Instructional Efficacy of Self-Regulated Learning on Iranian EFL Learners’ Speaking Ability

The aim of the present study was to investigate Iranian EFL learners’ awareness and use of the self-regulated learning strategies to check for the possible effects of such strategies on learners’ speaking ability. The participants in the study were 40 EFL Iranian learners aged 18-20, attending a speaking course in four English language institutes in Shiraz, Iran. The participants were randomly divided into two groups; namely, the control and experimental, each including 20 learners. The students in the experimental group were subjected to the self-regulated learning intervention to promote awareness and use self-regulated learning strategies. In contrast, the control group students were taught using traditional approaches to English speaking with no use of such strategies. However, the content of the instruction was the same for both groups done by the same teacher for 14 consecutive weeks. The instruments used in the study were two comparable IELTS full speaking test, to evaluate the participants’ speaking skills. In addition, the Self-regulation Questionnaire (Brown, Miller, & Lawendowski, 1999) was employed to measure the participants’ awareness and use of selfregulated learning strategies. The results indicated that that there was a significant difference between the performances of the participants in the experimental group on the speaking ability pre-and post-tests; thus, a considerable progress in their speaking ability was observed as a result of their knowledge on how to use self-regulated learning strategies. In addition, the participants in the experimental group employed self-regulated learning strategies more frequently to improve their speaking ability than the participants in the control group. However, there was no significant difference between male and female participants’ use of self-regulated learning strategies.