From L2 Comprehension Difficulty to Test Anxiety: The Mediating Role of Academic Stress

In English-medium higher education settings, many university students are required to engage with complex academic materials in a language that is not their first. While English proficiency is often treated as a prerequisite for success, less attention is given to how ongoing difficulty in processing academic language shapes students’ psychological experiences of learning and assessment. This study explores how challenges in second-language (L2) academic comprehension are experienced by early-stage Filipino university students and how these challenges relate to their emotional responses during evaluative situations.

Drawing from educational psychology and principles of Cognitive Load Theory, the research considers the possibility that language-related difficulty does not operate in isolation, but instead interacts with students’ broader academic experiences. In contexts where learners must simultaneously process unfamiliar terminology, discipline-specific discourse, and evaluative expectations, linguistic demands may quietly accumulate and influence how students perceive academic pressure. By situating L2 comprehension within this broader cognitive and emotional landscape, the study contributes to ongoing conversations about learning equity, assessment fairness, and student well-being in multilingual higher education environments.

The study adopted a quantitative research design focused on examining patterns of association among key academic and psychological variables. Data were collected from first- and second-year university students enrolled in an entrepreneurship program, where English serves as the primary language of instruction. This context provided a natural setting for examining how students navigate academic content that relies heavily on English-mediated texts, assessments, and disciplinary discourse. 

Participants completed a structured survey measuring their experiences with academic language comprehension, perceived academic demands, and emotional responses related to testing situations. The instruments demonstrated acceptable to strong internal consistency, supporting the reliability of the data. Analytical procedures included descriptive and inferential techniques, allowing the study to examine both general trends and more nuanced relationships among variables. Mediation analysis was used to explore how academic experiences may be interconnected, offering insight into the underlying structure of students’ learning and assessment experiences rather than treating each factor as independent. 

The findings suggest that difficulty in understanding academic English is closely intertwined with students’ broader academic experiences, particularly in relation to perceived pressure and emotional strain during assessment. Rather than functioning as a standalone obstacle, linguistic difficulty appears to be embedded within a wider pattern of academic demands that shape how students experience stress and evaluation. Students who reported greater challenges with academic language also tended to describe more intense academic pressure and heightened emotional responses during tests. 

Taken together, the results point to the importance of viewing language difficulty not merely as a skill deficit, but as part of a larger academic experience that affects how students engage with learning and assessment. The study highlights the value of approaches that attend simultaneously to academic language development and students’ psychological experiences, suggesting that more supportive instructional and institutional practices may help foster learning environments that are both academically rigorous and emotionally sustainable. In doing so, the research offers a perspective that emphasizes understanding, balance, and equity in English-medium higher education. 

 

 

For the complete research paper, please refer to the published item:  https://doi.org/10.70148/v3i3.5 

For additional details, please refer to the Study Information and Researcher’s Profile pages on this site.



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