L2 Achievement

This study was designed to explore the relation pattern of cultural intelligence, cultural identity, autonomy, and self-efficacy and second language achievement of Iranian EFL learners. The participants were 247 undergraduate students. Data were collected nationwide, from different parts of Iran; that is, from Kerman, south of Iran; Hamadan, west of Iran; Mashhad, east of Iran; and Gorgon, north of Iran. The participants' ages ranged from 18 to 26 and they were mostly juniors and seniors. They completed the following questionnaires: Cultural Intelligence Questionnaire (Ang, et al., 2007), Cultural Identity Clarity Scale (Usborne & Taylor, 2010), Learner Autonomy Questionnaire (Cotterall, 1995, 1999) and Self-Efficacy Questionnaire (Pinitrich, Smith, Garcia & Mckeachie, 1991). The participants’ GPA of three general English courses were considered as their second language achievement. Responses from questionnaires were collected through convenience sampling. The design of the study is based on path analysis. After data collection, the hypothesized model was tested by AMOSE program. The results demonstrated that the variables under study could strongly predict EFL learners' L2 achievement. L2 achievement may largely depend on students’ cultural intelligence, cultural identity, autonomy and self-efficacy. Also, it was reported that autonomy was the strongest predictor of EFL learners’ L2 achievement.

The present study investigated the impact of language learning strategy instruction on the enhancement of less successful Iranian English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners’ L2 achievement. To this end, 40 less successful EFL students took part in the study, 20 of whom were trained based on CALLA (Cognitive Academic Language Learning Approach) and the rest formed the control group. A complete TOEFL PBT test was administered to the 40 participants of the study to homogenize them in terms of language proficiency.The results of two independent samples t-tests and two separate paired samples t-tests indicated that explicit strategy instruction had a significant positive impact on L2 achievement of less successful Iranian EFL learners as the participants in the experimental group significantly outperformed their counterparts in the control group. The results of the current study might contribute to the educational policymakers, materials writers, syllabus designers, curriculum developers, and foreign language teachers to incorporate learning strategies in their policies, curricula, syllabi, materials, and instructional tasks if they intend to boost EFL learners’ L2 achievement.

The idea that individual characteristics impact the language learning process has led scholars to consider various aspects in relation to learners and their learning. The current study explored the associations among EFL learners’ language learning strategy use, instrumental motivation, self-efficacy, self-regulation, autonomy, and L2 achievement. To do this, 220 Iranian EFL learners (95 males and 125 females) took part in the study by filling out five questionnaires related to the abovementioned variables. The learners’ GPAs were also collected and adjusted and regarded as their L2 achievement. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was performed to examine the causal relationships among the variables. The results showed that the use of language learning strategies, self-efficacy, and autonomy were significant positive predictors of L2 achievement. However, instrumental motivation and self-regulation did not predict L2 achievement. Furthermore, L2 achievement had the highest positive association with autonomy and the lowest positive association with self-regulation. The results are discussed in detail and the implications are presented.

The identification of the cognitive, affective, social and even physiological factors affecting second or foreign language learning routes and rate has for long been a challenging aspiration for second language researchers. However, a recent preoccupation of the researchers in this area has been the study of the combinatorial impacts of such factors on second or foreign language learning processes and products. As a partial undertaking in this regard, this study investigated the relations pattern among some psychological and cognitive variables and foreign language learning achievement rate. The studied factors were self-regulation, goal-orientation, tolerance of ambiguity, and autonomy on the one hand and English as Foreign Language (EFL) learners’ ultimate achievement on the other hand. To this end, 250 Iranian BA level EFL students majoring English literature or English translation were selected based on convenience sampling procedure. Next, having obtained the participants' informed consent to participate in the study, the researchers administered Trait Self-Regulation Questionnaire (TSRQ), Goal Orientation, Tolerance of Ambiguity, and Learner Autonomy scales to them. In addition, concerning their L2 achievement rate measure, their BA level general English courses' GPA was obtained from the education office of the related universities. The data were statistically analyzed and the hypothetical model of interrelations among the given variables was tested using Structural Equation Modeling procedures. The results indicated that goal orientation and self-regulation significantly predicted L2 achievement; however, tolerance of ambiguity and learner autonomy were not found as strong predictors of L2 achievement. On the other hand, while self-regulation strongly predicted goal orientation, it was not verified to be a strong predictor of tolerance of ambiguity. The results also showed that goal orientation could strongly predict learner autonomy. A ready-made implication of the findings might be that the combinatorial effects of the psychological variables on cognitive processes like second language learning is quite complicated and different from the effects of each individual variable.