Test Anxiety among Kurdish EFL Learners in Basic Schools in Kurdistan

The main purpose of this study was to find out the level of test anxiety (TA) among Kurdish EFL learners in basic schools in Kurdistan. It also aimed to investigate the possible differences in TA among participants based on their gender, grade level, period of learning English language, and scores in English language courses. Test Anxiety Scale (TAS, Sarason, 1984), which consisted of 40 items of five-point Likert scale, was used to collect data from 396 Kurdish EFL learners. These participants were selected from 7th, 8th, and 9th grade EFL learners in basic schools in Khanik province. The data were analysed using descriptive statistics and t-test, ANOVA and correlation tests. The findings of the study revealed that Kurdish EFL learners had moderate levels of TA. Tension was the main component of Sarason TAS that manifested itself in testing situations for the participants. Significant differences were found in TA levels based on gender, grade level and years of learning English, while a negative correlation was found between English scores and TA scores. Female learners reported to be more anxious than male learners were and 7th grade students found to be the least anxious. Moreover, there were positive correlations found between years of learning English and TA scores as well as grade levels and TA scores. Based on the results, it is argued that TA is an academically learned concept that is highly influenced by previous experiences in testing and consequences of assessment. Therefore, EFL teachers and test designers need to take into account such issues when preparing tests and assessing students’ performances.