Abstract

In recent years, learner-centered teaching has emphasized the demand for making healthy environment where learners’ preferences, interests, personal experiences, cultural backgrounds and lifestyles are taken into account when making decisions about various characteristics of language learning/teaching The choice of topics, which are used in EFL discussion classes, is considered to play an important role in learners’ propensity to engage in a negotiation for meaning. This study was aimed to investigate the perception of Textbook-Assigned and Self-Selected Topics of Iranian male EFL Learners: topic interest, topic familiarity, topic importance, and topic difficulty based on correlational design. It was carried out with 200 male Intermediate EFL learners who were selected by convenience sampling. Although most teachers might be aware of the importance of a good assessment strategy on the topic interest and topic familiarity, rarely do they use it for topic importance and topic difficulty. The results of the study showed that Iranian male EFL learners mostly preferred the topics to be more interesting and familiar in both textbook-assigned (M = 3.1259, SD = .21553, Sig = .000) and self-selected topics (M = 4.0531, SD = .13334, Sig = .000). In addition, there was a significant difference between the learners’ perceptions of textbook-assigned and self-selected topics in terms of interest and familiarity, but less difference in terms of importance and difficulty. The findings of the study indicated that learners’ selection of their own topics can provide the potential implications for their willingness to participate in second and foreign language learning and take responsibility for their own learning process.

Highlights

  • An increase in employing learner-centered approaches to language education in the world, attention was led to learners’ perception of their learning needs and to their preferred learning styles (Benson, 2007; Beschorner & Woodward, 2020)

  • This study addresses the following research questions: 1. How do Iranian English as a foreign language (EFL) male learners generally view textbook-assigned topics based on the four dimensions of topic interest, topic familiarity, topic importance, and topic difficulty?

  • How do Iranian EFL male learners generally view self-selected topics based on the four dimensions of topic interest, topic familiarity, topic importance, and topic difficulty?

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Summary

Introduction

An increase in employing learner-centered approaches to language education in the world, attention was led to learners’ perception of their learning needs and to their preferred learning styles (Benson, 2007; Beschorner & Woodward, 2020). To maximize the value of second or foreign instruction, previous researchers have noted the need to address mismatches in the perceptions, attitudes, and beliefs of teachers and learners concerning classroom aims and events (Barkhuizen, 1998; Kumaravadivelu, 1991; Matsuyama, Nakaya, Okazaki, Lebowitz, Leppink, & Van Der Vleuten, 2019). Tunalı stated that self-directed learner has the ability to make their choices about what and how to learn. According to Benson (2003) and Bonyadi (2014) self-confidence of learners is as an important factor which makes them make decisions about their language learning

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