Comparative Impacts of Fixed, Growth, and Mixed Mindsets on EFL Learners' Mindsets

Subject Areas :

Hojat Sarlak ¹ , Farid Ghaemi ² , Mohammad Hashamdar ³

1 - Department of ELT and Translation, Karaj Branch, Islamic Azad University, Karaj, Iran
2 - Department of ELT and Translation, Karaj Branch, Islamic Azad University, Karaj, Iran
3 - Department of ELT and Translation, Karaj Branch, Islamic Azad University, Karaj, Iran

Received: 2022-08-22 Accepted : 2022-10-18 Published : 2023-04-01

Keywords: Fixed mindset, Grammar achievement, Growth mindset, Mixed mindset, Mindset,

Abstract :

The present study was conducted to investigate the comparative impacts of three types of EFL teachers' mindsets on EFL learners' mindsets. The participants of the study were English Translation undergraduate students (both female and male with the age ranging of 18-35) who were selected according to convenience non-random sampling from three classes of English Grammar 1 at both Islamic Azad Universities of Karaj and Shahriyar. The total number of students in each class was 30. The course lasted 16 successive sessions. Participants were assigned into three experimental groups. At the outset, a Mindset Assessment Profile (MAP) adopted from Mindset works, INC (2002-2012) on a scale of disagree a lot to agree a lot was administered among participants in all three experimental groups. The researchers provided interventions in terms of fixed, growth, and mixed mindsets to teach English grammar. At the end of the course, the same Mindset Assessment Profile (MAP) as the one administered in the pretest phase was administered among participants in all three groups and it was demonstrated that the EFL teacher’s type of mindset can significantly influence EFL learners’ mindsets. Consequently, it was determined that helping students adopt growth mindset hinges on raising teachers’ awareness about the importance of their own mindsets as well as helping them to grow their mindsets. This study includes a variety of instructional implications for both EFL teachers and EFL learners.

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