The effects of young EFL learners' perceptions of tests on test anxiety

Abstract

Studies conducted so far have mainly focused on the relationships between perceptions of tests and test anxiety among adult foreign language learners, while there is a lack of research focusing on young learners on the abovementioned issue. Thus, this study aims to examine the relationship between test anxiety among young learners who study English as a foreign language and their perceptions of content validity, time limit, test techniques, test length, testing environment and the clarity of test instructions. The sample group of the study consisted of 480 English as a foreign language learners aged from 9 to 14 from five elementary schools. A background questionnaire and the Test Anxiety Scale were used to collect data. The collected data were used to provide a descriptive and correlational analysis to address the research question. The results indicate that learners' perceptions are significantly correlated with certain items in the Test Anxiety Scale. In the light of the findings, some practical recommendations were noted.