title: Performance anxiety at English PBL groups among Taiwanese medical students: a preliminary study.
abstract: Students' performance anxiety can impact negatively on the effectiveness of medical education reform, including performance in problem-based learning (PBL) and in using English in discussion. This study aimed to investigate the nature of performance anxiety among Taiwanese medical students in an English-language PBL group. Eighteen Taiwanese, one American and four Asian medical students who were attending an international PBL workshop were enrolled. A questionnaire seeking demographic data and experience in use of PBL and eight questions evaluating performance anxiety were administered. The performance anxiety of Taiwanese medical students was compared to that of the Asians and the one American. Frequencies of each performance anxiety were calculated. The results suggested that the Taiwanese students showed more anxiety than the one student from the United States, but less than other Asian students. The acts of giving a report, being the center of attention, and talking in the PBL group were the most common situations related to anxiety in PBL groups. Using English and working in a new PBL environment are possible sources of anxiety. The presence of anxiety among the Taiwanese medical students in English PBL groups implies the necessity for developing an effective strategy to deal with students' performance anxiety.
authors: Department of Psychiatry and Graduate Institute of Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
authors: Cheng-Sheng
authors: CS
authors: Chen
authors: Chung-Sheng
authors: CS
authors: Lai
authors: Peih-Ying
authors: PY
authors: Lu
authors: Jer-Chia
authors: JC
authors: Tsai
authors: Hung-Che
authors: HC
authors: Chiang
authors: In-Ting
authors: IT
authors: Huang
authors: Hsin-Su
authors: HS
authors: Yu
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001007:Anxiety; D003479:Curriculum; D004501:Education, Medical / Q000379:methods*; D005006:Ethnicity; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007802:Language; D008297:Male; D018794:Problem-Based Learning; D015397:Program Evaluation; D013337:Students, Medical / Q000523:psychology; D013624:Taiwan; D013663:Teaching / Q000379:methods; D014481:United States