Foreign language learners’ beliefs about language learning: a study on Turkish university students

Ariogul, Sibel; Ünal, Dalım Çiğdem; Onursal, Irem

doi:10.1016/j.sbspro.2009.01.265

Cited by 31 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 6 publications

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“…The theorists in this field revealed that the self-belief of students plays an important role in their actions, motivation, and achievement (Hsieh & Kang, 2010). Ariogul, Unal, and Onursal (2009) confirm that high-proficiency students tend to be more motivated and confident about using English language than low-proficiency students.…”

Section: Self-perception In Language Learningmentioning

confidence: 85%

Identifying Affirmative Beliefs about English Language Learning: Self-Perceptions of Thai Learners with Different Language Proficiency

Wang¹,

Rajprasit²

2015

ELT

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Theoretically, beliefs about English language learning have a psychological factor, such as predicting the rate of success or failure among learners in the classroom context. However, learners with different levels of language proficiency may perceive such beliefs in a different way, which may lead to the development of special needs, in terms of emphasizing their sustainable language development. The present study aims a) to investigate self-reported beliefs about English language learning among both low and high proficiency Thai students in university-level Foundation English courses, b) to identify the most prevalent affirmative beliefs among both student groups, and c) to identify the similarities and differences in their beliefs. The findings revealed that for low-proficiency students, vocabulary was an essential aspect of English language learning, while for high-proficiency students, regular practice was the key to their success. They also believed that anybody could speak English, when given the opportunity to practice speaking. The most prevalent affirmative beliefs among both sets of students were a) that anybody can speak English if given the opportunity and the time to practice, b) studying in a country where English is spoken as a native language will increase their language proficiency, and c) they want access to information resources in English. There were ten major differences between their beliefs (i.e. to learn English well, one must know at least one other foreign language, and be good at mathematics and sciences). Such findings would be a valuable resource to assist in the redesigning of English language courses, especially general English at the tertiary level, for learners with different levels of language proficiency.

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Section: Self-perception In Language Learningmentioning

confidence: 85%

Identifying Affirmative Beliefs about English Language Learning: Self-Perceptions of Thai Learners with Different Language Proficiency

Wang¹,

Rajprasit²

2015

ELT

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“…A typical research instrument employed is Horwitz's Beliefs about Language Lear ning Inventory (BALLI) questionnaire (Horwitz, 1987;1988) which is designed to examine learners' beliefs in five major areas: (1) difficulty of language learning; (2) foreign language aptitude; (3) the nature of language learning; (4) learning and communication strategies, and (5) motivations and expectations. Since its development, the BALLI has been used with learners in various parts of the world, including Australia (Bernat 2006), Korea (Park, 1995;Truitt, 1995), Lebanon (Diab, 2006), China (Su, 1995), Taiwan (N. Yang, 1999, the United States (Horwitz, 1987(Horwitz, , 1988Kuntz, 1996;Oh, 1996) and Turkey (Kunt, 1997;Ariogul & Onursal, 2009). Some common belief patterns have been reported across these studies.…”

Section: The Balli-based Studiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

The nature of language learners’ beliefs: A half-told story

Zhong

2015

ijes

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Substantial amount of research regarding L2 learners' beliefs has been conducted in recent years. However, not enough attention has been paid to investigating the nature of learners' beliefs; hence our understanding of the construct is contradictory in the sense that early research studies report stability in beliefs, while more recent studies provide evidence of change in learners' beliefs. This paper reports on a case study aiming at contributing to a deeper understanding of the nature of language learners' beliefs. Data were gathered longitudinally over an 18-week period using a number of tools. The findings reveal the complexity of learners' beliefs. The beliefs that the learners held were not always in harmony and some of them can be self-contradictory. Furthermore, while some beliefs may evolve and change over time and across situation, others may remain relatively stable, suggesting the complex and dual nature of learners' beliefs. Drawing on these findings, the paper concludes that learner beliefs can best be perceived as an inter-related construct that has dual features and sometimes can be paradoxical. KEYWORDS:Learners' beliefs, Chinese language learners, case study, changes in learners' beliefs. RESUMENUna proporción significativa de la investigación existente sobre las creencias de los aprendices de L2 ha sido producida en años recientes. Sin embargo, la naturaleza de dichas creencias no ha recibido aún suficiente atención. Nuestra compresión de este constructo presenta la paradoja de que los estudios iniciales indicaban una estabilidad en las creencias de los aprendices, mientras que los más recientes atestiguan cambios en las mismas. Para este estudio longitudinal se recogieron datos a lo largo de un período de 18 semanas mediante diversas herramientas. Los resultados dan fe de la complejidad de las creencias de los aprendices. Sus creencias sobre el aprendizaje de la L2 no siempre eran coherentes entre sí. Además, mientras que algunas creencias pueden evolucionar, otras se mantienen relativamente estables. El estudio concluye que las creencias de los aprendices de L2 pueden concebirse como un constructo complejo con rasgos duales y, en algunos aspectos, paradójico.PALABRAS CLAVE: Disposición a comunicarse, contexto, ansiedad, personalidad, motivación, estudio de casos prácticos.

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“…Those who have carried out the studies have reported mixed results. For example, Ariogul, Cigdem, & Onursal, (2009) compared English, German, and French language learners and found that certain language learners had better expectations in language learning and learners of some language were reported having beliefs that were detrimental to their learning. Another study, Altan (2006) was conducted on 436 English, French, German, Arabic, and Japanese pre-service language teachers in Turkey which produced different results.…”

Section: Beliefs and Language Performancementioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluating TESL Students’ Beliefs about Foreign Language Learning

Jusoh¹

2017

IJEL

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Learning a foreign language is a monumental undertaking for many adult learners. This study was conducted to mainly explore university students' beliefs about foreign language learning. It was also to investigate whether differences in their beliefs were present among different foreign languages. Students, pursuing diploma in TESL in a public university in Malaysia, were chosen as respondents. An instrument, BALLI, which is a measure of students' beliefs about language learning was the primary instrument for data collection. Since this is a quantitative study, statistical techniques namely descriptive and a one-way ANOVA were employed. Findings indicate that generally, the beliefs held by the student teachers are positive. Nonetheless, significant differences in the beliefs were noted among the foreign languages. The findings have a number of pedagogical implications. One of which is the importance of instilling realistic beliefs among students in learning foreign languages.

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Foreign language learners’ beliefs about language learning: a study on Turkish university students

Cited by 31 publications

References 6 publications

Identifying Affirmative Beliefs about English Language Learning: Self-Perceptions of Thai Learners with Different Language Proficiency

Identifying Affirmative Beliefs about English Language Learning: Self-Perceptions of Thai Learners with Different Language Proficiency

The nature of language learners’ beliefs: A half-told story

Evaluating TESL Students’ Beliefs about Foreign Language Learning

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