The Metacognitive Listening Strategy Preferences of Iranian Learners of the English as a Foreign Language in Relation with their Perceived Self-Efficacy Components

Abstract

The present study sought to investigate the relationship between self-efficacy and the frequency of metacognitive listening strategies (MLS) use of Iranian learners of the English as a Foreign Language (EFL), and to explore any significant relationships between the subscales of self-efficacy and the types of MLS use. A sample of 117 Iranian EFL learners studying at the departments of foreign languages of Kerman universities, namely, Shahid Bahonar and Azad, took part in this study. The participants, including both males and females, were randomly selected from the junior and senior students majoring in English Translation and English Literature. In order to obtain the required data, two questionnaires were utilized: Vandergrift et al.’s (2006) Metacognitive Awareness Listening Questionnaire (MALQ) to measure the type and frequency of metacognitive listening strategies, and Bosscher and Smit’s (1998) General Self-Efficacy Scale (GSES-12) to determine the self-efficacy and its subscales. The findings of this study revealed that first, there was a significant positive relationship between self-efficacy and MLS use (r = .86); second, initiative self-efficacy subscale did not explain any variance of MLS type; third, the subscale effort explained some of the variances of planning and evaluation, person knowledge and mental translation MLS types; fourth, the subscale persistence explained some of the variances of person knowledge, mental translation, and problem solving strategies, and finally, none of the subscales of self-efficacy explained directed any variance of attention MLS use.