The Interplay between Young Learners' Sense of Self-Efficacy in Reading Comprehension and English Language Proficiency

Sociological Studies of Youth

مقاله 3، دوره 10، شماره 33، مرداد 2019، صفحه 39-56   

نوع مقاله: Original Article

نویسندگان

Hamed Barjesteh^{* 1}؛ Mehdi Manoochehrzadeh²؛ Seyyed Mohammad Hosseini³

¹Assistant Professor, Department of English Language Teaching, Ayatollah Amoli Branch, Islamic Azad University, Amol, Iran

²Ph.D. Candidate, Department of English Language Teaching, Ayatollah Amoli Branch, Islamic Azad University, Amol, Iran

³Department of English Language Teaching, South Tehran Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran

چکیده

This study intended to explore the interplay between young language learners' sense of self-efficacy regarding reading comprehension in their reading test performance associated with learning English among universities. To undertake the study, a purposive sampling method was adopted. A total of 60 freshmen undergraduate learners of English consented to participate in this study.  A self-efficacy questionnaire was employed to collect to young learners' beliefs in their own reading capabilities with a hope to explore the effects of high and low self-efficacy on reading proficiency. Accordingly, students’ reading proficiency was examined based on their performance to the reading comprehension test adopted from a paper-based Longman TOEFL. The findings revealed that there was a direct and significant relationship between the learners' self-efficacy beliefs about learning and their language proficiency. The result attested that students with high self–efficacy are more proficient in their language learning as compared with those of low self-efficacy. EFL teachers and students as well materials developers’ can take the advantage of the findings. Theoretical and pedagogical implications for foreign language learning and teaching are also discussed.

کلیدواژه‌ها

foreign language learning؛ Self-efficacy؛ Reading proficiency؛ Learners' beliefs

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