Psycholinguistic Constraints in Undergraduate Thesis Defences: A Snapshot from EFL Perspective in Higher Education
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This study examines the psycholinguistic constraints experienced by university students during undergraduate thesis defences, particularly in oral presentation and question-and-answer sessions. Although anxiety, working-memory load, and time pressure are widely recognised in the broader psycholinguistic literature, limited research has explored how these constraints operate specifically within undergraduate thesis defences contexts in higher education, especially in EFL settings. A mixed-method design was employed, integrating quantitative survey data (n = 64) with qualitative interview data from students and teachers. The quantitative findings show that test anxiety, working-memory difficulty, and time pressure were the three dominant constraints influencing students’ performance, with more than two-thirds of respondents reporting very high anxiety and cognitive strain during exams. Qualitative data provide deeper explanation, revealing that students felt easily overwhelmed by sudden questions, struggled to retrieve words, and experienced fear of negative evaluation, even when they understood the content. Teachers confirmed these patterns and acknowledged that current examination formats often intensify cognitive load through rapid questioning and limited thinking time. The study concludes that students’ limited performance is not solely caused by linguistic proficiency, but is shaped by the dynamic interaction of cognitive and affective factors during high-stakes assessment. This study contributes to psycholinguistic and EFL assessment research by shifting the focus from test design to student processing realities, emphasising that oral examination validity must consider cognitive and emotional constraints. The findings imply that institutions need assessment redesign that supports processing efficiency, reduces performance anxiety, and provides more equitable evaluation practices for EFL learners.
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