English Writing Anxiety Across Sex and Social Class Among Grade 11 Students of Kiburiao NHS

Abstract

There are sociolinguistic factors that trigger language anxiety among learners, such as gender, cultural differences, and socioeconomic status. In relation to this, the current study investigated the English writing anxiety experienced by the Grade 11 students of Kiburiao National High School in Bukidnon, Philippines. It also determined the degree of such a writing anxiety and how it varies in terms of sex and social class. This is qualitative research participated by 198 learners identified through purposive sampling. Second Language Writing Anxiety Inventory (SLWAI) was adopted as the instrument to gather data, and descriptive statistics was applied for the analysis. Findings revealed that the participants experienced a moderate level of avoidance behavior, somatic anxiety, and cognitive anxiety when writing in English. In terms of sex, both males and females experienced the same level of somatic and cognitive anxiety. This means that both sexes suffer from the same extent of physiological and mental stress associated with English writing. In terms of social class, males and females from both poor and low-income classes experienced greater English writing anxiety compared to higher social classes, such as the middle class, which imply that learners with more social privilege and support exhibit lesser level of language anxiety. Thus, the study argues that social class can be a determinant of language anxiety among learners.