Examining middle school students' listening anxiety in terms of different variables and determining the causes of anxiety

The goal of this study is to identify the listening anxiety levels and causes of secondary school students; to detect differentiation status of anxiety in terms of various variables. An open ended mixed method model which is a way of both quantitative and qualitative research methods is used in this research. To determine the effects of listening strategies on listening anxiety and whether the use of strategy is an alternative for relieving anxiety are sub-problems of the study Scale of Listening Anxiety for Secondary School Students and the Frequency of Use of Listening/Monitoring Strategies for the purpose of obtaining quantitative data; Structured Interview Form is used to obtain qualitative data. Parametric tests were used in the analysis of quantitative data; Content analysis was performed in the analysis of qualitative data. The study is conducted with 400 students that are 5,6,7 and 8th grades in Malatya Yeşilyurt in second period of 2019-2020 educational term. Interviews with thirty-two students with high listening anxiety at different class levels and different genders constitute the qualitative dimension of the research. Findings of the study revealed that middle school students differed in their listening anxiety based on gender and the time they listened to listening materials at home; class level, parental educational status, materials used in listening texts, use of listening strategies, no significant difference in the type of material they listen to has been identified. According to student opinions on the causes of listening concerns, students' concerns are mostly environmental, such as family, environment; sensory, such as lack of attention, psychological factors; problems caused by listening material and lack of listening strategy knowledge.