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

Subject Areas : Sociological Studies of Youth

Hamed Barjesteh ¹ (Assistant Professor, Department of English Language Teaching, Ayatollah Amoli Branch, Islamic Azad University, Amol, Iran)
Mehdi Manoochehrzadeh ² (Ph.D. Candidate, Department of English Language Teaching, Ayatollah Amoli Branch, Islamic Azad University, Amol, Iran)
Seyyed Mohammad Hosseini ³ (Department of English Language Teaching, South Tehran Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran)

Received: 2019-07-06 Accepted : 2019-07-06 Published : 2019-05-01

Keywords: Self-efficacy, foreign language learning, Reading proficiency, Learners&#039, beliefs,

Abstract :

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.

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