English as a Foreign Language Elementary Learners’ Perceptions of Classroom Physical Environment with Regard to Structural vs. Symbolic Features

Abstract

ABSTRACT Classroom physical environment has been widely researched over the past few decades. In this respect, more recent attention has focused on the provision of structural and symbolic features; however, no study has been conducted to compare the structural and symbolic features of classroom physical environment in English as a foreign language (EFL) elementary learners’ classrooms. To this end, 100 EFL elementary learners were recruited to participate in this study. They were assigned to two kinds of classrooms: Classroom A included both structural and symbolic features, but Classroom B only included structural features. The structural features were subsumed into lighting, acoustics, seating, and thermal comfort. The symbolic features were ornamental materials (e.g., posters, colorful balloons, and ropes of English numbers and letters) and two types of classroom layout (i.e., U-shaped and orderly row). The participants were required to complete a 22-item questionnaire with answers that ranged from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). The results indicated that both sorts of features seemed to be highly important for elementary learners; however, according to the learners’ views, the symbolic features were considered to be of higher importance. The findings also revealed that lack of symbolic features significantly affected learners’ opinions about structural features.