1

STUDENTS’ LEVEL OF READING ANXIETY AND READING

COMPREHENSION

AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS

Presented to the Faculty of College of Teacher Education

J.H CERILLES STATE COLLEGE
Mati, San Miguel, Zamboanga del Sur

In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree

BACHELOR OF SECONDARY EDUCATION
(English)

PADERANGA, SHINE JEA S.

DALIAP, REYNALYN S.
FRANCISCO, DONALD JR. G.

December 2023
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CHAPTER 1

THE PROBLEM

Introduction

Reading is one of the English skills that are essential to be mastered by

students. Reading skills are necessary for students to acquire knowledge and new

information. According to Brown, reading is the most essential skill in the

educational context, as it can be assessed for students’ general language ability.

Reading comprehension is one aspect of language skills that must be mastered by

the student.

Anxiety can be observed in everyday scenarios such as riding a

rollercoaster or walking down a dark street, but it can also be exhibited in more

difficult endeavors such as learning a subject at school. In reality, academic

disciplines that require students to employ their cognitive abilities may generate

anxiety in them (Alico & Guimba, 2015).

Reading comprehension has long been a subject of many research and

academic inquiry. As students, navigation to the different texts can create many

gaps in the comprehension accompanied by the different factors in understanding

the meaning of the texts. The reading process can significantly influence the

ability to comprehend and retain information. In the world of education, proficient

reading skills in an equivalent of a successful development in reading. However, it

is inevitable to witness that there are few phenomena known as reading anxiety

that hinders the ability to engage with textual content effectively and efficiently.
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In fact, there are still many problems in the learning process of reading

comprehension. Sometimes students are only required to read the text in their

hearts and then answer questions related to the content of the text. It is a way that

does not involve the process of thinking for students, so that students are not

involved in the active reading process.

In response to the prevalent realities of our educational system, researchers

have embarked on this study to investigate the level of reading anxiety its

correction to the reading comprehension among and, as a result, education and

specialists are concerned that the world of worry should be researched and delved

into. Other effective aspects affecting students’ learning, such as attitude and

motivation, are also important, but anxiety has gained a lot of attention (Tran,

Moni, & Baldauf, 2012).

Theoretical Framework

This study draws from the theories of: Transactional Model of Stress and

Coping (Lazarus and Folkman,1984) which highlights that stress is a dynamic

process involving the individual’s perception and appraisal of a situation in the

context of reading students may experience anxiety as they interpret ad evaluate

the demands of reading task. This model allows to us to explore how students

appraise reading situations and cope with the comprehension difficulties.

Cognitive Appraisal Theory:

Building on the Transactional Model, Smith and Lazarus Cognitive

Appraisal Theory emphasizes the Cognitive Process involved in stress perception.

In the realm of reading, student’s appraisal of their own reading abilities and the

perceived difficulty of text contribute to the experience of reading Anxiety. This

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theory aids in understanding how student’s cognitive appraisal influence their

emotional responses to reading task.

Integration and Hypotheses:

The interplay between the Transactional model and Cognitive Appraisal

Theory informs our hypotheses. We posit that students experiencing higher levels

of reading anxiety are likely to engage in less affective cognitive appraisals of

their reading abilities, leading to impaired reading comprehension. Conversely,

students with lower reading anxiety may demonstrate more adaptive cognitive

appraisals, positively influencing their comprehension skills.

Implications and Future Directions:

Understanding the theoretical framework of students’ reading anxiety and

comprehension has implications for educators and policy makers. Interventions

design to alleviate reading anxiety and promote positive cognitive appraisals may

enhance students’ reading comprehension outcomes. Further research is needed to

explore the nuanced interactions between cognitive appraisals, emotions response,

and comprehension in diverse educational settings.

Conceptual Framework

The conceptual framework of this study is presented in the conceptual

schema illustrated below. The study focused on the level of reading anxiety and its

relationship to reading comprehension among Grade-9 students at JHCSC

Laboratory High School. The first box is the factors of reading anxiety, namely: 1)

productive skills (speaking and writing), and 2) receptive skills (listening and

reading). The second box is the level of students’ comprehension, namely: 1)

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literal level, 2) inferential level, and 3) critical/evaluative level derived based on

the findings of the study.

Levels of Reading Anxiety

 Top-Down
Reading
Anxiety
 Bottom-Up
Reading
Anxiety Reading
 Classroom Comprehension
Reading
Anxiety

Figure 1. Schematic Diagram

Statement of the Problem

This study aims to determine what the relationship is between students

reading anxiety and reading comprehension among all the grade ten

students enrolled in JHCSC Laboratory High School in Barangay Mati,

San Miguel, in the second quarter of the school year 2024.

Specifically, this study seeks to answer the following problems:

1. What is the level of grade-9 students reading anxiety in terms

of:

 Top-Down Reading Anxiety

 Bottom-Up Reading Anxiety

 Classroom Reading Anxiety

2. What is the level of grade-9 students reading comprehension?

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3. Is there a significant relationship between reading anxiety and

reading comprehension among the grade-9 students?

Significance of the Study

The result of this study will provide valuable information to the following:

For the students, this study will assess their level of reading anxiety and

their level of reading comprehension and what the effects of the relationship are at

each level. Studying reading anxiety and reading comprehension for students is

important because it can help them overcome their anxiety and improve their

reading skills. This can lead to a number of positive outcomes, such as increased

civic engagement, improved economic productivity, and a more informed

decision-making process.

For the teachers, this study will provide information and guide them to

know what the Relationship is between students reading anxiety and reading

comprehension. English teachers will learn more about their students, which will

help them understand the factors that contribute to these issues and develop

appropriate interventions. It also helps them identify and implement effective

strategies for teaching reading comprehension, create a classroom environment

that is conducive to reading, assess student reading comprehension progress, and

communicate effectively with parents about their students’ reading development.

For the school administration, this study may encourage them to improve

their school’s programs and activities based on the level of reading anxiety and

reading comprehension. This study allows them to identify and address reading

anxiety, promote effective reading comprehension instruction, improve overall

academic outcomes, promote literacy and lifelong learning, and enhance school

reputation and community engagement.

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For the parents, through the result of this study they can feel the

importance of knowing those level of the reading anxiety and reading

comprehension, help their children develop reading comprehension skills by

understanding the factors that affect reading comprehension, identifying early

signs of reading anxiety, advocating for their child’s needs, and supporting their

child at home.

Scope and Delimitation of the Study

The study will mainly focus on all ten students enrolled in JHCSC

Laboratory High School, Barangay Mati, San Miguel, in the second quarter of the

school year 2023-2024.

Definition of Terms

The following terms are defined theoretically and operationally for a clear

understanding of the study.

Classroom Reading Comprehension-involves two important processes:

top-down reading comprehension and bottom-up reading comprehension Top-

down reading comprehension refers to the process of using background

knowledge, context, and prior experiences to understand and interpret the meaning

of a text. It involves making predictions, activating prior knowledge, and using

context clues to comprehend the overall message and main ideas of the text. On

the other hand, bottom-up reading comprehension focuses on decoding individual

words, phrases, and sentences to understand the meaning of the text. It involves

analyzing the text at the word level, recognizing letters, sounds, and grammar

rules to piece together the meaning of the text. Both top-down and bottom-up

reading comprehension strategies are important for effective understanding and

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interpretation of texts in the classroom. By combining these two processes,

readers can engage in a holistic approach to comprehend and make meaning from

the text they are reading.

Critical level. The Critical Level: This level is about analyzing or

synthesizing information and applying it to other information. Understandings at

the literal and interpretive levels are combined, reorganized and restructured at the

critical level to express opinions, draw new insights and develop fresh ideas.

Guiding students through the applied level shows them how to synthesize

information, to read between the lines and to develop a deeper understanding of

the concepts, principles, and implications presented in the text.

Inferential level. The Inferential Level: It involves determining what the

text means. Determining inferential meaning requires you to think about the text

and draw a conclusion, the focus shifts to reading between the lines, looking at

what is implied by the material under study. It requires students to combine pieces

of information in order to make inferences about the author’s intent and message.

Guiding students to recognize these perceived relationships promotes

understanding and decreases the risk of being overwhelmed by the complexities of

the text being view, heard or read.

Literal level. The Literal Level: It is simply what the text says and what

actually happens in the story. This is a very important level of understanding

because it provides the foundation for more advanced comprehension. It focuses

on reading the passages, hearing the words or viewing the images. It involves

identifying the important and essential information. With guidance, students can

distinguish between the important and less important ideas.

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Productive skills. Productive skills, speaking and writing, are defined by

Jaramillo and Medina (2011) as an important form of expression used to persuade

or convince other people as well as to share ideas and feelings.

Reading anxiety. Anxiety is a psychological phenomenon that is often

defined as a feeling of fear, apprehension, worry, and tension. Anxiety arises itself

in the human body as a reaction to a certain situation. This could begin at a young

age or later in life. Horwitz et al. define anxiety as the subjective feeling of

tension, apprehension, nervousness, and worry associated with an arousal of the

autonomic nervous system. Anxiety develops into the most general emotional

dilemma of a person's feelings. Horwitz, Saito & Garza, stated that reading

anxiety is the anxiety aroused during the process of reading second-language texts

Students struggle to comprehend unfamiliar scripts, writing systems, and cultural

materials when they read second language texts. If students struggle to understand

the information of the texts, they may become frustrated and anxious while

reading. Furthermore, just like speaking, the student will feel anxious when

interacting with others.

Reading comprehension. Reading comprehension, according to Brassell

and Rasinski, is the ability to take information from written text and to

demonstrate knowledge or understanding of that information. When a reader

understands the information offered in written text, this is known as

comprehension. Anderson states that reading is an essential skill for students to

have a good command of a second or foreign language. He adds that reading is the

most important skill to be mastered to have more significant progress and attain

greater development in all academic areas. Through reading, people can gain a lot

of knowledge, information, pleasure, and problem solutions. Reading

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comprehension, according to Brassell and Rasinski, is the ability to take

information from written text and to demonstrate knowledge or understanding of

that information. When a reader understands the information offered in written

text, this is known as comprehension.

Receptive skills. Receptive skills comprise silent reading and following the

media. Productive skills consist of oral presentations, written studies and reports.

In addition, they also consist of social values (i.e. making judgments of what has

been submitted in writing or of fluency in speaking and delivering oral

presentations).

CHAPTER 2

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

This chapter includes the ideas, published study, generalization or

conclusions, methodologies and others. Those that were included in this chapter

help in familiarizing information that is relevant and similar to the present study.

1.1 Reading Anxiety

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Reading anxiety is a specific phobia, situational type, toward the act of

reading, it has been defined as an unpleasant emotional reaction toward reading

that results when the student’s intellectual drives of curiosity, aggression and

independence become associated either singularly or in combination with

significant other disapproval and the reading process. Significant other is defined

as a person or persons who have a significant emotional influence over the

student’s behavior or belief system.

Ghonsooly and Loghmani,[10] stated that two aspects of foreign language

reading can be considered as potential sources of anxiety: (a) unfamiliar script and

writing system and (b) unfamiliar cultural material. “With respect to the

unfamiliar writing system, it seems likely that the less the learner can depend on

the reliability of a specific system of sound symbol correspondences, the more

anxiety he

or she would be expected to experience in the act of reading. In this case, the

reader would experience anxiety as soon as he or she attempts to decode the script

because the reader would immediately experience difficulty in processing the

text”. It can be imagined that learners feel anxious as soon as they start to extract

meaning from the foreign language words, which are written in exotic symbols.

Guimba and Alico [11] stated that there are three reading anxiety categories

which are:

1) Top-Down Reading Anxiety

The majority of students are highly anxious most especially when they: (a)

cannot recognize minor ideas (details) of the text, (b) cannot get the gist of the

text, and (c) cannot spot the main idea of a certain paragraph. These findings mean
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that the students‟ high reading anxiety is caused by the lack of understanding and

synthesizing details and main ideas of the text.

2) Bottom-Up Reading Anxiety

In bottom-up reading, students in average are highly anxious when they: (a)

cannot figure out the meaning of a word that they feel they have seen before, (b)

encounter a lot of words whose meanings are unclear, and (c) find it difficult to

pronounce unknown words. At this juncture, vocabulary is clearly the issue.

Together with details, knowledge of word meanings is a basic necessity in reading

comprehension.

3) Classroom Reading Anxiety

As to classroom reading, students disclosed that they are highly anxious when

the teacher corrects their pronunciation or translation mistakes. Clearly, for them,

correcting mistakes is the most anxiety inducing situation inside the classroom.

1.2 Level of Anxiety

Anxiety has four levels: mild, moderate, severe, and panic. Each level causes

both physiologic and emotional changes in the person. Mild anxiety is a sensation

that something is different and warrants special attention. Sensory stimulation

increases and helps the person focus attention to learn, solve problems, think, act,

feel, and protect himself or herself. Moderate anxiety is the disturbing feeling that

something is definitely wrong; the person becomes nervous or agitated. As the

person progresses to severe anxiety and panic, more primitive survival skills take

over, defensive responses ensue, and cognitive skills decrease significantly.

1) Mild anxiety consists of (a) Wide perceptual field, (b) Sharpened senses, (c)

Increased motivation, (d) Effective problem solving, (e) Increase learning ability,

and (f) Irritability.

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2) Moderate anxiety consists of (a) Perceptual field narrowed to immediate

task, (b) Selectively attentive, (c) Cannot connect though or events independently,

and (d) Increase use of automatism.

3) Severe anxiety consists of (a) Perceptual field reduced to one detail or

scattered details, (b) Cannot complete tasks, (c) Cannot solve problems or learn

effectively, (d) Behavior geared toward anxiety relief and is usually in effective,

(e) Doesn’t respond to redirection, feels, awe, dread, or honor, (f) Cries, and (g)

Ritualistic behaviors.

4) Panic consists of (a) Perceptual field reduced to focus on self, (b) Cannot

process any environment stimuli, (c) Distorted perceptions, (d) Loss of rational

thought, (e) Does not recognize potential danger, (f) Can’t communicate verbally,

(g) Possible delusions and hallucination, and (h) May be suicidal.

1.3 The Cause of Anxiety

In Living with Anxiety, the role and impact of anxiety in our lives, anxiety is

therefore one of a range of emotions that serves the positive function of alerting us

to things we might need to worry about: things that are potentially harmful.

Nearly half of the people who said they feel anxious in their everyday life said

that financial issues are a cause of anxiety, but this is less likely to be so far older

people (those over 55 years).

1) Woman and older people are more likely to feel anxious about the welfare

of loved ones.

2) Four in every ten people who are currently employed said they experience

anxiety about issues to do with them work.

3) Around one-fifth of people who are anxious have a fear of unemployment.

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The fundamental principle of the schema theory assumes that written text does

not carry meaning by itself. Rather, a text only provides directions for readers as

to how they should retrieve or construct meaning from their own previously

acquired knowledge (An, 2013).

Reading comprehension operates in two directions, from bottom up to the top

and

from the top down to the bottom of the hierarchy. Bottom-up processing is

activated by specific data from the text, while top-down processing starts with

general to confirm these predictions. These two kinds of processing are occurring

simultaneously and interactively, which adds to the concept of interaction or

comprehension between bottom-up and top-down processes (Carrel and Eiserhold,

1983. Cited in An, 2013).

In the handbook of Understanding and Teaching Reading Comprehension by

Jane Oakhill, Kate Cain and Carsten Elbro (2014), reading comprehension is

important, not just for understanding text, but for broader learning, success in

education, and employment. It is even important for our social lives, because of

email, text, and social networking sites. Reading comprehension is a complex

task, which requires the orchestration of many different cognitive skills and

abilities. Of course, reading comprehension is necessarily dependent on at least

adequate word reading: readers cannot understand a whole text if they cannot

identify (decode) the words in that text.

Reading comprehension is the ability to process information that we have read

and to understand its meaning.

In the area of English reading, there are many researches that focus on reading

comprehension. The following are some of the researches that related to the
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writer’s topics. The writer tries to relate the students’ difficulty in doing English

reading comprehension test and whether there are some similar problems or not in

some researches that have already done from these studies.

For some students, it is difficult to comprehend the text because they have

problem in vocabulary. Garcia, Ramayan, Sepe and Silor (2014) analyzed

students’ difficulty in reading. They found that students had difficulties in

understanding difficult words because they forgot the vocabulary words that they

learnt. Zuhra (2015) revealed in his research that students faced reading

comprehension problem because they did not know the meaning of many words.

In addition, in order to know the content, we need to know the words, sentence

and pronouns which is used in the text. Students’ lack vocabulary make them hard

to participate actively in the classroom which makes another problem in teaching

and learning. Which means that lack of vocabulary is not only the problem for

reading skill, but also in writing, speaking and listening. It showed from Tartila et

al (2013) that student’s lack of vocabulary makes teacher hard to ask the students’

comprehension of the text in order to enable them in analyzing the certain

characteristics of focused genre in the text. It makes students cannot participate

the English materials totally.

The description of Advanced Reading Comprehension Class is this course

provides the development of higher-level thinking, critical literacy, cognitive

strategies (predicting, questioning, confirming, summarizing, inferring) with

emphasis on meaning making with various texts.

Reading anxiety is a specific phobia that can occur when students associate

reading with disapproval or negative emotions from significant others. Foreign

language reading, especially with unfamiliar scripts and cultural material, can
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contribute to anxiety. Three categories of reading anxiety include top-down

reading anxiety, bottom-up reading anxiety, and classroom reading anxiety.

Anxiety levels can range from mild to panic, each causing physiological and

emotional changes. The causes of anxiety can vary, including financial issues,

concerns for loved ones, and work-related stress. Reading comprehension operates

through bottom-up and top-down processing, with three levels of comprehension:

literal, inferential, and critical. Vocabulary knowledge is crucial for reading

comprehension, and difficulties in vocabulary can hinder understanding.

Advanced Reading Comprehension classes focus on higher-level thinking, critical

literacy, and cognitive strategies.

Thus, this study aims to find the levels of reading anxiety among the Grade 9

students of JHCSC Laboratory High School and to know their reading

comprehension skills. s

CHAPTER 3

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

This chapter presents the steps on how the study will be performed. It

deals with the research procedures used in this study.

Research Design

This study is a quantitative research design in which the researchers will

administer questionnaires adapted from the book Grade IX Skill Builders for

Efficient Reading from the Authors of Anaceli M. Villamin, PhD, Evelyn S.

Salazar, Wilhelmina G. Borjal, and James W. Pecaña, Reading Anxiety studied by

Nurul Murtadlo, Nunung Mardianti and Primardiana Wijayati (2020) to quantify

the data. The researchers of this study aim to know how the factors affect the
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students’ use of reading anxiety and reading comprehension in Grade IX students

enrolled at J.H. Cerilles State College Laboratory High School. This study is an

observational study in which the researchers will observe the effect of a risk factor

without trying to change who is or isn’t exposed to it.

Research Environment

This study will be conducted at J.H Cerilles State College Laboratory High

School. The school is located in San Miguel, Mati Zamboanga Del Sur. This state

High School is the smallest yet the fastest growing state High School in its years

of operation.

Sampling Design

The researchers will choose all the respondents of the study, each

individual is chosen entirely by chance and each member of the population has an

equal chance of being included in the sample. The respondents are the grade ten

students enrolled in the JHCSC Laboratory High School – Mati, San Miguel for

the 2nd quarter of the school year 2024.

Research Respondents

The respondents of this study will be Grade IX students enrolled at J.H

Cerilles State College Laboratory High School for the 2 nd quarter of the year 2021.

The researchers limit only the number of respondents in a total of 38. The

respondents consisted largely of both male and female with an average age of 16-

18 and most of the grade IX students has a reading anxiety and a problem in

reading comprehension.

Research Instrument

In gathering quantitative data, an adapted questionnaire will be used from

the study of Mardianti, Wijayati, and Murtadho (2021) in analyzing and

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interpreting the relationship affecting the student’s reading anxiety and reading

comprehension. The research instrument is composed of two parts, namely, the

level of reading anxiety of the students and the level of reading comprehension

questionnaire. The scale consists of five answer options: (5) strongly agree, (4)

disagree, (3) neutral, (2) agree, and (1) strongly agree.

Data Gathering Procedures

The collection of data will start by asking permission from the school

adviser to allow the researchers to conduct the study in their respective

departments. This will be done through a formal letter that will be handed to them.

After the go signal, the researchers will give the survey questionnaire to the grade

IX-year students of the school. After the respondents have finally finished

answering the given survey questionnaire, it will be collected by the researchers,

and tabulation, computation, and analysis of the data will follow.

Statistical Process

The analysis tool that will be used in analyzing the collected data will be

based on the suggestions of the assigned statistician of this study.

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Research Instrument:

Reading Anxiety and Reading Comprehension Questionnaires

Please answer the following questions with a Likert scale.

(5 strongly agree 4 Agree 3 Moderate 2 Disagree 1 strongly disagree)

(Top-down Reading Anxiety)

1. Unfamiliar text title

2. The ideas in the text are culturally unclear

3. Lack of previous knowledge about the ideas in the text.

4. Cannot get the point of the text although no unfamiliar

vocabulary and grammar.

5. Cannot recognize the details

(Bottom-up Reading Anxiety)

1. Cannot figure out meaning of unknown words.

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2. Cannot figure out meaning of unknown words which have

been seen before.

3. Finding unfamiliar idioms.

4. Finding the word with multiple meaning.

5. Unable to find out word in a dictionary.

(Classroom Reading Anxiety)

1. Called by the instructor to read loud.

2. Asked to translate a piece of English text into Filipino.

3. Asked to answer comprehension questions.

4. The instructor chooses uninteresting text to read.

5. The instructor directly corrected the pronunciation and

translation.

Multiple-choice (Reading Comprehension)

Read this parable carefully and be able to explain the hidden truth it

tries to convey.

THE MAN WHO MADE BAD AXES -Nym Wales, “Fables and

Parables”

‘There was an enterprising Yankee in New England who loved his

family dearly and worked for them from dawn to dark. He saved every

penny for the future of his children and earned every dollar that he

possibly could. He earned a living by making axes in his own foundry, and

they became known as very good axes so good that the government gave

him contracts during the war. These axes, however, were not made
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standard, for he wanted a larger profit so that he could help his son go to

college and then he could marry and start a family of own.

This son was the pride of the old man’s life, and when he

volunteered to join the fighting, it was a source of great anxiety. To save

his son’s life, the father would gladly have given his own, but he was too

old for the army.

The son went North in the winter but he did not become a hero and

never returned. He was found frozen to death with a note in his pocket. It

said: “Dear Father, my hands are almost too numb with cold to write. We

are sitting in a snow bank, for we cannot chop wood to build a fire or a

shelter. The army axes we have been no good and break at the handle.”

“Later on, when the new settlers came, they remembered the story

and they named their town Badaxe.

Questions:

1. Put a check mark before each statement that proves the man loved

his family.

a. He worked hard.

b. He saved money to educate his son.

c. He made axes.

d. He had a son

2. Which of these is a wrong principle?

a. Work hard.

b. Love your family dearly

c. Earn money any way you can.

d. Do the best you can.

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3. An irony is something that happens contrary to what was expected.

Which of these is ironic?

a. His son became a soldier.

b. The Yankee won the government contract for axes.

c. His son froze to death.

d. His son died because the axes he supplied the government

were below standard.

4. What lesson did the man learn too late?

a. Too much love for family can be dangerous.

b. Work hard so that you will grow rich.

c. Save money for the rainy days.

d. Dishonesty in your work does not pay.

5. What can readers learn from the story “The Man Who Made Bad

Axes”

a. The importance of innovation

b. The value of simplicity

c. The consequences of greed

d. The power of human relationships

6. What is the moral of the story “The Man Who Made Bad Axes”?

a. The importance of balancing progress with consequences

b. The dangers of greed and the power of innovation

c. The value of simplicity in a complex world

d. The importance of human relationships and community

7. Why did the Yankee work hard in his foundry?

a. For personal fame

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b. To support his family

c. To impress the government

d. To start a college fund

8. What was the outcome of the son’s decision to join the fighting?

a. He became a hero

b. He returned safely

c. He froze to death

d. He won a medal

9. Why did the father want a larger profit from making axes?

a. To buy a big house

b. To support the war effort

c. To help his son go to college

d. To travel the world

10. How did the son meet his unfortunate end?

a. In a battle

b. Frozen to death

c. From a broken axe

d. Due to illness