Fichas de atención y prevención de contingencias

Focusing on English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learner self-concept, Lau et al. (1999) investigated self-concept of university students in Hong Kong. Their study showed that the four skills (reading, writing, listening and speaking) can be adequately represented by a single global EFL learner self-concept construct. Although they find that students can and do discriminate between the four skills, they concluded that the inter- correlations between the four factors is strong enough to be accounted for by a single global higher-order factor suggesting the appropriacy of a separate domain for EFL. However, their work was performed using a fixed item questionnaire adapted from Marsh’s Academic Self-Description Questionnaire (ASDQ) in which school subjects were replaced by skill area items. The questionnaire focused on speaking, writing, listening and reading, without allowing for any other aspects of foreign language learning to be considered separately, e.g., pronunciation, vocabulary and grammar, and the items used were expressed in rather broad, general, holistic terms.

Study of self-concept and its relation to FL was also performed by Qiang & Huili (2007), who investigated the relationship between self-concept with listening, reading, writing, and speaking skills of English learners in China. They showed that there was a link between self-concept with the English performance, in which those who have a positive self-concept also have considerable achievement compared to those who do not have it in listening, speaking, reading, and writing. The research analyzed the students´ self-concept of pronunciation and how it related to their achievement in English. There were 453 students who participated in the study. This study shows that both General English self-concept and English Pronunciation self-concept correlate significantly with English achievement and English related self-concepts. In addition, students with higher levels of English self-concept were attributed to relatively higher English achievement. Furthermore, the findings reveal gender differences in academic achievement and different self-concept domains.

In addition, Yang’s study (2006) revealed that there was a significant correlation between general English self-concept and English pronunciation self-concept with

English achievement and English related self-concept. Likewise, students with higher levels of English self-concept could be attributed to relatively higher English achievement. He also emphasized that there were gender differences in academic achievement and different self-concept domains. Furthermore, Tang, Zang, Li, & Zao (2013) confirmed that English pronunciation self-concept correlated significantly with the global English self-concept and the latter exhibited a relatively high correlation to English performance, as shown from test scores. These findings suggest that language learners’ self-concept toward pronunciation is one of the most key factors which facilitates or prevents FL learning.

Mustafa ER (2012) carried out an investigation in search of the correlation between FL self-concept and reading comprehension test achievement and the effects of cooperative learning techniques on FL self-concept. This research was carried out through an experimental design with experimental and control groups, where 182 male students were participants. They enrolled in general English language courses in a two- year vocational college in Turkey. The experimental group of students were engaged in cooperative learning techniques whereas in the control groups, students were exposed to traditional lecture methods. He concluded that there was no correlation between the Reading Comprehension Test Achievement and FL Self-Concept. Furthermore, he stated that experimental practices, i.e. cooperative learning activities, did not have positive effects on FL self-concept.

Yoshida (2013) examined how Japanese language learners’ self-concepts in the language learning domain are constructed and how they relate to learners’ spontaneous speech in Japanese in the classroom. Data was collected from four students’ diary writing and interviews alongside in-class observation and sound recording. Three learners at first avoided communicating in Japanese in class because of fear of committing an error, and this did not help the development of positive self-concepts. Nonetheless, their self-concept did progressively turn out to be more positive through their experiences of speaking in Japanese with their classmate and getting over their awkwardness when they made mistakes. The other student, who at that point felt

positive about her talking competence, found that interactions in Japanese with her classmates were not useful for the development of her speaking skill. The results of the study showed that this student’s confidence did not decrease, but her self-concept did not turn out to be more positive.

Arnaiz & Guillen (2012) explored three of the five dimensions of self-concept, namely the academic, social and emotional dimensions. They examined individual differences in the self-concept of 216 participants in a Spanish university. Their language levels in English ranged from B1 to C1. The participants were English language learners who were asked to complete the Self-concept Scale Form 5-AF5. Self- concept levels both generally and in the academic, social and emotional dimensions were determined, and the relationship between self-concept and gender, age, mark and language level, was identified. The results spotlight the connection of this sort of study for informing language learning research.