An Investigation of Mindfulness and Creative Teaching Methods to Reduce EFL Learners' Test Anxiety

Abstract

Test anxiety is a challenge that hinders stress management and coping mechanisms for students learning English as a foreign language (EFL) and requires effective solutions. This thesis investigates the integration of mindfulness practices and creative teaching methods as potential solutions to reduce EFL students’ test anxiety, provide insight to teachers, and evaluate the effectiveness of interventions. In line with these aims, a mixed-method research design was adopted by using a quasi-experimental pre-test–post-test control group design and thematic analysis through reflective journals during the intervention process. The study was carried out in a middle school in the Meram district of Konya province, Turkey, in the 2024–2025 academic year. In the sample selection, 142 6th-grade EFL students from similar educational environments were selected through purposive sampling; 71 in two experimental groups, and 71 in two control groups. While the intervention, including mindfulness and creative teaching activities, was applied to the former, ordinary teaching methods and activities were presented to the latter. Before and after the intervention, the Cognitive Test Anxiety Scale (CTAS) and the Mindful Attention Awareness Scale-A (MAAS-A) were administered to measure the test anxiety and mindfulness levels of the 142 participants. The quantitative data were analyzed using one-way multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA). For the qualitative data, 71 students in the experimental groups were asked to keep reflective journals after each intervention session. The results obtained with the mixed method are multifaceted and reflect the psychological and educational effects of these methods. In the conducted analyses, it was observed that there was a statistically significant increase in mindfulness and a statistically significant decrease in test anxiety levels of the experimental groups, while there was no significant change in the control groups.