Test anxiety, study habits and scholastic achievement towards French and Italian amongst Form 5 students

Abstract

The aim of this study is to investigate the psychological effects of test anxiety on students' attitudes towards French and Italian, and their achievement in these two subjects. The relationship among test anxiety, study habits and scholastic achievement amongst Form 5 Junior Lyceum students studying French and Italian will be investigated, as will their attitudes towards these two curriculum subjects. The study will also investigate the role of gender and school on these variables. The sample (including the Pilot Study) comprises 200 students studying French (77 boys and 123 girls) and 207 students studying Italian (120 boys and 87 girls). A self-administered questionnaire was carried out among students in the four participating Junior Lyceums: two boys' and two girls' schools. Findings show that students are mainly test-anxious because of aspects directly related to exams. Girls studying Italian are more test-anxious but they tend to enjoy Italian lessons more than boys. Boys studying French have more trouble during French exams and they look less forward to the French lessons than girls. These trends were also reflected in school differences. High test anxiety levels negatively impinge on the students' performance in the exam. Girls have more positive attitudes towards French than boys. Boys and girls studying Italian have fairly equal positive attitudes. Students who harbour positive attitudes towards French and Italian and who have good study habits perform well in the exam. Boys exhibit more negative study habits than girls. Differences in study habits in French and Italian are invariable across schools.