Abstract

This study investigated the correlation between the construct of Foreign Language Reading Anxiety (FLRA) and reading comprehension skill among Iranian distance EFL learners with age and gender serving as moderator variables. The research was carried out with a group of 112 male and female junior and senior students studying English at Mashhad Payame Noor University. A 33-item Likert-style Foreign Language Reading Anxiety Scale, a 28-item reading comprehension test, and a demographic questionnaire were completed by the participants. The Pearson product moment correlation, t-Test, and one-way ANOVA were used to analyze the data. The results indicated that there was a significant negative relationship between FLRA and reading comprehension; moreover, no such relationship was found between foreign language reading anxiety and age; and finally compared to males, females suffered more from anxiety.

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