VIETTESOL INTERNATIONAL CONVENTION 2025

This study aims to explore teachers’ anxiety and learners’ beliefs about negative coping strategies utilizing the explanatory sequential mixed-method research design. A questionnaire and semi-structured interviews were employed to collect both qualitative and quantitative data. A hundred and fifty EFL students were invited for data collection about learners’ beliefs about their negative coping strategies, which influence EFL teachers’ anxiety. Five teachers and five students were also recruited for in-depth interviews to explore both teachers’ and students’ perceptions of negative coping strategies. The findings, from learners’ perspectives, indicate that they employ negative coping strategies related to several key reasons, including not having enough time to think, the complexity of the exercises, the advancement of AI reducing their workload, and their own procrastination. These results are partly compatible with teachers’ perspectives in this light, except for their sympathy with students’ side. Some teachers overlook the negative coping strategies. One significant reason was attributed to the current assessment policies, including not only one-time evaluations but also ongoing progress assessments and predefined rubrics for subjective assignments. Teachers believe that students' submissions were mostly formulated through a process of acquiring and practicing their learning, except in cases with pure cheating behaviors. Fewer of the anxiety was from the teachers’ side than from students’ self-reported perception of their occasional actions. Despite the research limitation of a lack of data triangulation, this study raises concerns from both teachers and students regarding the need for improved educational quality in the future, particularly in relation to alternative evaluation methods.