The Effect of Mindfulness on Mostaganem University EFL Students Struggling With Test Anxiety

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DEMOCRATICANDPOPULARREPUBLICOFALGERIA MINISTRYOFHIGHEREDUCATIONANDSCIENTIFICRESEARCH

UNIVERSITYOFABDLHAMIDIBNBADISMOSTAGANEM FACULTYOFFOREIGNLANGUAGES

DEPARTMENTOFENGLISHLANGUAGE

TheEffectofMi

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master’sdegreeindidacticsandforeignlanguages PresentedbyMohamedRedhaReriballah

BoardofExaminers:

Chair:Dr.NazihaBenosmane Supervisor:Mrs.SoumiaMaroufi Examiner:Dr.HayetAoumer

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5

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1. 3. Testanxi

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3. 1. Sympt

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1.

3. 2. ReasonsofTestAnxi

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1. 4. Mi

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12

1. 8. Concl

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12

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Chapt

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2. 7. Concl

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3. 3. Suggest

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29

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31 Li

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36

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Abst

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act

AnxietyisconsideredasoneofthedifficultiesmostEFlstudentsencounter whentakingatest.Consequently,itisperceivedasamajorfactorleadingto universitydropoutasitaffectsthestudents’academicperformanceina negativeway.Nevertheless,studieshaveshownthattest-anxiousstudents can manage their symptoms with the help of certain practices like mindfulness.TheWim Hof’sbreathingtechnique,whichisamindful ness-basedstrategy,hasbeenprovedefficienttotreatdifferenttypesofanxiety butaccordingtoWim Hof,hismethodhasnotbeentestedontestanxiety. Thepresentstudy,therefore,setsitselfthedualobjectiveofidentifyingthe reasonsbehindtestanxietyandofinvestigatingtheeffectivenessoftheWim Hof’smethodbreathingtechniqueasastrategytomitigateit.Inorderto answertheresearchquestions,twoinstrumentswereemployedforthisstudy: aquestionnaireassessingstudents’anxietywashandedtotwentystudents andanexperimentalstudythatwasconductedoneightparticipants.Second yearEFLstudentsofAbdelhamidBenBadishavebeenchosenasasampleto undertakethestudy.Theresultsobtainedfrom thequestionnaireand the experimental study confirmed that most foreign language students experiencetestanxietywhentheyareputinanevaluativesituationand indicatedthatWim Hofmethodbreathingtechniquescanbeaneffective practicethathelpslearnersdecreasetestanxiety.