GEPT anxiety test for vocational and technical university students in Taiwan

Since 1999, the Ministry of Education has promoted the General English Proficiency Test (GEPT) as a graduation criterion of proficiency in the English language. With the GEPT qualification as a graduation criterion, technical and vocational university students, having no confidence and motivation to learn English, experience GEPT test anxiety. This study explores whether or not vocational and technical university students experience different levels of anxiety in taking the GEPT, and whether or not there are differences in GEPT test anxiety levels among students of different genders, and opportunities to talk to foreigners. Several conclusions were drawn from the findings of this study. First, vocational and technical university students experience certain levels of GEPT test anxiety. Second, females experience more emotional anxiety than males. Third, students who seldom have the opportunity to talk to foreigners experience more cognitive anxiety, emotional anxiety, and affective anxiety than students with more opportunities to talk to foreigners.