This study aimed at exploring the relationship among EFL learners' self-efficacy, metacognitive awareness, and language learning strategy use. To this aim, 150 EFL learners majoring in English Translation and English Literature at Karaj and Sari Islamic Azad Universities were randomly selected and were asked to fill in the three questionnaires on General Self-Efficacy Scale (GSES) by Schwarzer, & Jerusalem (1996), Metacognitive Awareness Inventory (MAI) by Schraw & Dennison (1994) and Strategy Inventory for Language Learning (SILL) by Oxford (1990). After discarding incomplete answer sheets, 143 acceptable cases were used in statistical analyses. Preliminary analyses were performed to ensure no violation of the assumptions of normality, linearity and homoscedasticity. The relationship among GSES, MAI, and SILL was investigated using Pearson's product-moment correlation coefficient. Statistical analysis indicated that significant relationships exist between EFL learners' self-efficacy and metacognitive awareness, self-efficacy and use of language learning strategies, and metacognitive awareness and use of language learning strategies. Moreover, regression analysis revealed that significant difference exists between EFL learners' self-efficacy and metacognitive awareness in predicting use of language learning strategies in a way that metacognitive awareness entered the model as the best predictor of language learning strategies. It can be concluded that, the obtained results may help EFL teachers and educators to bear in mind the benefits of developing their learners' self-efficacy and metacognitive awareness when dealing with promoting language learning strategies in learners.
The psychological needs, mental factors, and personal peculiarities of learners are proven to be of paramount importance when we seek to develop a reliable and well-informed theory of teaching and achieve the crème de la crème out of the classroom practice (Lightbown & Spada, 2006). According to Deci (2000, 2002), a psychological need is an inherent source of motivation for learners that generates a proactive desire to interact with the environment to advance one's personal growth, social development, and psychological well-being. The three psychological needs central to learners are autonomy (AU), competence, and relatedness (Deci, Vallerand, Pelletier, & Ryan, 1991). Learners need to feel autonomous, competent, and related to others to grow, to make progress, and to be, by and large, well (O'Donnell, Reeve, & Smith, 2012).AU is the psychological need to experience self-direction in the initiation and regulation of one's behavior (Deci & Ryan, 1985). Current English as a foreign language (EFL) pedagogical trends seem to primarily focus on a studentcentered methodology in which learner AU is given a great value (Akbari, 2008;Bell, 2003;Benson, 2003). This is to say that EFL learners are now given a meaningful role in pedagogic decision making by being treated as active and autonomous players (Kumaravadivelu, 2008(Kumaravadivelu, , 2012. Accordingly, language learners are becoming the focus of curricula design (Nation & Macalister, 2010), and researchers are recognizing the significant role of learner AU in their teaching (Bell, 2003;Benson, 2003;O'Donnell et al., 2012).AU, according to Scharle and Szabó (2000), is the freedom and ability to manage one's own affairs, which entails the right to make decisions as well. An autonomous person, according to Paul and Elder (2008), is not dependent on others for the direction and control of one's thinking. They assert that it is the self-authorship on one's beliefs, values, and ways of thinking. The basis of learner AU, according to Chang (2007), is that learner accepts responsibility for his or her learning. Little (1995) argues that the pursuit of AU in a formal educational context is a matter of both learning and learning how to learn.
Abstract-Influenced by the acknowledged role of critical thinking and learning styles in the process of second language learning, this study attempted to systematically inspect the association between English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners' critical thinking, on one hand, and their total score of perceptual learning styles, different perceptual learning styles, and number of major perceptual learning styles, on the other hand. To do so, 595 male and female undergraduate EFL learners, between the ages of 18 and 25 (M age = 22) participated in this study. These participants completed two instruments: a) the questionnaire of critical thinking by Honey (2000), and b) the Perceptual Learning Style Preference Survey developed by Reid (1984). Due to the violation of the assumptions of normality of distribution, the non-parametric Spearman rank order coefficient of correlation was employed in order to answer the initial 3 research questions. The obtained results indicated that there were significant and positive relationships between participants' critical thinking and total score of perceptual learning styles, ρ = .33, n = 595, p < .01; critical thinking and the number of major perceptual learning styles, ρ = .28, n = 595, p < .01; and critical thinking and group, visual, auditory, tactile, and kinesthetic perceptual learning styles. Furthermore, a multiple regression analysis was run which revealed that tactile learning style preference is the best predictor of EFL learners' critical thinking (β = 0.285, t = 6.107, p = 0.0005). The study concludes with a discussion on the findings and stating a number of recommendations for further research.
Postmethod perspective on English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teaching considers EFL teachers to be reflective and autonomous practitioners who play the role of change agents. In order to systematically study the way these attributes affect teachers’ and learners’ actual performance, this study investigated the effect of EFL teachers’ Critical Thinking (CT) and Teaching Autonomy (TA) on their Teaching Success (TS) and EFL learners’ Language Learning Strategies (LLS) use. Twenty mixed-gender upper-intermediate and advanced level general English classes were randomly selected from ten language schools. The teachers were 25 to 40 years of age (Mage = 31), whereas the learners were 18 to 30 (Mage = 24). In each class, CT and TA questionnaires were answered by the teacher and the LLS and TS scales were completed by the learners after 12 to 19 sessions. The results of a one-way ANOVA followed by a post-hoc Scheffe’s revealed that those EFL learners whose teachers had a high TA level show a significantly higher perception toward TS. Moreover, those learners whose teachers had a low CT level showed a higher, but non-significant, perception toward TS. Furthermore, EFL learners whose teachers had a moderate level of TA demonstrated a higher, but non-significant, use of LLS. Finally, EFL learners whose teachers had a high CT level showed a higher, but non-significant use of LLS. Regarding the limitations and drawing upon the findings, the article concludes with some pedagogical implications and some avenues for future research.
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