The Role of Iranian EFL Learners’ Motivation and Beliefs in Their Reading Comprehension Scores

Document Type : Research article

Authors

1 Assistant Professor, TEFL Department, East Tehran Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran

2 MA student, TEFL Department, West Tehran Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran

Abstract

Learners owe their success to various factors that may lead to individual differences. Among those contributing factors, motivation and learners’ belief as two distinct features have been investigated in this research. To this end, 120 intermediate EFL learners in the 15-30 age range, studying in different English language institutes in Tehran participated in this study. They were asked to complete the Motivation Questionnaire (Dörnyei & Taguchi, 2009) as well as the Beliefs about Language Learning Inventory (Horwitz, 1988). The results of the regression analyses revealed that there was a significant relationship between learners' motivation, learners’ belief, and their reading comprehension scores. The results also indicated that 42% of variability in the Iranian EFL learners' reading comprehension scores was predicted by their motivation, and 27% of variability in their scores was predicted by their beliefs toward EFL learning. In fact, both motivation and learners’ beliefs were significant predictors of the participants’ reading comprehension scores. These findings showed that motivation and learners’ beliefs can be used to predict students’ reading comprehension scores to some degree. The implications and suggestions for further studies were also highlighted.

Keywords

References

  1. Abidin, M. J. Z., Pour-Mohammadi, M., & Alzwari, H. (2012). EFL students’ attitudes towards learning English language: The case of Libyan secondary school students. Asian social science, 8(2), 119-134. https://doi.org/10.5539/ass.v8n2p119
  2. Abisamra, N. S. (2000). The relationship between emotional intelligence and academic achievement in eleventh graders. Research in Education, 200, 620-661.  http://www.nadasisland.com › research-intell2
  3. Aebersold, J. A., & Field, M. L. (1997). From reader to reading teacher: Issues and strategies for second language classroom.  Cambridge University Press.
  4. Al-Magid, A., & Al-Mamun, M. (2009). The effect of teachers' attitudes on the effective implementation of the communicative approach in ESL classrooms. Pretoria. http://hdl.handle.net/10500/1747
  5. Bernaus, M.,  Masgoret, A. M., Gardner, R. C., & Reyes, E. (2004). Motivation and attitudes towards learning languages in multicultural classrooms. International Journal of Multilingualism, 1(2), 75-89. https://doi.org/10.1080/14790710408668180
  6. Brackett, M. A., & Salovey, P. (2006). Measuring emotional intelligence with the Mayer- Salovey-Caruso emotional intelligence test (MSCEIT). Psicothema, 18(1), 34-41. https://www.redalyc.org/articulo.oa?id=72709505.
  7. Brown, H. D. (1994). Principles of language learning and teaching. Prentice Hall.
  8. Cheng, H. F., & Dörnyei, Z. (2007). The use of motivational strategies in language instruction: The case of EFL teaching in Taiwan. Innovation in Language Learning and Teaching, 1(1), 153-174. https://doi.org/10.2167/illt048.0
  9. Choi, N. (2005). Self-efficacy and self-concept as predictors of college students’ academic performance. Psychology in the Schools, 42(2), 197-205.   https://doi.org/10.1002/pits.20048
  10. Csiz´er, K., & Kormos, J. (2009). Learning experiences, selves and motivated learning behavior:  A comparative analysis of structural models for Hungarian secondary and university learners of English. In Z. Dörnyei & E. Ushioda (Eds.), Motivation, language identity and the L2 self (pp. 98-117). Multilingual Matters. https://doi.org/10.21832/9781847691293-006
  11. Dörnyei, Z. (1994). Motivation and motivating in the foreign language classroom. The Modern Language Journal, 78(3), 273-284. http://www.jstor.org/stable/330107
  12. Dörnyei, Z. (2001). Motivational strategies in the language classroom. Cambridge University Press.
  13. Dörnyei, Z., & Csizer, K. (1998). Ten commandments for motivating language learners: Results of an empirical study. Language Teaching Research, 2(3), 203-229. https://doi.org/10.1191/136216898668159830
  14. Dörnyei, Z., & Taguchi, T. (2009). Questionnaires in second language research: Construction, administration, and processing (2nd ed.). Routledge Publications.
  15. Fairchild, A. J., Horst, S. J., Finney, S. J., & Barron, K. E. (2005). Evaluating existing and new validity evidence for the academic motivation scale. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 30(3), 331-358. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cedpsych.2004.11.001
  16.   Feng, R., & Chen, H. (2009). An analysis on the importance of motivation and strategy in post-graduates English acquisition. English Language Teaching, 2(3), 93-97. https://doi.org/10.5539/ELT.V2N3P93
  17. Gardner, H. (1985). Frame of mind: The theory of multiple intelligences. Basic Books.
  18. Ghenghesh, P. (2010). The motivation of L2 learners: Does it decrease with age? English Language Teaching, 3(1), 128-141. https://doi.org/10.5539/ELT.V3N1P128
  19. Gonzales, R. (2010). Motivational orientation in foreign language learning: The case of Filipino foreign language learners. TESOL Journal, 3(1), 3-28. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2746312
  20. Horwitz, E. K. (1988). The beliefs about language learning of beginning university foreign language students. The modern language journal, 72(3), 283-294. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-4781.1988.tb04190.x
  21. Jafari, S. M., & Shokrpour, N. (2012). EAP students, reading motivation of English academic expository texts: A mixed methods design. International Journal of Linguistics, 4(4), 372- 392. https://doi.org/10.5296/IJL.V4I4.2459
  22. Kara, A. (2009). The effect of a ‘learning theories’ unit on students’ attitudes towards learning. Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 34(3), 100-113. https://doi.org/10.14221/ajte.2009v34n3.5
  23. Kintsch, W., & Rawson, K. A. (2005). Rereading effects depend on time of test. Journal of Educational Pychology, 97(1), 70-80. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-0663.97.1.70
  24. Liando, N. V. F., Moni, K. B., & Baldauf, R. B. (2005). Student motivation in learning English as a foreign language in an Indonesian context. In J. Yamanashi & I. Milojevic (Eds.), Researching identity, diversity and education (pp. 168-179). Post Pressed.
  25. Marsh, H. W., Pekrun, R., Parker, P. D., Murayama, K., Guo, J., Dicke, T., & Arens, A. K. (2019). The murky distinction between self-concept and self-efficacy: Beware of lurking jingle-jangle fallacies. Journal of Educational Psychology, 111(2), 331-353. https://doi.org/10.1037/edu0000281
  26. Mayer J. D., Salovey, P., & Caruso, D. (2004). Emotional intelligence: Theory, findings and implications. Psychological Inquiry, 15(3), 197-215. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327965pli1503_02
  27. McGrew, K. S., & Wendling, B. J. (2010). Cattell-Horn-Carroll cognitive-achievement relations: What we have learned from the past 20 years of research. Psychology in Schools, 47(7), 651-675. https://doi.org/10.1002/pits.20497
  28. Pishghadam, R. (2009). A quantitative analysis of the relationship between emotional intelligence and foreign language learning. Electronic Journal of Foreign Language Teaching, 6(1), 31-41. http://e-flt.nus.edu.sg/
  29. Plonsky, L., & Ghanbar, H. (2018). Multiple regression in L2 research: A methodological synthesis and guide to interpreting R2 values. The Modern Language Journal, 102(4), 713-731. https://doi.org/10.1111/modl.12509
  30. Shang, H. F. (2010). Reading strategy use, self-efficacy and EFL reading comprehension. The Asian EFL Journal Quarterly, 12(2), 18-42. https://www.asian-efl-journal.com/main-editions-new/reading-strategy-use-self-efficacy-and-efl-reading-comprehension/
  31. Simin, S., & Ketabi, S. (2009). Investigating Persian EFL teachers and learners’ attitudes towards humor in class. International Journal of Language Studies, 3(4), 435-452.
  32. Steinmayr, R., Weidinger, A. F., & Wigfield, A. (2018). Does students’ grit predict their school achievement above and beyond their personality, motivation, and engagement? Contemporary Educational Psychology, 53, 106-122.      https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cedpsych.2018.02.004
  33. Tomlinson, C. A. (2014). The differentiated classroom: Responding to the needs of all learners. Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

Files

Share

How to cite

Statistics