Abstrak
ABSTRACT Intan Fadila, 2320065. EFL Students’ Anxiety in Reading English Journal Articles at UIN SMDD Bukittinggi, A Thesis, State Islamic University of Sjech M Djamil Djambek Bukittinggi, 2025. This study aimed to investigate the level of reading anxiety experienced by EFL students when reading English journal articles at UIN Sjech M. Djamil Djamil Bukittinggi. The research was motivated by the identified problems of students feeling anxious when reading aloud or explaining texts, facing difficulties in understanding complex academic texts, avoiding reading assignments, and experiencing negative impacts on their performance and concentration due to anxiety. Understanding the extent of this anxiety is crucial for developing effective strategies to support EFL students in their academic reading endeavors. The research employed a quantitative survey design, utilizing a validated questionnaire adapted from Zoghi (2012) to measure reading anxiety levels among sixth-semester English Education Department students. The questionnaire consisted of 27 items covering various indicators including background knowledge, general reading ability, vocabulary, grammar, and teaching methods. Data were collected from 95 respondents through Google Forms, and statistical analysis was conducted using standard deviation-based categorization to classify students into high, normal, and low anxiety groups. The findings revealed that the majority of students (80%, n=76) experienced normal levels of reading anxiety, while 11.6% (n=11) exhibited high anxiety and 8.4% (n=8) showed low anxiety levels, with a mean score of 95.44 (SD=5.68). Analysis of specific indicators showed that vocabulary-related anxiety was the most prominent concern (11 students in high category), followed by anxiety related to teaching methods (7 students) and general reading ability (6 students). Interestingly, background and cultural knowledge anxiety showed a different pattern, with 14 students scoring low and only 3 students scoring high, suggesting students were relatively more comfortable with cultural aspects compared to linguistic challenges.