Blank Minds and Stuck Voices: Understanding and Addressing Cognitive Anxiety in High-Stakes ESL Speaking Tests

Speaking test anxiety is a recurring challenge among second language (L2) learners, who often perceive the experience as intimidating and paralyzing. Beyond affective discomfort, learners are also susceptible to cognitive anxiety (CA), which manifests in mental blanks, blocked recall, and impaired clarity of speech during high-stakes assessments. Guided by Eysenck et al.’s Attentional Control Theory and Krashen’s Affective Filter Hypothesis, this study conceptualizes CA as a disruption of attentional resources and language processing. To explore this phenomenon, a mixed-methods survey design was employed with 258 Malaysian undergraduates enrolled in diploma and technical programmes. Quantitative Likert-scale data were analyzed descriptively, while qualitative open-ended responses underwent thematic coding to capture students’ lived experiences. The findings revealed four core patterns: i) performance pressure induces recall blockage, ii) nervous arousal undermines speech clarity, iii) fear of negative evaluation amplifies cognitive disruption, and iv) coping mechanisms remain limited and unsystematic. Together, these results confirm that CA acts as a cognitive barrier to L2 oral performance, preventing learners from demonstrating their communicative ability. The study contributes to theory by extending understandings of test anxiety beyond affective dimensions into cognitive mechanisms, and to practice by recommending that educators integrate mock assessments, scaffold retrieval strategies, and cultivate supportive classroom environments to reduce the cognitive costs of high-stakes speaking tests.

Cognitive Anxiety, Speaking Test Anxiety, Attentional

1. Abdullah, A., Rahman, A. A., & Yunus, M. M. (2021). ESL learners’ challenges in speaking English in Malaysian classrooms. Journal of Education and E-Learning Research, 8(3), 293–299. https://doi.org/10.20448/journal.509.2021.83.293.299 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

2. Dewaele, J.-M., & MacIntyre, P. D. (2014). The two faces of Janus? Anxiety and enjoyment in the foreign language classroom. Studies in Second Language Learning and Teaching, 4(2), 237–274. https://doi.org/10.14746/ssllt.2014.4.2.5 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

3. Eysenck, M. W., Derakshan, N., Santos, R., & Calvo, M. G. (2007). Anxiety and cognitive performance: Attentional control theory. Emotion, 7(2), 336–353. https://doi.org/10.1037/1528-3542.7.2.336 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

4. Horwitz, E. K. (2001). Language anxiety and achievement. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, 21, 112–126. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0267190501000071 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

5. Horwitz, E. K., Horwitz, M. B., & Cope, J. (1986). Foreign language classroom anxiety. The Modern Language Journal, 70(2), 125–132. https://doi.org/10.2307/327317 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

6. Krashen, S. D. (1982). Principles and practice in second language acquisition. Pergamon Press. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

7. Liu, M., & Jackson, J. (2008). An exploration of Chinese EFL learners’ unwillingness to communicate and foreign language anxiety. The Modern Language Journal, 92(1), 71–86. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-4781.2008.00687.x [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

8. MacIntyre, P. D. (2017). An overview of language anxiety research and trends in its development. In C. Gkonou, M. Daubney, & J.-M. Dewaele (Eds.), New insights into language anxiety: Theory, research and educational implications (pp. 11–30). Multilingual Matters. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

9. MacIntyre, P. D., & Gardner, R. C. (1991). Methods and results in the study of foreign language anxiety: A review of the literature. Language Learning, 41(1), 85–117. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-1770.1991.tb00677.x [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

10. MacIntyre, P. D., & Gregersen, T. (2012). Emotions that facilitate language learning: The positive–broadening power of the imagination. Studies in Second Language Learning and Teaching, 2(2), 193–213. https://doi.org/10.14746/ssllt.2012.2.2.4 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

11. Ministry of Education Malaysia. (2013). Malaysia Education Blueprint 2013–2025. Putrajaya: Ministry of Education Malaysia. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

12. Oxford, R. L. (2011). Teaching and researching language learning strategies. Routledge. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

13. Phillips, E. M. (1992). The effects of language anxiety on students’ oral test performance and attitudes. The Modern Language Journal, 76(1), 14–26. https://doi.org/10.2307/329894 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

14. Rahman, N. A., Hashim, H. U., & Yunus, M. M. (2022). Addressing speaking anxiety among Malaysian ESL learners: A case for supportive pedagogy. Asian EFL Journal, 26(4), 34–52. [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

15. Young, D. J. (1991). Creating a low-anxiety classroom environment: What does language anxiety research suggest? The Modern Language Journal, 75(4), 426–439. https://doi.org/10.2307/329492 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

• Evaluating the Impacts of Mind Mapping Strategy on Developing EFL Students’ Critical Reading Skills
• Significance of Reading Instructions for Language Improvement in Children with Down Syndrome
• Prenasalised Consonants in Liangmai
• Metadiscourse Matters: Definitions, Models, and Advantages for ESL/ EFL Writing
• Bilingual Play and Social Identity: Code-Mixing among Malaysians on X (Twitter)