The causes of EFL students’ anxiety in preparing for the English test in the national high school graduation exam

The findings identified possible causes of anxiety in preparing for the English test in the national high school graduation exam, among which the students’ fear for the difficult contents of the test and pressure of time to prepare for the test, the students’ difficulties in selecting the right materials and identifying the appropriate methods to study efficiently, and the students’ reliance on only the textbook when preparing for the test were found to be prominent. The study also proposed a variety of methods to alleviate the anxiety in order for the students to perform better in the English test.