Top Margin: 3.5 cm Bottom Margin: 2.

5 cm PANYONARA: Journal of English Education

Left Margin: 3.5 cm Right Margin: 2.5 cm Vol. xx, No. xx, Month Year

The Correlation between Students’ Reading Anxiety and Their

Comprehension Achievement : A Case Study at MTs Plus Nurul ‘Ilmi
Pamekasan

Nuri Oktaviani Sakinah 1

Tarbiyah Faculty, IAIN Madura
( nurioktaviasknh@[Link] )

Hasan Basri M.Pd2

Tarbiyah Faculty, IAIN Madura
( basrie_hasan@[Link] )

Abstract: The capacity to extract information from written texts and exhibit knowledge
or comprehension of that information is known as reading comprehension. 1. When a
reader can understand the information offered in a written text, comprehension has
taken place. It implies that comprehension of what you read is not a passive process. In
order to generate meaning, reading comprehension necessitates the reader's action,
which includes applying prior knowledge about the text's subject as well as the text
itself. The word "anxiety" is vague and difficult to define and describe in a
straightforward statement. Feelings of unease, dissatisfaction, self-doubt, apprehension,
or worry are frequently linked to anxiety. Students' anxiety levels and their reading
comprehension achievement had a medium, negative association of -0.407, according to
the research's statistical analysis. This correlation's [Link] value of.002 (less than 0.05)
indicated that it was also statistically significant. As a result, the null hypothesis (Ho) is
rejected and the alternative hypothesis (Ha) is accepted.

Keywords: students’ anxiety, understanding of reading

INTRODUCTION
English is largely acknowledged as a universal language that people in today's
world need to learn. Once considered an international language used across the globe in
various forms, English is now seen as a language belonging to everyone who uses it, not
just native speakers. This highlights English's crucial role in international communication,
making it essential for people worldwide to be proficient in it. Consequently, English is
often a required subject in education. The four main components of learning English are
speaking, listening, reading, and writing. Reading is one of these four talents that need
special attention. English has evolved into a global language that is now a necessary skill
for people in the modern era. Initially viewed as an international language utilized by
diverse cultures globally, English is now understood as a language shared by all its users,
regardless of their origin. This underscores the vital role of English in global
1
Clouse, Barbara Fine. The Student Writer. New York: Mc-Graw Hill, 2004,page 15
Author Name1 &Author Name2, title – font - size

communication, making its mastery a necessity for individuals worldwide. As a result, it is

frequently a mandatory subject in educational systems.
Reading is an essential language skill that is key to developing their knowledge.
Comprehension—a comprehensive grasp of the text—is the main goal of reading. This
implies that in order for pupils to read well, they must become proficient in the reading
process so they can understand texts that are presented in various ways. Consequently,
reading and the ability to comprehend are two sides of the same coin. the objective of
reading is comprehension, or a thorough understanding of the text 2. This suggests that
students must master the reading process to extract meaning from various text forms.
Thus, reading and comprehension are intrinsically linked.
Reading comprehension is the process through which we make sense of written
texts. It is argued that this understanding is the fundamental goal of reading, the reason
teachers instruct it, and why it is considered important. Furthermore, it is stated that
reading comprehension is a necessary foundation for truly learning from written material.
It is also pointed out that while our brains developed skills for listening and oral
comprehension somewhat naturally, reading comprehension requires more deliberate
teaching and practice. Essentially, reading comprehension means understanding a text as
you read it.
One of the unfavorable emotions that can affect pupils' academic performance is
anxiety. For worried kids, it makes it harder for them to understand and recall concepts. 3.
For instance, it is challenging to concentrate while reading and not fully understanding
what is being read. People cannot disregard how the class may affect their reading
comprehension or improve their reading skills if they want to succeed in studying a
foreign language. Students frequently experience anxiety during the learning process as
they acquire foreign languages in all subject areas. Students must read a lot of text,
particularly in reading comprehension.
Lastly UNESCO stated that Indonesia ranks second lowest in worldwide literacy
rates. Indicating a notable lack of interest in reading among its people. it indicates that
only 0.001% of Indonesians show interest in reading. This is pretty concerning. In
Indonesia, only 1 in 1,000 people are avid readers 4. It can be concluded that, despite high
literacy rates, Indonesia has very low reading engagement and comprehension and ranks
poorly in global reading preferences. Above all, the crucial point is that the authors fill the
gaps of previous studies. Some earlier studies were also relevant to the connection
2
Clouse, Barbara Fine. The Student Writer. New York: Mc-Graw Hill, 2004,page 4
3
Chakrabarti, Anupama and Madhumala Sengupta, Second Language Anxiety and
Its Effect on achievement In The Language, (Vol 12 : 8 August 2012),page 59
4
Laksmi.2007. The Effectiveness of Reading Habit Promotion in Public Libraries of DKI Jakarta Province..
Abrizah Abdullah, et al. (Eds.): ICOLIS 2007, Kuala Lumpur: LISU, FCSIT, 2007: pp 155-162
 PANYONARA: Journal of English Education
Vol. xx, No. xx, Month Year

between reading comprehension achievement and reading anxiety. 140 high school pupils
were sampled for Farihah's initial study. The results showed a strong correlation between
students' reading anxiety and their reading comprehension abilities. Indrawati's
subsequent study looked at the connection between reading anxiety and comprehension
abilities in English as a foreign language learners. The findings indicated that students'
reading anxiety and comprehension were sufficiently correlated. Third, a research
conducted by Kartika et al. comprised 88 high school students as a sample. The findings
demonstrated no discernible relationship between pupils' reading comprehension and
reading anxiety. Additionally, it has been demonstrated that students' reading proficiency
is significantly impacted by reading anxiety5.
Considering from previous research mentioned above, the researcher discovered
research gaps and novelty. The connection between reading anxiety and reading
comprehension proficiency has been studied. However, no research had been conducted
at Private school especially Madrasah Tsanawiyah in Pamekasan. Additionally, based on
the researcher experienced while teaching At MTs Plus Nurul Ilmi, there were some of the
students faced difficulties and anxiety while reading along and got revision from the
teacher. They were afraid to make mistakes and felt shy to read English texts in class.
Therefore, this study is presented as a case study at MTs Plus Nurul ‘Ilmi Pamekasan to
highlight the correlation between students’ reading anxiety and their reading
comprehension achievement in the specific context of a private Madrasah Tsanawiyah.
Understanding the connection between reading anxiety and reading comprehension in
Madrasah Tsanawiyah context may be lacking because prior research may have
concentrated on public schools like state high schools, vocational high schools, or other
educational establishments. As a result, the novelty of this study could be attributed to the
unique particular situation of Madrasah Tsanawiyah Nurul Ilmi. Thus, the researcher was
interested in doing the research entitled “The Correlation between Students’ Reading
Anxiety and Their Comprehension Achievement : A Case Study at MTs Plus Nurul ‘Ilmi
Pamekasan.”

LITERATURE REVIEW
The Nature of Reading Comprehension
Reading is a key way to understand the state and progress of global knowledge. As
the saying goes, "reading is the window to the world." Through reading, individuals gain

5
Annura, Tasya, et all. The Correlation Between Reading Anxiety And Reading Comprehension Achievement Efl
Of Man 2 Palembang, Premise: Journal of English Education and Applied Linguistics (Volume 13, No.3 October
2024)
Author Name1 &Author Name2, title – font - size

new insights and facts, not just about their immediate surroundings but about the entire
world. Consequently, increased reading leads to more information, which significantly
benefits our lives, like helping students succeed academically6.
Reading is an active process in which you interact with the text to understand the
author's point of view rather than merely passively taking in information. This involves
mentally processing what you read to fully comprehend the significance and relate to the
writer's intended message. In essence, when you read, you're not just scanning words;
you're actively working to understand them.7
The capacity to extract information from written texts and exhibit knowledge or
comprehension of that information is known as reading comprehension 8. When a reader
can understand the information offered in a written text, comprehension has taken place.
It implies that comprehension of what you read is not a passive process. In order to
generate meaning, reading comprehension necessitates the reader's action, which
includes applying prior knowledge about the text's subject as well as the text itself.
Reading comprehension is the process of simultaneously generating and deriving meaning
through interaction with written language. It suggests that the basis of successful reading
comprehension is the capacity to understand and create information.
Reading comprehension, as described above, is an active process that requires the
reader to utilize both their eyes and brain in order to comprehend the information that the
author is presenting. Readers must understand, interpret, and react to the text by
connecting it with their existing knowledge. Furthermore, comprehension relies on a
reader's thinking ability. Therefore, it's crucial for teachers to educate students about the
various thinking processes involved in reading.

2. Level of Reading Comprehension

When reading any textbook, students should experience the following three
degrees of comprehension, in order of decreasing to increasing. Gradually, students go
from the easiest to the most challenging books. They will probably be able to advance and
achieve greater success in their studies with improved reading skills. As a result, three
understanding levels are distinguished.9:
a. Literal comprehension
Literal comprehension is all about grasping the ideas and information that are
directly stated in a text. It's the most basic and fundamental reading skill because you need
6
Grabe, William and Fredricka L. Stoller. Teaching and Researching Reading, Second Edition.
Edinburgh: Pearson Education, 2011, page 5
7
Danny Brassell & Timothy Ransiski, Comprehension That Works (Shell Education, 2008), page 7
8
Ibid, page 15
9
Danny Brassell & timothy Ransiski, Reading Comprehension ([Link], 2017). Page 17
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must fully comprehend the author's point before you can begin drawing conclusions or
assessing the material. Literal comprehension basically focuses on identifying specific
facts, details, and the primary idea.

b. Inferential comprehension
Understanding concepts and details that are not explicitly mentioned in a book is
known as inferential comprehension. Students can understand unspoken major ideas,
infer supporting facts, and identify cause-and-effect linkages at this level.

c. Critical comprehension
Analyzing, assessing, and responding to the information in a paragraph is known
as critical comprehension. Because critical reading entails assessing and forming an
opinion about the veracity and worth of the material being read, it demands a greater level
of skill development and perception. It entails analyzing, contrasting, and questioning.
In conclusion, a student has acquired sufficient foundational knowledge in that
subject if they are able to understand the textbook content at all three comprehension
levels. In other words, students will understand a subject better if they are more familiar
with it.

3. The Purpose of Reading

Different reading goals and purposes mean different comprehension needs. When
someone chooses to read, they do so with a specific aim in mind. Having a clear reading
purpose helps students focus on what they want to gain from the text. The researcher will
elaborate on various reading purposes in the next section.. Reading can be done for a
variety of reasons. People occasionally read texts for leisure, to learn new information,
and to complete assignments. The four primary categories of reading purposes are as
follows.10
a. Reading to search for simple information and reading to skim.
One of the most basic and commonly used reading skills is searching for basic
information through reading. Readers usually scan text for particular facts or phrases
when conducting a search. This differs from reading prose, where you might read more
slowly and carefully to understand a sentence or two, looking for clues to navigate through
a document.

Similarly, skimming is another common and valuable reading strategy. It involves using
techniques to quickly identify where Crucial information may be located within a text.
10
William Grabe and Fredricka L. Stoller, Teaching and Researching Reading (Pearson Education, 2011). Page 8
Author Name1 &Author Name2, title – font - size

b. Reading to learn from texts.

This type of reading is common in academic and professional settings where the
goal is to gain a significant amount of information from a text. It calls on the ability to
identify and remember important ideas, theme phrases, and illustrative details. After then,
readers organize this information using a conceptual framework that links it to what they
already know. Because of this, people who read slowly frequently need a lot of time to
understand the material.
c. Reading to integrate information, write and critique texts.
This is possibly the most difficult reading goal because it requires a critical
analysis of the material. It is up to the reader to actively choose what information to
include and how to combine it to meet their own objectives. Additionally, there are
versions of this integrative reading, such as reading to write and reading to criticize texts.
Both call on the capacity to formulate, pick, and evaluate information from the text, and
readers frequently reword what they have learned in order to relate it to other aspects in
the content.
d. Reading for general comprehension.
There are two reasons why universal reading comprehension is a crucial notion.
First of all, it fulfills the primary function of reading, forming the basis for most other
reading objectives. Secondly, despite its name, it's actually more intricate than often
believed; "general" doesn't imply "simple" or "easy." When a skilled and fluent reader
engages in general comprehension, it demands very rapid and automatic word processing
and strong abilities in constructing a broad understanding of the text. In fact, it can
sometimes be more challenging to master than reading specifically to learn.
To summarize, Reading's main objective is to increase knowledge by various
means, including critical thinking, gleaning lessons from text, or simply finding specific
information. Given the significance of reading comprehension in education, junior high
school students are expected to grasp the meaning of both short functional texts and
simple essays such as hortatory explication, recounting, descriptive, and narrative.
However, this particular research will focus solely on descriptive texts, which will be
discussed in the following section.
4. Descriptive Text
Since this research specifically investigates the link between student anxiety and
reading comprehension achievement, and is narrowed down to descriptive texts, it's
essential to briefly explain what descriptive text entails.
Descriptive text falls under the category of factual genres. Its purpose is to portray
a specific person, place, or thing by detailing its characteristics without including personal
opinions. This makes it different from an information report, which focuses on describing
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a general category or group, whereas a factual description highlights a particular subject 11.
This indicates that descriptive writing is a type of factual writing that explains a certain
topic and typically reveals its features.
Descriptive text also appeals to our senses, conveying how things feel, hear, taste,
smell, and appearance. It can even depict emotions like happiness, fear, or joy. In the end,
description uses sensory language to describe a particular subject and its properties,
which enables readers to picture a scene or person or fully comprehend a sense or feeling.
Barbara Fine Clouse breaks down the goal of description into six categories, which are 11 a)
To amuse b) To convey emotions c). To educate (for a reader who is not familiar with the
topic), d) To educate (to foster a new understanding of the well-known), e) To persuade
(to persuade the reader)

5. Factors that Influence Reading Comprehension

Many elements can affect a student's reading comprehension. Five key factors are
recognized as the main influences: a student's prior knowledge and experiences, their
language skills, their cognitive abilities, their emotional state (including interest,
motivation, attitude, beliefs, and feelings), and their reason for reading12
a. Background experience
Experience is the process of gradually learning something new through seeing and
doing things. Students would not understand printed messages that discussed
experiences they haven't had. A learner with little experience can find it challenging to
understand a lot of the text's concepts. In other words, one could say that the reader's
prior knowledge serves as a bridge to bridge the information gap between the writer and
the reader.
b. Language abilities
Strong language skills are essential for effective reading. A student's ability to
understand the meaning of words (semantics) and how words and phrases are structured
in sentences (syntax) are crucial for conveying meaning. These linguistic elements are
directly linked to reading comprehension. If students encounter a text with too many
unfamiliar words, their comprehension will suffer because the vocabulary is new to them.

c. Thinking abilities
When students read, they naturally connect the new information with their
existing knowledge and experiences; their thinking abilities (or intelligence) play a
11
Mark Anderson and Kathy Anderson , Text Type 3, (South Yarra: McMillan, 1998), p. 26 11 ibid
12
Danny Brassell & timothy Ransiski, Reading Comprehension ([Link], 2017). Page 9
Author Name1 &Author Name2, title – font - size

significant role here. Students with higher intelligence tend to have a better grasp of what
they read, while those with lower intelligence may encounter more difficulties in
comprehending texts.
d. Affection (Interest, Motivation, Attitude, beliefs, feeling)
The interest, motivation, attitudes, beliefs, and feelings of a child are important
factors that cannot be ignored in the learning process, as both parents and educators are
aware. This "affective domain," which refers to the reader's emotions and feelings,
significantly influences what they choose to read and how they interpret the text's
meaning.. The following is brief description of the aspect:
1) Interest motivation
Students who lack interest or motivation in reading will likely struggle with
comprehension. If their initial impression of reading is negative, they won't find
enjoyment in it, and consequently, they won't engage in the necessary thinking
processes that are fundamental to reading. As a result, comprehension simply won't
happen.
2) Attitudes and beliefs
Attitudes and beliefs are often tightly connected to a reader's interests and
typically reflect their prior experiences. These also significantly impact comprehension.
Similarly, feelings and emotions are a fundamental part of life, developing early as
infants learn to differentiate between pleasant and unpleasant experiences. Emotional
factors, such as a student's general mood and their ability to concentrate, will directly
affect their reading comprehension. Therefore, to achieve good comprehension,
students consistently need to be in a favorable emotional and mental state.
e. Reading Purpose
The fifth factor, reading purpose, also significantly impacts comprehension. A
student might struggle to understand a text if they read it without a specific goal in
mind. Ultimately, comprehension is always guided by an individual's needs and
objectives. The core purpose of reading is to extract meaning from written symbols,
and a key task for readers is to discern the writer's message. For junior high school
students, reading primarily serves to understand their textbooks.
In summary, several factors influence reading comprehension. Affection (including
motivation, interest, attitudes, ideas, and sentiments) and reading purpose are two of the
most important. They are regarded as the main determinants. The researcher identifies
three factors—thinking capacity, feelings/emotions, and the reason for reading—as being
most important out of all those covered.19 The researcher does, however, restrict this
study to the emotional component of worry. As a result, the author addresses anxiety in
the following topic.
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B. Anxiety
1. The Nature of Anxiety
n our daily lives, unexpected situations often trigger anxiety, a negative feeling that
can emerge at various times. It's characterized by a sense of uncertainty or hesitation
about one's abilities or intended actions. This feeling can manifest as low self-confidence,
ultimately hindering an individual's potential for maximum success.13. A person's anxiety
may have an impact on their ability to learn a foreign language. High levels of anxiety can
have a detrimental impact, particularly on a person's academic performance.
Feelings of tension, apprehension, nervousness, and worry are the subjective
hallmarks of anxiety, which is frequently accompanied with the autonomic nervous
system of the body being activated. It usually manifests as a response to stressful
circumstances or imagined dangers. According to Passer and Smith, it is a normal reaction
to a perceived threat that causes stress and worry.. 21 I It indicates that when people feel
threatened, they naturally get worried. Anxiety is a state of unease and trepidation about a
situation whose conclusion is uncertain.
It is difficult to define anxiety because it is a complicated and ethereal idea. It is
frequently associated with emotions of unease, annoyance, self-doubt, anxiety, and
concern. According to Atkinson and Hilgard, anxiety is frequently brought on by stressful
circumstances, disagreements, annoyance, perceived dangers to one's physical safety or
self-worth, and pressure to perform over one's limits. 23 Additionally, those who have poor
self-esteem typically experience anxiety because they constantly believe that they are
incapable of succeeding or doing excellent things.
Based on the aforementioned explanation, anxiety can be summed up as a
sensation of apprehension that occurs when someone encounters a terrible circumstance.
An anxious person will concentrate more on anticipating the negative outcomes than the
pleasant ones. Additionally, anxiety hinders learning; it causes them to become distracted
from the work at hand, making it difficult to concentrate. As a result, anxiety has a
significant impact on learning. Knowing if a student's fear is a result of a trait or a current
circumstance is crucial for teachers in the classroom. The varieties of anxiousness will be
covered in the next topic.

2. Types of Anxiety

13
Jeanne, E.O., Anderman E,M., and Anderman, L.2017. Educationa Psychology, Developing Learners. England:
Pearson, page 25
Author Name1 &Author Name2, title – font - size

Students' self-esteem and confidence may suffer as a result of anxiety, which may
ultimately hinder their ability to learn a language. Anxiety can take many different forms.
One can categorize anxiety into two14, Anxiety that tends to be more persistent is known as
trait anxiety. Someone's character has turned into a propensity. The next is state anxiety,
which is a transient emotional response to a potentially dangerous circumstance.
Anxiety is thought to both encourage and hinder language acquisition, while it may
sometimes have the opposite impact. In Brown, Alpert and Haber differentiate between
beneficial and harmful anxiety, as well as between debilitating and facilitative anxiety.
Anxiety that is detrimental is called debilitating anxiety. It hinders the process of
acquiring a language. Students that are anxious find it difficult to complete certain tasks;
they are uneasy and lack confidence. They will be less focused as a result, which could
affect how they learn the language. Moreover. Anxiety that is useful is called facilitative
anxiety. Facilitative anxiety is in contrast to debilitating anxiety since it has a positive
impact. Facilitative anxiety has been shown to be beneficial for learning foreign languages
in a number of studies. Bailey's study of anxiety and competitiveness in second language
learning found that competitiveness was closely related to facilitative anxiety, which was
one of the keys to success. It motivated students to put in more effort in their coursework.
Thus, anxiety can be separated into two categories: Anxiety that is more acute and
varies depending on the individual is known as trait anxiety. State anxiety is a sensation of
worry and unease that is a reaction to a specific event. Furthermore, there are a few
reasons why anxiety manifests. We'll talk about anxiety sources in the next topic.

3. Sources of Anxiety
Anxiety arises when an individual recognizes the threat to their own safety.
Anxiety might manifest as sickness, guilt, or a sense of sin. Anxiety might arise throughout
the teaching and learning process due to several circumstances. Certain circumstances
have the potential to induce anxiety, including15:
a. A scenario when there is a risk to one's physical safety. For instance, if there is
violence in their community or school.
b. A circumstance when one's sense of value is under jeopardy. For instance, when
someone says something disparaging about their gender or race.
c. A novel circumstance. Moving to a new school is one example.

14
H. Douglas Brown, Principles of Language Learning and Teaching,
Fourth Edition, (New York : Addison Wesley Longman Inc., 2000) p. 151

15
ibid
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d. Other people's opinions or assessments. For instance, being shunned by peers or

getting a poor grade from a teacher.
e. The topic matter is frustrating. For instance, struggling with a specific
mathematical idea.
f. Too many demands in the classroom. For instance, having to learn a lot of
information in a short period of time.
g. Exam in class. For instance, taking a crucial exam that influences one's prospects
of graduating or getting promoted.
h. Worry about what is ahead. For instance, how to earn a living once high school is
over.

4. Anxiety Symptoms
Michael W. Passer and Ronald Smith classify anxiety symptom, they are16:
a. Subjective-emotional symptoms, such as anxiety and tension
b. Cognitive symptoms, such as anxiety, inability to handle situations, and some
thought
c. Behavioral symptoms, such as avoiding particular circumstances and performing
tasks less well;
d. Psychological symptoms, such as elevated blood pressure and heart rate, tense
muscles, shallow breathing, nausea, dry mouth, and diarrhea.
Additionally, anxiety related to foreign languages might manifest as worry of
receiving a poor grade, test anxiety, or communication nervousness. The following topic
will cover the elements of linguistic anxiety.

5. Components of Language Anxiety

Three elements of anxiety related to learning a foreign language have been
identified as The incapacity of learners to effectively articulate adult thoughts and ideas is
the root cause of communication anxiety. It is typically linked to traits like introversion,
silence, and shyness. Since interpersonal interactions are the main focus of foreign
language classes, communication anxiety contributes significantly to foreign language
anxiety. Students must use both speaking and listening techniques to interact with the
target language in foreign language classes. Their inadequate proficiency in the target
language may cause pupils to feel anxious when speaking. Students fear that they will

16
ibid
Author Name1 &Author Name2, title – font - size

struggle to comprehend people when they listen and to be understood when they talk,
17
which leads to communication anxiety.
Hence, Fear of negative social evaluation stems from students' desire to create a
positive impression on others. This often leads to students being afraid of negative
judgment from both their teachers, who are typically the most fluent speakers in the
classroom, and their classmates. Test anxiety, on the other hand, is the fear of failing
academic evaluations. This type of anxiety emerges specifically in testing situations.
Students experiencing test anxiety might have had negative past experiences with tests,
causing them to dread future assessments. They may also hold unrealistic beliefs about
language learning, demanding perfection and viewing anything less as a complete failure.

METHOD
Using the statistical process of correlational analysis, researchers in this
quantitative study assess the strength of the relationship or association between two or
more variables. Two variables were used in this study. While "Y" represented the students'
reading comprehension success, "X" represented the students' worry, which was the
independent variable18. This research was conducted at MTS Plus Nurul ‘Ilmi Pamekasan,
especially at the eighth grade students. It is because there is a gap of the seventh grade
students’ reading comprehension achievement compared to those in eighth graders. One
class of fifty-four eighth-grade students from MTS Plus Nurul 'Ilmi makes up the
population of this study. The researcher included every population as a respondent
because there were fewer than 100 populations.
To collect the data, the researcher used tools. These consist of a questionnaire to
determine students' anxiety levels and a descriptive reading comprehension test to assess
students' reading comprehension.
a. Questionnaire
The researcher employed a series of questionnaires with 20 items to gather
information about the students' anxiousness. The questionnaire was designed as the
Foreign Language Reading Anxiety Scale (FLRAS), a modification of Saito et al19.

Table 1. The Outline of Questionnaire

17
Jeanne Ellis Ormrod, Educational Psychology: Developing Learner (Pearson Education Inc, 2011).page 26

18
Soegiyono, Metode Penelitian Kuantitatif, Kualitatif Dan R&D ([Link], 2011).
19
Yoshiko Saito, et. al., ‘Foreign Language Reading Anxiety’, The Modern Language Journal, [Link]
Publishing (1999), p. Pp. 205-207.
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Five response options were offered to the students on the Likert-type

questionnaire used in this study: strongly disagree (Sangat tidak setuju (STS)), disagree
(Sangat setuju (SS)), agree (Sangat setuju (S)), neutral (Neutral (N)), and strongly agree
(Sangat setuju (SS)). The scale's degree was displayed as follows
Table 2. The Questionnaire scoring

In order to prevent the possibility of varying interpretations of the statement, the

questionnaire was translated into Bahasa Indonesia. As a result, students found it easier to
comprehend and respond to the question when the statement was written in Bahasa
Indonesia.
Data collection was significantly aided by the test apparatus. The purpose of this
study is to determine the pupils' reading comprehension scores by giving them tests. The
reading assignment and related question were chosen based on the students' level-
appropriate books and other sources. Multiple choice formats were employed by the
researcher to increase the score's objectivity. The descriptive reading comprehension test
indicator was this.
Table 3. indicator of descriptive reading comprehension test.
Author Name1 &Author Name2, title – font - size

Additionally, the researcher divides the reading comprehension scores of the

pupils into the following quantifiable categories :
Table 4. The Category of Students’ Reading Achievement
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5. The Technique of Data Analysis

Following the students' completion of the questionnaire, the researcher had to
examine the information and establish a correlation between the reading comprehension
test and the questionnaire score.
The author employed the Pearson Product-Moment Correlation Coefficient to
examine the data 20.
𝑟
𝑥𝑦 =
𝑁Z𝑥𝑦−(∑𝑥)(∑𝑦)

√(𝑁Z𝑥2−(∑𝑥)2(𝑁Z𝑦2−(Z𝑦)2)

Note :
r = Coefficient of correlation between X variable and Y variable
N = Number of respondent
𝑥
𝛴 = The sum of the product of X and Y scores for each
y students

𝑥 = The sum of X scores

𝛴y = The sum of Y scores

𝛴𝑥2 = The sum of quadrate of each X scores
2
𝑦 = The sum of quadrate of each
Y scores (∑𝑥)2= The sum of quadrate of each 𝑥scores (∑ 𝑦) 2= The sum of quadrate
of each 𝑦scores
Before testing the tcount the researcher made two hypotheses of signicance, they
are:
Ha : there is a significant correlation between two varibales Ho : there is no
significant correlation between two varibales The formulation of test :
a. If tcount > ttable, it means that the null hypothesis is
rejected and there is a significant correlation.
b. If tcount < ttable, it means that the null hypothesis is accepted and there is no
significant correlation.
c. To interpret the index scores of “r” correlation, product moment (rxy) usually
used the interpretation such as bellow:

Table 5. Product Moment Correlation Index

20
Soegiyono, Metode Penelitian Kuantitatif, Kualitatif Dan R&D.
Author Name1 &Author Name2, title – font - size

Moreover, the index correlation was clasified as positive correlation or

negative correlation. Cresswell states that when the values of two factors shift in
the same direction, there is a positive correlation. Conversely, when two factors'
values shift in the opposite direction, there is a negative correlation. 5 A positive
correlation indicates that when one factor's values rise, so do those of another.
When one element's values decline, so do those of a second factor. Conversely, a
negative correlation indicates that when one factor's values rise, the second
factor's values fall.

RESULTS
In order to examine the connection between students' anxiety levels and their
descriptive reading comprehension, the study used a quantitative correlational method. A
test measuring reading comprehension and a questionnaire measuring anxiety were used
to collect data. Consequently, the statistical computations were as follows :
Table 6. Students’ anxiety
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An analysis of student anxiety levels revealed a skewed distribution, the majority

(46 students) exhibited high anxiety, while 5 students showed medium anxiety, and only 3
reported low anxiety. To derive a deeper understanding of these scores, the researcher
employed SPSS to compute descriptive statistics such as the mean, median, mode, range
(maximum and minimum scores), and standard deviation. The finding can be described
such as bellow:
Table 7. Statistical Scores of Anxiety Level

The average anxiety level among students was found to be 96.37, as determined by
SPSS. Both the median and mode were 98, indicating a central tendency around this value.
Scores varied significantly, from a lowest anxiety level of 64 to a highest of 125. The data
also showed a standard deviation of 14.740 and a variance of 217.558. The mean of 96.37
implies that a majority of students fall into the high anxiety category.
Table 8 Reading Comprehension

The table indicates that most students (44) scored below the KKM (Kriteria
Ketuntasan Minimal or Minimum Completeness Criteria) in reading comprehension. Only
Author Name1 &Author Name2, title – font - size

8 students achieved a medium score, and 2 students demonstrated high reading

comprehension. In addition, the researcher counted the statistical score using SPSS as
bellow:
Table 9 Statistical Scores of Reading Comprehension
Reading Test
N Valid 54
Missing 0
Mean 54.17
Median 55.00
Mode 45
Std. Deviation 14.594
Variance 212.972
Range 75
Minimum 20
Maximum 95

The average reading comprehension score, according to the statistics table, is

54.17. 45 is the mode, and 55 is the median. Reading comprehension scores range from 20
to 95, with 95 being the best possible result. The variance is 212.972 and the standard
deviation is 14.594. The average score on the reading comprehension test is 54.17,
according to the results statistics above. This indicates that the majority of students'
reading comprehension scores fell below the KKM.
In order to determine whether or not students' anxiety and their reading
comprehension performance are related, the researcher employed SPSS. The data's
outcome is displayed in the table that follows.:
Table 10. Correlation Result
Quesionnaire Reading test
Quesionnaire Pearson Correlation 1 -,407**
Sig. (2-tailed) ,002
N 54 54
Reading test Pearson Correlation -,407** 1
Sig. (2-tailed) ,002
N 54 54

**. Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).

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𝑟√𝑛−2 √1−𝑟
tcount = From the calculation above, it is found that 𝑟𝑥𝑦 is -0.407. The next step is to find the
significance
² of varibales by calculating 𝑟𝑥𝑦 is tested by significance test formula.
in which tcount = t value

R = -0.407

n = 54

tcoun 𝑟√𝑛−2
=
t

=−0.407
√1− √54−2
(−0.4072)

=−0.407 √52
√1−0.16
5
−0.407 .
7.21
= √0.83
5

−2.934
= 0.91
3

Based on the calculation above, the result is compared by ttable in the

significance of 5% and 1% and n=54, the researcher

Df = N – nr
= 54 – 2
= 52
The ttables of 5% = 0.279 and 1% = 0.361 are derived from Df = 52. This indicates that
tcount exceeds ttable, which is -3.213 > -0.279 and -3.213 > -0.361. Thus, it is decided to
accept the alternative hypothesis (Ha). In other words, pupils' anxiety levels and their
reading comprehension performance are significantly correlated.
The chart unequivocally demonstrates a -0.407 negative association between
pupils' reading comprehension scores and their anxiety levels. This indicates that reading
comprehension scores are often positively correlated with reduced anxiety and negatively
correlated with higher anxiety. The formula "r" yields -0.407. As can be seen in table 3.9,
the index falls between 0.40 to 0.70, indicating a medium link between students' anxiety
and their reading comprehension performance.
Discussion
This study sought to prove a connection between student anxiety and their reading
comprehension scores. Although all four English language skills—listening, speaking,
Author Name1 &Author Name2, title – font - size

reading, and writing—are essential for learning a new language, reading is especially
critical. This is because strong reading comprehension is a cornerstone of academic
achievement, allowing students to gain substantial knowledge. Conversely, obstacles like
anxiety, fear, or a lack of self-confidence can significantly hinder a learner's ability to
understand what they read.
This section delves into the findings from the analysis, directly answering the
research questions. Key elements of the research design, data collection techniques, and
data analysis will be examined in light of the findings. Two tools were used in the
collection of data for this investigation. First, each student participant received a
questionnaire, which they were instructed to fill out with the statements on it. The
purpose of this questionnaire was to ascertain their degree of worry.
The reading comprehension test served as the second tool. It was a multiple-
choice exam. In order to address the research issues, the analysis has been completed.
The researcher obtained the following outcome from the analysis :
1. There were fifty-four participants in this study.
2. The majority of pupils had high levels of anxiousness.
3. The majority of students' reading comprehension scores fell below the KKM
(minimum competency requirement).
4. A correlation of -0.407 was found between students' anxiety and their reading
comprehension performance. Table 3.9 indicates that the association is of medium
strength.
5. The author obtains [Link] =.002 from the SPSS computation, where significance is less
than 0.05.
6. The alternate theory was the one that was approved.
This research found a statistically significant, medium negative correlation
between student anxiety and reading comprehension. With strong statistical evidence
([Link] < 5%), we were able to accept our alternative hypothesis (Ha), confirming a genuine
relationship between these two variables, and reject the null hypothesis (Ho), which
proposed no such connection. A notable difference emerged when comparing these
findings to Neneng Suryati's previous study. Although both were quantitative correlational
studies examining the link between student anxiety and reading comprehension (using
questionnaires and tests on 40 eighth-grade students), Suryati's results showed no
significant correlation. Her research suggested that changes in student anxiety levels did
not affect their reading comprehension scores, which directly contrasts the outcome of the
current study.21.

21
Neneng Suryati, The Correlation between Students’ Anxiety and Their Achievement in Reading Comprehension,
(Skripsi S1 Fakultas Imu Tarbiyah dan Keguruan UIN Jakarta, 2009), Unpublished
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Vol. xx, No. xx, Month Year

This study's results are in line with those of Galea and Zin's (2010) investigation,
which likewise found a strong link between academic reading performance and anxiety.
Similar findings were reached by their study, which involved 218 first-year Malaysian
students learning English as a second language: worse academic grades were associated
with higher student anxiety levels22. The study's conclusion that there is a link between
students' anxiety and their ability to comprehend what they read is consistent with
previous research on the topic. This finding bolsters the idea that worry is a major
affective element that can hinder students' comprehension skills, as stated by Arnold and
Brown (quoted in Sengupta)23 In addition, this study offers a fresh contribution by
examining the issue in the context of a private Madrasah Tsanawiyah, which has rarely
been addressed in previous research. The findings reveal that students in this setting often
experience shyness and fear of making mistakes when reading aloud, factors that may
intensify their anxiety. This contextual insight highlights the importance of considering
different school environments when addressing students’ reading anxiety and
comprehension.
A reader's working memory, which is crucial for processing and retaining
information, can be severely hampered by anxiety. Students find it more difficult to store
and recall information in their short-term memory as a result of this interference. Even
though worry typically hinders language acquisition, it can occasionally serve as a
motivation. According to Brown, Alpert and Haber differentiate between two types of
anxiety: debilitative anxiety, which is detrimental, and facilitative anxiety, which is
beneficial 24:
1. Debilitative anxiety is a harmful form of anxiety that actively impedes the language
learning process. Students affected by this type of anxiety frequently find tasks
challenging, experiencing discomfort and a lack of confidence. This unease and self-
doubt can significantly diminish their ability to concentrate, ultimately slowing down
their overall progress in language acquisition.
2. Unlike its harmful counterpart, facilitative anxiety is a beneficial form of anxiety that
positively impacts language learning. Research, such as Bailey's study on
competitiveness and anxiety in second language acquisition, indicates that facilitative

22
Zuhana Mohd. Zin and Shameem Rafik-Galea, Anxiety and Academic performance among Malay ESL learners,
(Journal of Pan-Asia Pasific Association of Aplied Linguistics, 2010)
23
Anupama Chakrabarti and Madhumala Sengupta, Second Language Anxiety and Its Effect on
achievement In The Language, (Vol 12 : 8 August 2012), p.52

24
Ibid p. 151
Author Name1 &Author Name2, title – font - size

anxiety can be a crucial factor for success. It acts as a motivator, encouraging students
to study more diligently.

This research definitively concludes that student anxiety negatively impacts their
reading comprehension. Our findings reveal a clear inverse relationship: when students
experience high levels of anxiety, their reading comprehension scores tend to be low.
Conversely, students with lower anxiety levels generally demonstrate strong reading
comprehension performance. This suggests that anxiety acts as a significant barrier,
hindering a student's ability to effectively understand what they read.

CONCLUSION
The statistical analysis of this study showed a medium, negative correlation of -
0.407 between students' anxiety levels and their reading comprehension scores. This
means that as anxiety increases, reading comprehension tends to decrease. The
correlation was also statistically significant, with an [Link] value of .002, which is well
below the 0.05 threshold. Therefore, we can accept the alternative hypothesis (Ha),
indicating a genuine relationship between these variables, and reject the null hypothesis
(Ho), which suggested no such relationship. It's clear that student anxiety negatively
impacts reading comprehension. In simpler terms, higher anxiety levels are linked to
poorer performance on reading comprehension tests, while lower anxiety is associated
with stronger results. The novelty of this study lies in its focus on a private Madrasah
Tsanawiyah context, which has rarely been explored in previous research. By highlighting
students’ shyness and fear of making mistakes when reading aloud, this study provides
new insights into how school environment and cultural setting can shape the relationship
between anxiety and reading comprehension. These findings are expected to help teachers
in similar educational contexts design strategies to reduce students’ anxiety and improve
their comprehension achievement.

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