Academic Writing Anxiety and Coping Strategies of EFL Postgraduate Students at a Thai University
Keywords:
writing anxiety, academic writing, EFL learners, postgraduate students, Thai universityAbstract
This study aimed to investigate symptoms and causes of academic writing anxiety among Thai postgraduate students of English as a foreign language, as well as the strategies that students use to cope with academic writing anxiety. The participants were 30 postgraduate students majoring in English in a Master of Arts (MA) program at a Thai university. The primary research instruments used in this study were the Academic Writing Anxiety Inventory (AWAI) and semi-structured interviews. The quantitative results revealed that cognitive anxiety emerged as the highest category. Additionally, the data indicated that a lack of topical knowledge was the most significant source of academic writing anxiety among the participants. The qualitative results demonstrated the participants' perceptions of academic writing and their strategies to cope with anxiety during the academic writing process. These strategies can be categorized into four main groups: seeking support from others, taking breaks or pausing during the writing process, adopting a positive mindset, and employing cognitive strategies such as effective time management. These insights contribute to a deeper understanding of the challenges associated with writing anxiety in a graduate context.
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