Zohreh Nafissi; Farnoosh Karimi; Marjan Vosoughi
Abstract
The present article made attempts to examine the implementation of diverse culturally-loaded materials among some EFL university students to see their impact on foreign language reading anxiety, reading comprehension self-efficacy and reading proficiency of the learners via two constructed teaching schemes ...
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The present article made attempts to examine the implementation of diverse culturally-loaded materials among some EFL university students to see their impact on foreign language reading anxiety, reading comprehension self-efficacy and reading proficiency of the learners via two constructed teaching schemes that were labeled project- and teacher- based teaching methods. The investigation was conducted with four classes of freshmen majoring in English Language Teaching, each focusing on different culturally oriented materials (i.e., L1 culture for project based class A, L2 culture for project based class B, and L1 and L2 cultures for project- and teacher-based classes C and D). Self-Efficacy for Learning and Performance subscale, Foreign Language Reading Anxiety Scale, and the reading section of the Michigan Test were applied as pre-tests and post-tests in this study. Paired samples t-tests and ANCOVA were utilized for analyzing the data. The findings showed that despite considerable decreases observed in reading anxiety levels towards the end of the treatment in classes A, C, and D, significant improvement was actually evident in the L2 culturally oriented class. Moreover, though in classes A, B, and C, significant improvements were observed regarding reading self-efficacy and reading proficiency from pretest to posttest, no differences regarding the two variables were observed among the classes. Meanwhile, class C outperformed class D with respect to the two aforementioned variables. The results could carry certain implications for EFL material developers, teachers, curriculum and syllabus designers, among others, with respect to the choice of learning materials and teaching methodologies.
Behzad Ghonsooly; Majid Elahi
Volume 2, Issue 217 , October 2010, , Pages 45-68
Abstract
It is well documented that language learning success or failure is influenced by the affective side of the learner. Self-efficacy and anxiety are among the affective factors influencing language learning. This study first explores the relationship between EFL learners' self-efficacy in reading comprehension ...
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It is well documented that language learning success or failure is influenced by the affective side of the learner. Self-efficacy and anxiety are among the affective factors influencing language learning. This study first explores the relationship between EFL learners' self-efficacy in reading comprehension and their reading anxiety. Secondly, it explores the relationship between EFL learners' self-efficacy and their reading achievement. It also investigates whether high self-efficacious EFL learners experience higher anxiety than low self-efficacious EFL learners and whether high self-efficacious EFL learners perform better in reading or not. 150 sophomores majoring in English literature at three universities participated in the present study. Two instruments were used in this study: a) an author-designed scale on EFL learners' self-efficacy in reading comprehension, b) the Foreign Language Reading Anxiety Scale (FLRAS) developed by Saito et al.,. The Pearson formula and an independent T-Test were used to analyze the data. The results indicated that there was a significant negative correlation between the participants' reading self- efficacy and their reading anxiety. The results also showed that high self-efficacious participants achieved higher scores in reading comprehension course than low self-efficacious participants. The findings of the study draw the attention of EFL teachers to encourage their learners seek ways to reduce their anxiety in reading L2 texts by improving their self-efficacy
