Investigating the Effect of Language Anxiety on Writing Fluency and Writing Accuracy

Writing in a second language is a demanding task for many student writers. Although the relationship between writing anxiety and written performance is well-documented, few studies have explored this connection from a process-oriented perspective. The present study investigates the relationship between writing anxiety, writing fluency, and writing accuracy, and further examines how anxiety relates to writing fluency. To this end, we analyzed the writing processes of 120 Vietnamese undergraduate students who were asked to write an email in response to a request. Participants also completed the Second Language Writing Anxiety Inventory, which assessed their perceived anxiety in various aspects of the writing process. Their composing activity was recorded using Inputlog, a keystroke logging tool that captures keyboard activity, mouse movements, window switches, and other computer-based actions. Results from confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling revealed that writing fluency, but not writing anxiety, was negatively associated with writing accuracy. Specifically, students who wrote fewer characters per minute and paused more frequently tended to make fewer grammatical and lexical errors. Additionally, writing anxiety showed no significant relationship with writing fluency. These findings offer important educational implications and highlight the value of examining the writing process through keystroke logging. We encourage future research to further explore the nuanced relationships between writing anxiety and the dynamics of second language writing.