Performance anxiety at English PBL groups among Taiwanese medical students: a preliminary study.
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.
Chen
Cheng-Sheng
CS
Department of Psychiatry and Graduate Institute of Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
Lai
Chung-Sheng
CS
Lu
Peih-Ying
PY
Tsai
Jer-Chia
JC
Chiang
Hung-Che
HC
Huang
In-Ting
IT
Yu
Hsin-Su
HS
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