Developing and Calibrating an Autonomy Scale for EFL Learners through an Adapted Model of Task Difficulty
Subject Areas : Journal of Applied Linguistics Studies
Farhad Motaharikia
1
,
Abdollah Baradaran
2
,
Hamid Marashi
3
1 -
2 -
3 -
Keywords: Learner Autonomy, Task Difficulty, Work Conditions, Work-Scheduling ,
Abstract :
Improving learner autonomy is one of the significant factors in enabling learners to manage difficulties they encounter during the language production process and different language learning situations. The purpose of the present study was to deploy and create one model for task difficulty to account for the role and influence that it can have on developing and calibrating a new scale of learner autonomy. The researches tried to find out to what extent and in what possible ways varying task difficulty levels based on the adapted model can change the criteria for assessing learner autonomy and how learners assess their independence based on the adapted task model with various difficulty levels. A qualitative design was implemented to answer the research questions through MAXQDA to analyze the qualitative data. To fulfill this , 120 Iranian EFL learners, 62 male and 58 female, at an intermediate level at the Tehran Institute of Technology were asked to participate in task difficulty questionnaires and interviews as well as a piloted task with different difficulty conditions. After coming up with a new model of task difficulty, through some qualitative questionnaires, the calibrated scale for autonomy was developed. The result of qualitative phase showed that factors such as classmates, work conditions, and time have a significant impact on task difficulty, but gender and age have the least influence on it. According to the Learner Autonomy scale, it is divided into three factors Decision-Making, Work-Scheduling, and Work-Methods and learner autonomy can affect learning condition respectively.
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