The Effects of Learning-Style Based Activities on Students’ Reading Comprehension Skills and Self-Efficacy Perceptions in English Foreign Language Classes

Abstract

This study investigated the effects of learning-style based activities on students' reading comprehension skills and self-efficacy perceptions in English foreign language classes. A quasi-experimental, matching-only pretest-posttest control group design was utilized. The study was conducted with freshmen university students majoring in Elementary Mathematics Education at Necmettin Erbakan University in the fall semester of academic year 2012-2013. English was one of their compulsory courses and their self-reported language level was A1/A2 in terms of the self-assessment grid included in the Language Passport which is one of the three components of the European Language Portfolio. A total of 39 students in the experimental group and 39 in the control group participated in the study. The learning-style based activities were implemented in the experimental group, while the control group continued with routine classroom instruction without any attention to their learning styles. Both groups received three one-hour sessions weekly, for a total of eight weeks. Both the Reading Comprehension post-test scores and the Self-Efficacy Scale for English post-test scores were significantly different in favor of the experimental group. Also, a significant moderate positive correlation was found between English reading comprehension achievement and English self-efficacy. It can be concluded that learning-style based activities enhanced reading comprehension skills and English self-efficacy perceptions during this study.

Perceptions of the Effect of an EAP Course on English Self-efficacy and English Proficiency: Voices of International Students in China

“…Students who perform well in English proficiency tests and earn good grades develop higher English self-efficacy level, however, the confidence level of students decrease when they earn poor grades in English test (Luangpipat, 2018). A moderate positive correlation exists between English self-efficacy and English reading comprehension (Balcı, 2017). English language self-efficacy predicts students' achievement in English (Chao, McInerney, & Bai, 2019;Kim, Wang, Ahn, & Bong, 2015;Zheng, Liang, & Tsai, 2019).…”

Is learning really just believing? A meta-analysis of self-efficacy and achievement in SLA

“…Numerous studies have shown a positive correlation between L2 self-efficacy and L2 achievement (e.g., Bai & Wang, 2020;Golparvar & Khafi, 2021;Karbakhsh & Safa, 2020), suggesting that learners with high levels of self-efficacy are more likely to persevere even during the most challenging tasks, thus achieving higher levels of language learning success (Duckworth, 2013). Many scholars in SLA have also explored skill-specific self-efficacy, including reading (e.g., Al Khamisi et al, 2016;Balci, 2017;Chuang et al, 2018;Kitikanan & Sasimonton, 2017), writing (e.g., Raoofi & Maroofi, 2017;Sahril & Weda, 2018), speaking (e.g., Asakereh & Dehghannezhad, 2015;Kitikanan & Sasimonton, 2017) and listening (e.g., Kitikanan & Sasimonton, 2017;Phakiti et al, 2013), as well as content-specific self-efficacy for grammar (e.g., Mustapha et al, 2013) and vocabulary learning (e.g., Wu et al, 2012;Wu et al, 2013). For example, Al Khamisi et al (2016) explored the relationship between reading self-efficacy and reading achievement for 636 primary and secondary English as a foreign language (EFL) students.…”

“…As one of the most influential variables in positive psychology, self-efficacy has been explored across a range of contexts (e.g., target languages and proficiency levels), age groups (e.g., children, adolescents, and adults), language skills (e.g., reading, writing, listening and speaking), and classroom participants (e.g., students and teachers). Encouragingly, findings have shown the benefits of self-efficacy with respect to learners' L2 achievement (e.g., Hetthong & Teo, 2013), learning strategies (e.g., Balci, 2017;Gahunga, 2009;Jee, 2015;Ma et al, 2018;Mizumoto, 2013;Wang et al, 2012), and attitudes towards L2 learning (e.g., Murad Sani & Zain, 2011). Bandura's (1997) and Pajares's (1997) seminal works on self-efficacy proved to be powerful driving forces for scholars in SLA and have sparked an abundance of research into the relationship between self-efficacy and achievement.…”

Impact of bilingual practice on EFL learners’ self-efficacy

“…Another strand of research examined instructional design addressing the cognitive and emotional dispositions of learners: While Oghyanous (2017) for brain-based teaching and Balci (2017) for learning style oriented teaching showed impacts, Scida and Jones (2017) did not reveal any statistically significant differences between pre-and post-test or experimental and control group in self-efficacy beliefs related to stress management of university students receiving contemplative practices.…”