چکیده:
As the main part of a large-scale project, the present study investigated the relationship among reflective thinking, listening anxiety, and listening comprehension of Iranian EFL learners with regard to their proficiency level. To this end, 223 (106 intermediate and 117 advanced) adult male and female Iranian EFL learners from a private language institute took part in the study by completing the Reflective Thinking Questionnaire (RTQ) developed by Kember et al., (2000), the Foreign Language Listening Anxiety Scale (FLLAS) developed by Kim (2000) and a listening comprehension test selected from the listening part of IELTS. Using factor analysis and Chronbach’s Alpha, the questionnaires were revalidated and their reliability was re-estimated. The results of Pearson product moment correlations indicated there was a statistically significant: (a) positive association between reflective thinking and listening comprehension, (b) reverse correlation between listening anxiety and listening comprehension, and (c) reverse relationship between reflective thinking and listening anxiety of Iranian EFL learners. Furthermore, the results of multiple regression analysis indicated listening anxiety, compared to reflective thinking, was a significantly stronger predictor of listening comprehension. Additionally, the results of MANOVA revealed there was a significant difference between intermediate and advanced EFL learners with respect to their reflective thinking and listening anxiety. In the light of the findings of the study, foreign language education policy makers in general and EFL teachers in particular are thus recommended to introduce ways to enhance reflective thinking of the students and decrease their listening anxiety if they are to improve their listening comprehension. The results and implications of the study are discussed in more detail in the paper.
خلاصه ماشینی:
A. in TEFL, Bu-Ali Sina University, Iran Received: February 10, 2014; Accepted: November 8, 2014 Abstract As the main part of a large-scale project, the present study investigated the relationship among reflective thinking, listening anxiety, and listening comprehension of Iranian EFL learners with regard to their proficiency level.
In the light of the findings of the study, foreign language education policy makers in general and EFL teachers in particular are thus recommended to introduce ways to enhance reflective thinking of the students anddecrease their listening anxiety if they are to improve their listening comprehension.
Thus, taking the above-mentioned significance of listening comprehension into account, considering the necessity to investigate the factors it might be related to or affected by, and taking into account the research gap which is felt to exist in this regard in such EFL contexts as that of the present study, it is deemed essential to find ways to develop learners‟ listening competence in foreign/second language acquisition by removing or reducing such stumbling blocks in the way as anxiety for instance and enhancing such factors as reflective thinking which might contribute to the development of learners‟ listening comprehension.
PURPOSE OF THE STUDY Proceeding from what was stated earlier with regard to the significance of reflective thinking and listening anxiety in relation to listening comprehension and bearing in mind that the variables, taken together, and particularly in terms of language proficiency level of the learners, have been, to our knowledge, little researched in the EFL context of Iran, the present study set out to investigate the issue.