Variation of Test anxiety over Listening and Speaking Test Performance

Among factors affecting test performance, test anxiety has been the focus of attentions for decades. However, the skills have always been considered in isolation. This study intends to investigate the effect of test anxiety in relation with two major skills—listening and speaking—associated with test anxiety, as well as the amount of anxiety before and after the listening test. Three intact groups (74 freshmen students of English) participated in the study: Group 1 took the Anxiety scale (Fujii, 1993) before their final exam which was conducted in the form of oral interview; Group 2 took the questionnaire before the final exam which was in the form of a listening comprehension (LC) test; and the third group did so after the LC test was over. The results indicated that anxiety is a more serious factor in taking oral tests than in the LC type tests. However, no significant difference was found between test anxiety before and after the LC test. Results are discussed in relation to the previous literature, and general implications are given in relation with teaching and testing the relevant skills.