A Grey Relational Analysis Between Some Selected Affective Factors and English Test Performance

With Grey relational analysis (GRA), the paper examined the sensitivity of eight variables influencing test performance at branch level. The eight variables involved included language proficiency, test anxiety, self-esteem, achievement motivation, achievement goal, English proficiency test anxiety (EPTA), state anxiety and trait anxiety. Results showed that: (a) Besides language proficiency, motivation-to-avoidfailure was most sensitive to English test performance; (b) Trait and state anxiety were more sensitive to English academic performance than general test anxiety as well as the four branches of the EPTA; (c) Compared with the other three branches of the EPTA, EPTAS-listening was most intimate to English test performance; (d) All the affective concepts involved in this study were quite sensitive to English academic performance at branch level because their comprehensive grey correlation degree values were all over 0.50. This research has practical implications for English teachers and students seeking to enhance their performance in English proficiency test.