Analyzing International Students' Study Anxiety in Higher Education.

The anxiety experienced among college students is assumed to be a very important factor in a learning process. Many studies have been made to come across solutions to lead this anxiety which might avert learners from learning to motivation. Rosen (2008) explained anxiety as a "major source of energy" and looked at anxiety as a positive factor. He admitted that no one could escape from it since people live in an unpredictable society. Living in a community, Rosen added, full of everyday changes lead to anxiety. He believed anxiety can be reduced when people change their perspectives in life. In his article, Rosen concluded, "just enough anxiety creates the optimal condition for learning" (p. 36). Students in their college years confront many obstacles. One of the main problems they face is how to deal with anxiety especially study anxiety (Vitasari, Abdul Wahab, Othman, Herawan, & Sinnadurai, 2010). Chapell et al. (2005) compared undergraduate and graduate students' test anxiety gender wise. They found that female undergraduates had significantly higher test anxiety for higher GPAs than male undergraduates. The results of a study on anxiety levels of graduate and undergraduate student showed that graduate students experienced greater levels of anxiety (Poyrazli & Kavanaugh, 2006). Woodrow (2006) claimed that language learning anxiety differed from other forms of anxiety and affected students learning outcome. Therefore, for students study anxiety becomes a real phenomenon; the sources of anxiety and its control reveal the importance of study anxiety (Vitasari, Abdul Wahab, Othman, Herawan, & Sinnadurai, 2010). Altbach and Knight (2007) reported a significant increase of international students in the United States. They stated that the recent demand for internationalization and globalization of our world resulted in the inflow of international students in this country. Institute of International Education (2015) reported a 20 percent enrollment of the 4.5 million international students worldwide who were pursuing higher education in the US. But like every other college students, international students have their barriers. One of their major issues is how to deal with study anxiety which is common in every international student (Vitasari et al. 2010). Trice (2003) investigated the challenges of international graduate students. One of the main problems she observed was functioning in English. Achieving their goals and adjusting socially/culturally were also other factors involved.The purpose of this study is to explore the perception of international students on study anxiety which has been sub-grouped into five categories (exam anxiety, language anxiety, social anxiety, family anxiety, and presentation anxiety). Specific research questions included the following:R1. Is there any statistically significant difference in study anxiety between male and female international students? R2. Is there any statistically significant difference in study anxiety between undergraduate and graduate international students? R3. Is there any statistically significant difference in study anxiety among different class levels (freshman, sophomore, junior, senior, masters, and doctorate)? R4. Is there any statistically significant difference in study among international students based on their discipline? R5. Is there any statistically significant difference in the study among international students based on the length of their study in the United States? DefinitionsThe study employed the following definitions:1. Globalization is known as the interrelation and connection of nationstates and regions which build up through the international economic, social and cultural intercourse and goes beyond borders (Zheng, 2010). 2. International students are individuals enrolled in higher education institutions and who are on temporary student visas and are non-native English speakers (Stevens, Emil, & Yamashita, 2009). …