total of 172 diploma students were included in the study, which aimed to determine the level of writing anxiety among them and whether there were significant differences in the level of writing anxiety between genders. A descriptive survey was conducted in the study using a self-administered questionnaire (SLWAI) developed by Cheng as the data collection instrument. Descriptive statistics, including the mean and the inferential statistics of thetest, were used for the analysis. The results showed that male diploma engineering students were strongly affected by cognitive anxiety, with a significant mean difference of 0.12 and a test of significance (2-tailed) of .03 (p<0.05) in independent sample of t-test.
Keywords: ESL, gender-based, SLWAI, writing anxiety
Introduction
Effective writing is a key skill that can be applied in a variety of settings, from academic writing to professional communication. It is characterized by clear, concise, and well-organized language that is easy to understand and engages the reader. One of the most important aspects of effective writing is having a clear purpose (Cheng, 2002). Before beginning to write, it is important to consider the intended audience, the message that needs to be conveyed, and the desired outcome. This will help to guide the writing process and ensure that the final product is tailored to the specific needs of the audience (Suvin, 2020). Writing can be a challenging process for many people. It can be difficult to find the right words, organize thoughts, and communicate ideas effectively (Hassan et al., 2021). However, with practice and dedication, it is possible to improve one's writing skills. The intricacy of writing abilities has raised concerns among L2 students, and studies have shown that when writing exercises are assigned in ESL classes, L2 students develop writing anxiety (Daud et al., 2016).
Writing anxiety is a common experience that can affect individuals of all genders. It can manifest in a variety of ways, such as procrastination, self-doubt, and fear of criticism. Factors that may contribute to writing anxiety include a lack of confidence in one's writing abilities, perfectionism, and a fear of not meeting others' expectations (Liu, 2006). While writing anxiety can be a challenge, there are strategies that can help individuals overcome it, such as setting realistic goals, breaking tasks into smaller steps, and seeking feedback from others.
Writing anxiety is a condition that can manifest in a variety of ways, including cognitive, somatic, and avoidance behaviours and cognitive behaviour refers to the thoughts and mental processes that occur when an individual experiences writing anxiety (Cheng, 2002). These may include negative self-talk, and these thoughts can lead to feelings of self-doubt and insecurity, which can make it difficult to start or complete writing tasks. Somatic behaviour refers to the physical symptoms that may occur as a result of writing anxiety. These may include headaches, muscle tension, fatigue, and difficulty concentrating. These physical symptoms can make it difficult to focus on the task at hand and can lead to further anxiety and procrastination (Dar & Khan, 2015) and avoidance behaviour refers to the actions an individual may take to avoid writing tasks or situations that trigger writing anxiety. This may include procrastination, making excuses, or avoiding certain writing tasks altogether. This behaviour can prolong the problem and make it harder to overcome writing anxiety (Kurniasih, 2017).
It is important to note that everyone may experience different combination of these behaviours and the intensity of them may also vary. However, the above-mentioned behaviours are common among individuals who experience writing anxiety. Identifying and addressing the specific behaviours that contribute to writing anxiety can help individuals to develop strategies for overcoming it. Writing anxiety is a common issue among students in Malaysia. It can manifest as feelings of nervousness, stress, or fear when faced with the task of writing. This can lead to difficulties in getting started, writer's block, or difficulty in expressing oneself. This problem can be caused by a variety of factors, including lack of confidence in one's writing ability, lack of writing experience, and fear of failure (Cheng, 2002).
Problem Statement
In universities, students are often assessed largely based on their writing skills. Writing assignments, such as research papers, essays, and lab reports, are commonly used as a way to evaluate a student's understanding of the course material and their ability to express themselves in writing. Additionally, standardized tests such as the TOEFL and IELTS also assess writing skills. Given the importance of writing in university assessments, it is important for students to have a good grasp of writing skills, including grammar, vocabulary, organization, and critical thinking. Students who struggle with writing anxiety may have difficulty meeting these expectations and may need additional support to develop their writing skills (Daud et al., 2016). As writing is often considered one of the most challenging abilities to learn when learning a second language (L2), a lack of vocabulary and linguistic understanding, as well as a lack of familiarity with the conventions and rules of the target language, can make it difficult for L2 learners to express themselves in writing (Anwar & Ahmed, 2016).
Furthermore, psychological factors such as self-confidence, self-efficacy, and anxiety can also play a significant role in L2 writing difficulties. Low self-confidence and self-efficacy can make it difficult for students to take risks and try new things in their writing, while anxiety can make it difficult for students to focus and produce writing. To address these difficulties, it is important for L2 lecturers to provide clear instructions and guidelines for writing assignments, and to provide opportunities for students to practice their writing skills in a low-stress setting (Mulyono et al., 2020). Additionally, providing opportunities for students to receive feedback on their writing from peers and teachers can help them identify areas for improvement and develop their writing skills to impede this scenario from indirectly influences learners’ attitude and the written result itself (Altukruni, 2019).
Studies on writing anxiety in ESL classroom are mostly consistent regarding the negative effects of anxiety on individuals’ academic performance (Cheng, 2002). However, the research about gender-related anxiety has yielded conflicting results. In 2019, a study conducted by Zia and Safi (2020) revealed that female Afghanistan’s postgraduate students experienced greater amount of anxiety than male students. This indicates that the effect of anxiety on the attitudes of female students occurred more greatly than male students. The avoidance behavior factor was the most influence on female participants compared to the other two factors, namely, somatic and cognitive which had less influence. This indicates that Iraqi EFL students have a tendency to avoid the situations that require writing. Jebreil et al., (2015) reported that Iranian EFL male students experienced relatively greater amount of anxiety than female students. On the other hand, a study conducted by Machida (2001) that looked at gender differences in ESL Japanese language class anxiety demonstrated the opposite, namely that female students were more anxious than male students when they were in ESL writing classes.
English is the medium of instruction at Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM), and graduates with an UiTM diploma must pass specific English courses. According to a study by Nordin et al. (2019), UiTM students experience anxiety when they are concerned that professors will critique and mark their essays. Given that writing is a crucial ability for success in college, it is evident that students must control their nervousness when learning to write in ESL programmes because this could negatively impact their final score. Gender, however, has not been taken into account as a factor in these investigations. As a result, this study focuses on how men and women communicate in writing, particularly among UiTM graduate engineering students. This is because, as Geçkin (2020) points out, teachers can aid students in overcoming SLA by helping them comprehend individual differences. The study might be a crucial step in assisting L2 learners, who frequently encounter difficult situations in ESL classes (Hassan et al., 2021), to get over their language anxiety.
Research Questions
This study addresses these research questions. Firstly, what are the levels of writing anxiety among the diploma engineering students in UiTM and secondly, is there any significant differences in the level of writing anxiety between genders among the diploma engineering students in UiTM.
Purpose of the Study
This study’s central aim is to reveal that there is a significant difference in type and level of writing anxiety across gender.
Research Methods
Participants
The sample of this study comprised 172 diploma students consisting of 122 males and 50 females from the Faculty of Engineering, UiTM. The reason for selecting this number of participants was the limited number of diploma engineering students studying at UiTM in the third semester of 2022/2023. In this context, Krejcie and Morgan (1970) recommended that 100 students should participate in a study that has 150-170 students as the population. Simple random sampling was used to select participants who have an equal and independent chance of being included in this study. For the purpose of this study, respondents are divided into three different groups to get different sample sizes. It is important to see if there are differences in the results when different sample sizes are randomly selected from the participants involved. The first sample size consists of equal numbers of male and female respondents (N= 60) with 30 male and 30 female respondents each. The second sample size consists of (N= 100) with an equal distribution of (N= 50) male and (N= 50) female respondents and the last sample size consists of (N= 172) respondents with an unequal distribution of (N= 122) male and (N= 50) female respondents. When different sample sizes are randomly chosen from the participants, it is crucial to check to see if the results differ. An equal number of males and females (N=60) participated in the initial sample, with 30 male and 30 female students in total. The second sample size is made up of (N= 100) respondents with an equal distribution of (N= 50) male and (N= 50) female, and the third sample size is made up of (N= 172) respondents with an uneven distribution of (N= 122) male and (N= 50) female students.
Instrument
A quantitative approach was applied in this study. One instrument was used, namely, the Second Language Writing Anxiety Inventory (SLWAI) developed by Cheng (2002) which involves three independent factors: cognitive anxiety, somatic anxiety and avoidance behavior anxiety. This questionnaire consists of 22 items to measure the English as a second language (ESL) writing anxiety and rated from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 on a Likert scale (strongly agree), which was employed to identify the most factor among somatic, avoidance behavior, and cognitive anxiety that causes more writing anxiety to the participants. The SLWAI was distributed to be answered by all the respondents after they have learned English courses in UiTM for three consecutive semesters.
Data Analysis
The quantitative data were analyzed with descriptive and inferential statistics using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences program. While the latter is used to determine the differences between the three aforementioned factors of writing anxiety across the genders, an independent samples-test was run in the former to measure the levels of somatic anxiety, avoidance behavior anxiety, and cognitive anxiety among Diploma Engineering students in UiTM.
Findings
This study seeks to examine the levels of the three factors of writing anxiety (cognitive, somatic, and avoidance behaviour) among Diploma Engineering students in UiTM. Table I summarizes a descriptive statistics of writing anxiety levels across the three factors with the number of 172 sample sizes.
Descriptive analysis for different sample sizes
Descriptive analysis provides information on the distribution of the data hence making it possible to identify correlations between variables.
As shown in Table I, with a sample size of (N=172), graduate engineers scored highest for the somatic anxiety factor (M= 3.23 and M= 3.32, with SD =0.75 and SD = 0.77, respectively) among both male and female respondents compared to the other two factors. The students scored a slightly lower mean for cognitive anxiety for the female respondents (M=3.09), but the male respondents scored a similar mean for somatic anxiety (M=3.23), with a standard deviation of (SD = 0.74 and SD =0.77). The mean scores for the factors of fear of avoidance behaviour were lowest among the respondents (M= 2.95 and M= 2.90 and SD = 0.53 and SD = 0.53). All three components can be said to have an impact on respondents, although students are more impacted by the somatic anxiety factors than they are by the cognitive anxiety and fear of avoidance behaviour aspects. This shows that UiTM Diploma engineering students experience physical symptoms of anxiety more often when they are required to write in their L2. However, Table 1 also shows that male respondents scored the same mean (M= 3.23) for both somatic and cognitive anxiety, resulting in a small difference of (M= 0.23) for these two types of anxiety.
As shown in Table 2, with a sample size of (N=100), graduate engineers scored highest for the somatic anxiety factor (M= 3.23 and M= 3.32, with SD =0.75 and SD = 0.77, respectively) among both male and female respondents compared to the other two factors. The students scored a slightly lower mean for cognitive anxiety for the female respondents (M=3.09), but the male respondents scored a similar mean for somatic anxiety (M=3.23), with a standard deviation of (SD = 0.74 and SD =0.77). The mean scores for the factors of fear of avoidance behaviour were lowest among the respondents (M= 2.95 and M= 2.90 and SD = 0.53 and SD = 0.53). Similarly, all three variables can be considered to influence respondents, but they are more influenced by the somatic anxiety variables than by the cognitive anxiety and fear of avoidance behaviour variables. This implies that UiTM graduate engineering students have a considerably higher requirement to exhibit bodily symptoms of worry in circumstances that call for them to write in their L2. However, Table 1 also shows that male respondents scored the same mean (M= 3.23) for both somatic and cognitive anxiety, resulting in a small difference of (M= 0.23) for these two types of anxiety.
As shown in Table 3, when the sample size is (N= 60) with an equal distribution of (N=30) for both male and female respondents, Diploma Engineering students scored the highest on somatic anxiety for both genders (M= 3.27 and M= 3.19, with SD= 0.74 and SD= 0.78) respectively compared to the other two factors. The students scored a slightly lower mean for cognitive anxiety in comparison to somatic anxiety for male respondents (M= 3.19) and (M= 3.09) for male respondents, with standard deviation of (SD= 0.29, and SD= 0.31). The mean scores for the factors of avoidance behaviour anxiety were the lowest and ranked the third among the respondents across gender with (M= 2.99 for male respondents and M= 2.85 for female respondents and SD= 0.62 and SD= 0.51). It can also be seen form Table 3 that the similar pattern of mean scores occurred with only a small difference of (M= 0.27) for somatic and cognitive anxiety among the respondents.
From the above results, it can be clearly seen that the ranking of anxiety factors for all the three types of writing anxiety mentioned above is similar across the three different sample sizes with unequal distribution across gender (N= 172), equal distribution across gender (N= 100) and (N= 60), with somatic anxiety ranked as the most influential type of anxiety among the respondents, followed by cognitive anxiety in second place and fear of avoidance behaviour in third place. The results of this study show a significant difference between male and female students in terms of writing anxiety. In particular, female students had more anxiety than male students. In this regard, the findings of this study have parallels with the findings of Sadighi and Dastpak (2017) who showed that female students had more anxiety than their male peers. They are also consistent with a study by Kurniasih (2017) which found a slightly higher mean score among female respondents in learning to write in ESL classes.
In addition, female respondents consistently scored highest in somatic anxiety compared to male respondents across all three different sample sizes. The results suggest that the respondents in this study tend to experience excessive thoughts, feelings and behaviours related to physical symptoms that make them believe they are ill when learning to write in the ESL classroom. This is in contrast to the study by Nordin et al. (2019) which found that UiTM Melaka diploma students were the most anxious when it came to factors associated with cognitive anxiety. A study by Chin Lin et al., (2018) among UiTM Sarawak students came to the same conclusions as the respondents had the highest score for cognitive anxiety, which is also consistent with the research of Ariffin and Baharum (2012) as cognitive anxiety was also recorded as the most influenced type of anxiety among UiTM diploma students.
Comparison Independent Samples T Test for Equal and Unequal Sample Sizes
Independent samples t-test is used to identify the differences between the three factors of writing anxiety across the genders. Tables 4,5, and 6 display the results of cognitive, somatic, and avoidance behaviour anxiety for three different sample sizes (N=172), (N=100), and (N=30).
Thetest result in Table 4 shows there is a significant different mean score for Writing Anxiety Level of cognitive factor across gender (male and female) with= 0.008 which is smaller than alpha at 0.05 level of significance. Since the significant value is smaller than alpha at 0.05 level of significance, there is a statistically significant difference between male and female students. In other words, the homogeneity of variance is significant (0.008<0.05). Thus, it can be concluded that there is a significant difference between male and female students’ mean scores of the cognitive anxiety factor when the sample size is (N =172) with unequal number of respondents for male (N= 150) and female (N= 22). The result of the t-test in Table 4 shows that the mean value for the cognitive factor writing anxiety differs significantly between the genders (male and female) (P= 0.008), which is smaller than alpha at a significance level of 0.05. The mean value for the cognitive factor writing anxiety differs significantly between the genders (male and female). Since the significant value is less than alpha at 0.05 level of significance, there is a statistically significant difference between male and female students. In other words, the homogeneity of variance is significant (0.008< 0.05). It can be concluded that with a sample size of (N = 172) with an unequal number of male (N = 150) and female (N = 22) respondents, there is a significant difference between the mean scores of male and female students for the cognitive anxiety factor.
The result of the t-test in Table 5 shows that the mean value for the cognitive factor writing anxiety differs significantly between the sexes (male and female) (P= 0.029), which is smaller than alpha at a significance level of 0.05. The mean value for the cognitive factor writing anxiety differs significantly between the sexes (male and female). Since the significant value is less than alpha at 0.05 level of significance, there is a statistically significant difference between male and female students. In other words, the homogeneity of variance is significant (0.029 > 0.05). It can be concluded that there is a significant difference between the mean scores of cognitive anxiety between male and female students when the sample size (N = 100) is fixed with an equal number of male (N = 50) and female (N = 50) respondents.
The result of the-test in Table 6 shows that the mean value for the cognitive factor writing anxiety differs significantly between the sexes (male and female) (P= 0.01), which is smaller than alpha at a significance level of 0.05. The mean value for the cognitive factor writing anxiety differs significantly between the sexes (male and female). Since the significant value is less than alpha at the significance level of 0.05, there is a statistically significant difference between male and female students. In other words, the homogeneity of variance is significant (0.01 > 0.05). Hence, it is conclusive that there is a significant difference between the mean scores of cognitive anxiety between male and female students when the sample size (N = 60) is fixed with an equal number of male (N = 30) and female (N = 30) respondents.
The results of the t-tests in Tables 4,5, and 6 show that cognitive anxiety differs significantly between genders for all three different sample sizes. This shows that the different sample sizes, which consist of uneven and even gender distribution, do not affect the significant mean of cognitive anxiety according to gender. Compared to the data calculated for the descriptive analysis, where somatic anxiety was recorded as the type of anxiety that most influenced respondents, the t-test results for the different genders show a relatively significant difference in the level of writing anxiety for cognitive factors based on gender. The results of this study are consistent with many other studies that have found gender differences in favor of cognitive anxiety in writing anxiety (Liu, 2006; Mesri, 2012). After examining the effects of gender differences in writing anxiety, it became clear that male students had higher levels of writing anxiety with a mean score (M= 3.23) on cognitive anxiety and compared to female students with a mean score (M= 3.03). In this regard, the result of the current study is in sharp contrast with what was reported by Shang (2012) who indicated that females are more anxious than males. Aida (1994) found no significant difference between male and female students in terms of language anxiety. However, the results seem to be consistent with the findings of Na (2007), who found in his study that male students were more anxious than female students about English classes. The intergender subscales of the SLWAI results also showed that cognitive anxiety is the most prevalent form of ESL writing anxiety among Iranian EFL students. These results are partially consistent with Cheng's (2002) findings that cognitive anxiety is closely related to cognitive anxiety, which could significantly affect L2 writing ability. Therefore, it is important to examine whether these findings have any practical value for language teaching and learning. The analysis of the factors affecting students' writing anxiety shows that most male respondents are anxious because of assessment. This means that students gain further insight into certain attitudes toward writing and assessment. Students who are anxious about assessment expect to do poorly in writing courses even before the courses begin. Respondents feel that the instructor will give a poor grade because they are unable to express their ideas clearly. As a result, there is a lack of confidence during the writing process. Based on the explanations about the factors that affect students' writing anxiety, this study result positively supports the previous study by Jebreil et al. (2015). In addition, the results could also be supported by the fact that the respondents consider writing exercises as a kind of test and that the correction of errors is more thorough in written production than in oral production. For this reason, these results could be related to the fear of negative evaluation, which is one of the causes of cognitive anxiety.
Conclusion
The gender differences found in the current study in the level of writing anxiety were statistically significant for factors related to cognitive anxiety. Based on the descriptive analysis for all three different sample sizes in this study, it is also found that the level of cognitive anxiety was higher for male respondents than female respondents. In some studies, it has been suggested that anxiety and frustration in writing may be caused by excessive and improper emphasis on superficial errors in spelling and grammar, rather than content. When students are overly focused on avoiding errors, they may become less confident in their writing ability, and may struggle to express themselves effectively (Elias et al., 2005).
In light of the above findings, it is important for practitioners to be aware of the powerful effects of anxiety not only on ESL learners' performance but also on the educational environment as they improve learners' performance. Anxiety resembles many abstract mental concepts, and the more one looks into it, the more questions are raised. It seems that if instructors take this issue into consideration, some of the problems students have with their writing, competence, and proficiency could be solved. At this point, it is also important to mention the limitations of this study. The limitation is the insufficient number of samples, so there is a possibility that the results of the study are biased. Due to the fact that the limited participants were selected from a public university in a specific region of Malaysia, the results cannot be generalized to all Malaysian graduate engineering students. Consequently, it is suggested that future research on writing anxiety should include more participants so that more variables can be considered for a deeper analysis of the findings on gender differences in anxiety in L2 writing courses. Although anxiety is often viewed as something that can negatively affect L2 learners, many research indicates that healthy anxiety plays a beneficial role and might encourage students to continue their academic endeavors. Thus, the real task of instructors is to help students maintain appropriate anxiety that is neither too high nor too low (Mesri, 2012) as research has shown that some level of anxiety can be beneficial for learning and performance, as it can motivate students to work harder and pay more attention to the task at hand (Horwitz et al., 1986). However, excessive anxiety can be detrimental to learning and performance, as it can lead to stress, fear, and difficulty in focusing on the task. Conclusively, it is important to note that it is neither practicable nor beneficial to entirely avoid all anxiety-inducing events as students need to learn how to manage and cope with anxiety in different context. Instead, all L2 instructors should aim to help students develop the skills and strategies they need to manage their anxiety in a healthy and constructive way.
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Jasman, N. H., Saidalvi, A., Tukiman, N., & Fakhruddin, W. F. W. W. (2023). Gender-Based Differences in Level of Writing Anxiety in Malaysian Tertiary Education System. In M. Rahim, A. A. Ab Aziz, I. Saja @ Mearaj, N. A. Kamarudin, O. L. Chong, N. Zaini, A. Bidin, N. Mohamad Ayob, Z. Mohd Sulaiman, Y. S. Chan, & N. H. M. Saad (Eds.), Embracing Change: Emancipating the Landscape of Research in Linguistic, Language and Literature, vol 7. European Proceedings of Educational Sciences (pp. 714-725). European Publisher. https://doi.org/10.15405/epes.23097.64