Navigating the Lexical Labyrinth: Vocabulary Test Anxiety, Teacher Strictness, and Strategic Mastery in ESL Assessment

Abdullah Al Fraidan, Munirah S. Aldawsri

Abstract


Vocabulary Test Anxiety (VTA) is a critical yet under-explored factor influencing English as a Second Language (ESL) learners’ test performance. This study investigates the correlation between VTA, teacher strictness, and test-taking strategies among Saudi university students, highlighting their impact on vocabulary test outcomes. Five ESL learners from the Preparatory Year Program (PYP) at King Faisal University participated in think-aloud protocols while completing specially designed vocabulary assessments. Employing both quantative and qualitative research design, results revealed that perceptions of teacher strictness and individual coping strategies significantly moderated the effects of VTA on performance. These findings underscore the importance of transparent assessment practices, effective metacognitive strategies, and culturally sensitive teacher training in reducing anxiety and promoting equitable measures of lexical knowledge.

https://doi.org/10.26803/ijlter.24.2.15


Keywords


Vocabulary Test Anxiety; Teacher Rigor; Lexical Assessment; Think-Aloud Protocol; Saudi ESL Education.

Full Text:

PDF

References


Al Fraidan, A. (2025a). AI and uncertain motivation: Hidden allies that impact EFL argumentative essays using the Toulmin Model. Acta Psychologica, 252. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actpsy.2024.104684

Al Fraidan, A. (2025b). The Enhanced Adaptive PPP Model: A novel framework for revolutionizing test-taking strategies in language assessment. Forum for Linguistic Studies, 7(1), 298–312. https://doi.org/10.30564/fls.v7i1.7918

Al Fraidan, A. (2025c). Evaluating lexical competency in Saudi Arabia’s hybridized EFL ecosystem: A taxonomic exploration of vocabulary assessment modalities and the imperative for AI-enhanced adaptive testing. International Journal of Distance Education Technologies, 23(1).

Al Fraidan, A. (2024a). Unveiling students’ test strategizing through the lens of Monitor Theory: Teaching insights. Forum for Linguistic Studies, 6(2), 1181. https://doi.org/10.59400/fls.v6i2.1181

Al Fraidan, A. (2024b). Beyond the bubble: Unveiling the multifaceted landscape of test wiseness and their operationalization among English language majors. Theory and Practice in Language Studies, 14(6), 1735–1744. https://doi.org/10.17507/tpls.1406.14

Al Fraidan, A. (2024c). The impact of students’ misperceptions on test performance: A 3P model and self-determination theory approach. Edelweiss Applied Science and Technology, 8(5), 1773–1784. https://doi.org/10.55214/25768484.v8i5.1895

Al Fraidan, A. (2024d). Interplay of language proficiency, gender, test anxiety, and cognitive strategies: The spectrum of guessing behaviors in multiple-choice assessments among Saudi EFL learners. Edelweiss Applied Science and Technology, 8(6), 1148–1161. https://doi.org/10.55214/25768484.v8i5.1895

Al Fraidan, A. (2024e). Anticipatory thinking and AI-driven assessments: A balanced approach to AI integration in education aligned with Saudi Vision 2030. African Journal of Biomedical Research, 27(3), 619–628. https://doi.org/10.53555/AJBR.v27i3.2560

Al Fraidan, A. (2023). Evaluating social media platforms as predictors for vocabulary attrition. International Journal of English Language and Literature Studies, 12(4), 374–383. https://doi.org/10.55493/5019.v12i4.4922

Al Fraidan, A. (2019). New test-taking patterns and their effect on language test validity. Language Testing in Asia, 9(11). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40468-019-0088-5

Al Fraidan, A., & Al-Harazi, E. M. (2023). Using social media platforms to prepare for examinations post COVID-19: The case of Saudi university EFL learners. Heliyon, 9(11). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e21320

Al Fraidan, A., & Alaliwi, M. (2024). Digital transformation for sustainable English language learning: Insights from Saudi Arabia and global perspectives. Forum for Linguistic Studies, 6(6), 439–449. https://doi.org/10.30564/fls.v6i6.7754

Al Fraidan, A., & AlSalman, A. (2023). The utilisation of test-taking strategies by Saudi EFL high schoolers in Al-Ahsa region. World Journal of English Language, 13(2). https://doi.org/10.5430/wjel.v13n2p414

Al Fraidan, A., & Alsubaie, M. S. A. (2025). Exam Anxiety and Vocabulary Challenges: Insights from Postgraduate Female Students in Open and Closed Book Exams. Educational Process: International Journal, 14, https://doi.org/10.22521/edupij.2025.14.26

Al Fraidan, A., & Fakhli, I. (2024). Vocabulary learning strategies of university students: The case of preparatory year students and English major students. Porta Linguarum: An International Journal of Foreign Language Teaching and Learning, (41), 45–63. https://doi.org/10.30827/portalin.vi41.24321

Al Fraidan, A., & Olaywi, M. (2024). Scenarios to implement Metaverse into the Saudi educational system. Forum for Linguistic Studies, 6(4), 180–193. https://doi.org/10.30564/fls.v6i4.6853

Burca?, S., & Cre?u, R. Z. (2021). Multidimensional perfectionism and test anxiety: A meta-analytic review of two decades of research. Educational Psychology Review, 33, 249–273. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-020-09531-3

Chanprasert, C., & Wichadee, S. (2015). Exploring language learning anxiety and anxiety-reducing strategies of the first-year students taking a foreign language course. Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences Studies, 15(1), 131–156.

Chen, W. (2022, July). A study of foreign language vocabulary test anxiety in the context of concrete/abstract word test. Proceedings of the 2022 3rd International Conference on Language, Art and Cultural Exchange (ICLACE 2022), China (Vol. 673, pp. 400–405). Atlantis Press. https://doi.org/10.2991/assehr.k.220706.079

Cherry, K. (2020, March 25). Test anxiety symptoms, causes, and treatments. Verywell Mind. https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-test-anxiety-2795368

Cotter, J., Yung, A. R., Carney, R., & Drake, R. J. (2017). Metacognitive beliefs in the at-risk mental state: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 90, 25–31. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.brat.2016.12.004

Council of Europe. (2020). Common European framework of reference for languages: Learning, teaching, assessment – Companion volume. Council of Europe Publishing. https://rm.coe.int/common-european-framework-of-reference-for-languages-learning-teaching/16809ea0d4

Dugas, M. J., Gagnon, F., Ladouceur, R., & Freeston, M. H. (1998). Generalized anxiety disorder: A preliminary test of a conceptual model. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 36(2), 215–226. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0005-7967(97)00070-3

Ericsson, K. A., & Simon, H. A. (1993). Protocol analysis: Verbal report as data. The MIT Press.

Ewell, S. N., Josefson, C. C., & Ballen, C. J. (2022). Why did students report lower test anxiety during the COVID-19 pandemic? Journal of Microbiology & Biology Education, 23(1), e00282-21. https://doi.org/10.1128/jmbe.00282-21

Frost, R. O., Marten, P., Lahart, C., & Rosenblate, R. (1990). The dimensions of perfectionism. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 14, 449–468. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01172967

Gerwing, T. G., Rash, J. A., Allen Gerwing, A. M., Bramble, B., & Landine, J. (2015). Perceptions and incidence of test anxiety. Canadian Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, 6(3), 3. https://doi.org/10.5206/cjsotl-rcacea.2015.3.3

Güvendir, E. (2014). Using think-aloud protocols to identify factors that cause foreign language reading anxiety. The Reading Matrix, 14(2), 109–118. https://www.readingmatrix.com/files/11-bkw8c881.pdf

Huntley, C. D., Young, B., Smith, C. T., Jha, V., & Fisher, P. L. (2020). Assessing metacognitive beliefs in test anxiety: Psychometric properties of the metacognitions questionnaire, 30 (MCQ-30) among university students. Current Psychology, 41, 1425–1433. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-020-00662-y

Huntley, C. D., Young, B., Tudur Smith, C., & Fisher, P. L. (2023). Metacognitive beliefs predict test anxiety and examination performance. Frontiers in Education, 8, 1051304. https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2023.1051304

Huntley, C., Young, B., Tudur Smith, C., Jha, V., & Fisher, P. (2022). Testing times: The association of intolerance of uncertainty and metacognitive beliefs to test anxiety in college students. BMC Psychology, 10, 1–7. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40359-021-00710-7

Hyseni Duraku, Z., & Hoxha, L. (2018). Self-esteem, study skills, self-concept, social support, psychological distress, and coping mechanism effects on test anxiety and academic performance. Health Psychology Open, 5(2). https://doi.org/10.1177/2055102918799963

Jee, M. J., & Byun, J. H. (2023). Korean EFL students’ foreign language enjoyment and foreign anxiety in the classroom: The university context. DBpia, 28(3), 179–206. https://doi.org/10.46449/MJELL.2023.08.28.3.179

Khoshhal, Y. (2021). Test anxiety among English language learners: A case of vocabulary testing using multiple-choice items and error identification tests. REIRE Revista d’Innovació i Recerca en Educació, 14(1), 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1344/reire2021.14.132147

Li, Y., Jiang, F., & Wang, H. (2021). The relationships between self-esteem, self-efficacy, and test anxiety: A cross-lagged study. Stress and Health, 37(4), 437–445. https://doi.org/10.1002/smi.3346

Pressley, M., & Afflerbach, P. (1995). Verbal protocols of reading: The nature of constructively responsive reading. Routledge.

Putwain, D. W., Daly, T., Chamberlain, S., & Sadreddini, S. (2016). Academically buoyant students are less anxious about and perform better in high-stakes examinations. Learning and Individual Differences, 48, 56–63. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lindif.2016.02.014

Rad, F. F., & Ferdosipour, A. (2020). The correlation between teacher’s personality and level of student’s anxiety. International Journal of Innovative Research in Education, 7(2), 64–70. https://doi.org/10.18844/ijire.v7i2.5469

Sipahi, A. (2020). Vocabulary test anxiety in language learning: A case study on EFL learners. ICSSIET Congress 3rd International Congress on Social Sciences, Innovation and Educational Technologies Proceedings Book. Google Books.

Spielberger, C. D. (1983). Manual for the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. Consulting Psychologists Press.

Sar?, O., Uzun, K., & Tagay, O. (2017). The relationships between self?esteem, self?efficacy, and test anxiety: A cross?lagged study. Stress and Health, 33(4), 437–445. https://doi.org/10.1002/smi.3346

Zeidner, M. (2005). Test anxiety: The state of the art. Springer Science & Business Media. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-5571-7


Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.


e-ISSN: 1694-2116

p-ISSN: 1694-2493