Investigating the Relationship between English-major Students’ Learning Autonomy and their Self-Evaluated Motivation

Abstract

This study investigated the possibility of using English-major students’ learning autonomy as a predictor for their self-evaluated motivation. It also examined self-practice as a predictor for attitudes towards learning autonomy. The self-practice focused on the extent of employing mobile electronic devices in English learning. The necessary quantitative data were those from the questionnaire responses of 55 Vietnamese undergraduates. Cronbach’s alpha scale analyses showed the whole questionnaire and its parts to reach acceptable reliabilities. Principal component analysis of students’ attitudes towards learning autonomy led to two factors, and that of actual practice also resulted in two. Pearson coefficients demonstrated a statistically significant relationship between learners’ self-evaluated motivation and their attitudes towards learning autonomy and self-practice. Regression analyses confirmed that students’ self-evaluated motivation, some factors of their attitudes towards learning autonomy and self-practice were predictors for the other of these three constructs. The finding of this study was helpful for a further understanding of the intricate relationship between EFL learners’ motivation and autonomy.