Factors Inducing Literature Anxiety for Students Studying Literature in English
No TL;DR found
Abstract
Students have been plagued with various types of anxieties in the educational context, hence we propose to introduce the concept of literature anxiety in this study. This study investigates the possible factors inducing literature anxiety from the perspectives of university students studying Literature in English at tertiary level, and records their emotional experiences during their learning encounters with Literature in English. The study also presents how these students make sense of their Literature in English learning and how their knowledge and perceptions of Literature in English have influenced or affected their experience of literature anxiety. SPSS analysis of the data procured through the Literature Anxiety Scale (LITAS) provided evidence concerning students’ literature anxiety and the factors they perceive inducing literature anxiety for them. The literature anxiety-inducing factors were identified as situational, dispositional, and environmental factors. The findings obtained showed that students’ literature anxiety does debilitate their studying of Literature in English. The implications are that educators should teach more attentively and be sensitized to learners’ possible experience of anxiety.