Gender Differences in English Language Learning Anxiety and Coping Strategies Among Thai Postgraduate Students: A Network Analysis Approach

English language learning anxiety (ELLA) constitutes a significant barrier to academic success among postgraduate students in non-Western educational contexts, yet the structural relationships between anxiety dimensions and coping strategies—particularly across genders—remain poorly understood. This study employed psychological network analysis to examine gender differences in ELLA and coping strategies among 444 Thai postgraduate students. Data were collected using the Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (FLCAS; four dimensions: communication apprehension, test anxiety, classroom oral anxiety, and fear of negative evaluation) and the Foreign Language Learning Anxiety Coping Style Scale (FLLACSS; three dimensions: problem-solving, help-seeking, and avoidance). Regularized partial correlation networks were estimated using the Graphical Least Absolute Shrinkage and Selection Operator (GLASSO) algorithm. Results indicated that classroom oral anxiety was the most central node (i.e., the node with the highest strength centrality, indicating the strongest overall connections to other variables) across both gender networks, highlighting its pivotal role in the anxiety system. Network comparison tests revealed significant structural differences between male and female networks (p < .001). In the male network, fear of negative evaluation was strongly connected to problem-solving, while communication apprehension linked to both help-seeking and avoidance. In the female network, test anxiety and classroom oral anxiety were predominantly connected to help-seeking. Males reported significantly higher fear of negative evaluation and avoidance tendencies than females. These findings suggest that gender-sensitive pedagogical interventions—such as creating low-risk oral practice environments for all students, reframing help-seeking as adaptive for male students, and providing targeted anxiety-reduction strategies—may enhance the inclusiveness and effectiveness of English language education in Thai higher education contexts.