The Relationship between Language Learning Strategies, Language Learning Beliefs, Motivation, and Proficiency: A Study of EFL Learners in Iran

Abstract

Since the emergence of strategy research in the 1970s many issues have been examined. One of these areas which has been favored in recent years is related to answering questions like ‘what variables are related to the choice and the use of learner strategies?’ and ‘How strong is the influence of a certain variable?’ As thus, the purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between strategy use on the one hand and three other variables (motivation, proficiency, and learners’ beliefs) on the other hand. The participants of this study were homogenized in terms of age, gender, and major and were required to fill out three questionnaires and complete a TOEFL test. The first was the Strategy-Inventory for Language Learning (SILL) developed by R. Oxford (1990) to identify the general strategies ESL/EFL learners use. The second was the Beliefs about Language Learning Inventory (BALLI) developed by Horwitz (1988). This study also adopts Schmidt and Watanabe’s (2001) model of language learning motivation. Finally, the Coefficient-Correlation was estimated to identify the relationship between the aforementioned variables in relation to strategy use. The results indicate that Persian students do use a number of language learning strategies, but that they show distinct preferences for particular types of strategies. The findings also reveal a positive relationship between strategy use and motivation, proficiency, and language learning beliefs. These results may be used in the future to inform pedagogy.