General and Language Self-concept among University Foreign Language Learners

Abstract

Self- concept studies are mostly Psychology- based studies. However, limited work is done in the area of language which focuses on self- concept as an affective factor. The present study explores the general self- concept and English self- concept of students who are studying English as a major and who are studying it as a part of their degree program. Students’ self- concepts are determined at the group as well as gender level. In order to determine the general self- concept, Shevelson’s SDQ111 questionnaire (social, emotional, academic, self-esteem only) was used and to find the general English self- concept, a questionnaire was designed on the pattern of SDQ111, which contained the parts covering four language skills, grammar and phonology. Simple mean values of their scores were taken. The findings of the study revealed that students of non- major group excelled the students of major in all self- concepts except for girls’ English self- concept. Gender differences were quite interesting. In both groups (major & non- major) girls showed higher level of self- concepts than boys. Important implications for future studies are discussed in the end.