THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN METACOGNITIVE AWARENESS AND SELF-EFFICACY AND THEIR EFFECTS ON TEST PERFORMANCE OF IRANIAN EFL LEARNERS

This study investigated the relationship between metacognitive awareness and self-efficacy of Iranian learners studying English as a foreign language. It also investigated the possible effects of participants’ self-efficacy and metacognitive awareness on their language test performance. 39 Iranian EFL learners studying English as a foreign language participated in this study. They were at intermediate level and included both male and female learners. All participants were asked to complete a metacognitive awareness inventory and a self-efficacy scale. The participants were divided into three groups (low, average, and high) based on self-efficacy score and the score of metacognitive awareness. The achievement of learners was investigated through their performance on final exam. The findings showed that a) learners’ metacognitive awareness and self-efficacy significantly affected their language performance; b) there was a significant correlation between learners’ metacognitive awareness and their self-efficacy. The findings of the present study demonstrated the role of metacognitive awareness and self-efficacy in EFL learners’ learning process and their language performance. Having belief in one’s capability to perform the language task and metacognitively aware of one’s own learning can help learners to improve their performance.