Date of Graduation

7-2015

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy in Curriculum and Instruction (PhD)

Degree Level

Graduate

Department

Curriculum and Instruction

Advisor/Mentor

Felicia Lincoln

Committee Member

Michael K. Daugherty

Second Committee Member

Michael J. Wavering

Third Committee Member

Wen-Juo Lo

Keywords

Education, Academic motivation, English as a second language, Language learning strategy, Second language proficiency, Self-regulated learning, Self regulation training

Abstract

The purposes of the study were to investigate the process of self-regulated learning and the effects of an intervention program on self-regulated learning designed for second language (L2) learners. 120 participants who were sophomores majoring in English education at a university in an Asian country were randomly assigned to either the experimental group or control group. The self-regulated learning intervention was composed of six weekly two-hour training sessions that focus on five main variables of self-regulatory process: goal setting, self-efficacy, time and study environment management, language learning strategies, and attribution. The operation of self-regulated learning processes in the context of L2 learning, and the effectiveness of the self-regulated learning intervention program for L2 learners were investigated and analyzed.

Results of a path analysis reflected Zimmerman’s process model of self-regulation (2000, 2004) and suggested that there are causal influences of self-regulated learning variables across three phases (forethought, performance, and reflection phase) in the context of L2 learning. Furthermore, student self-regulation influences their L2 proficiency via the enhancement of motivational variables. Self-efficacy, time and study environment management skills, and students' learning time affected their L2 proficiencies directly. Intrinsic goal orientation influenced L2 proficiency indirectly through its impact on time and study environment management skills. Attribution affected L2 proficiency indirectly through its impact on learning time. The evaluation of the effectiveness of the intervention included multiple outcome variables, which were grouped into three categories: students' motivational beliefs, students' strategy use, and students' academic performance. The results of the immediate training effects on goal setting, self-efficacy, attribution, time and study environment management, memory strategy, compensation strategy, metacognitive strategy and L2 proficiency confirmed that academic self-regulation is a trainable student characteristic and self-regulation training can be used effectively in a L2 classroom setting. The feature of the current study design allows for systematically examining and evaluating both motivational variables and learning strategies in the context of L2 learning. From a pedagogic point of view, this finding has implications for the design of strategy-based instruction intended to foster students’ self-regulated learning in the L2 classroom.

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