An Investigation into Japanese Reading Anxiety and Japanese Reading Strategies in Beginner Learners The Case of Non-Japanese Major Students
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Abstract
This study aimed to investigate (1) the level of Japanese reading anxiety among non-Japanese-major students, (2) the patterns and tendencies of Japanese reading strategy use, (3) the classification of learners based on their reading anxiety levels, and (4) reading strategy use as well as the characteristics of each group. The participants were 216 second-year students at Thai–Nichi Institute of Technology, enrolled in the course JPN-202, Business Japanese 4, during the second semester of the 2024 academic year. The research instruments consisted of a Japanese reading anxiety questionnaire and a reading strategy questionnaire. Data was analyzed using Spearman’s rank correlation coefficients and cluster analysis with Jamovi software. The results revealed that the mean level of reading anxiety was 3.33 (α = 0.85). Regarding reading strategies, the mean scores were 3.58 (α = 0.80) for Top-down (TD), 3.40 (α = 0.75) for Bottom-up (BU), and 3.62 (α = 0.60) for Test-taking (TT) strategies. Cluster analysis classified the participants into two groups: (1) a low-anxiety, high-strategy-use group and (2) a high-anxiety, low-strategy-use group. The first group tended to employ a wide range of reading strategies, whereas the second group tended to avoid Bottom-up strategies that require direct processing of linguistic details. The findings suggest that Japanese reading instruction for non-Japanese major students should emphasize reducing reading anxiety alongside the development of reading strategies. In particular, integrating Extensive Reading and Jigsaw Reading activities into classroom practice can enhance learners’ confidence and improve their reading performance.
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ข้อความและข้อคิดเห็นต่างๆ ในบทความเป็นของผู้เขียนบทความนั้นๆ ไม่ใช่ความเห็นของกองบรรณาธิการหรือของวารสาร jsn Journal
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