The Role of Religious Orientation, Psychological Well-Being, and Self-Esteem in Iranian EFL Learners’ Language Achievement ()
ABSTRACT
The present study aimed at finding the relationship of religious orientation (RO), psychological well-being (PWB), and self-esteem (SE) with language achievement (LA) among Iranian EFL learners. Furthermore, it investigated the predictability of dependent variable (LA) using all independent and predictor variables (RO, PWB, and SE). 126 senior and junior students majoring in English Translation and English Literature at Shahid Bahonar University of Kerman participated in the study. To obtain the required data, three questionnaires were utilized: Allport and Ross’s (1967) Intrinsic-Extrinsic Religious Orientation Scale (IEROS) to measure extrinsic and intrinsic religious orientations, Short Measurement of Psychological Well-Being by Clarke, Marshall, Ryff, and Wheaton (2001) to measure psychological well-being, and finally, The Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale by Rosenberg (1965) to assess self-esteem. Moreover, participants’ GPAs in major courses were used as indicators of their language achievement. For analysis of data, Pearson Product Moment Correlation and Regression analysis were used. The results revealed that there was a significant positive relationship between IRO, PWB, and SE with LA and a significant negative relationship between ERO and LA. Additionally, all the independent variables together could predict LA and accounted for 95 percent of variability of students’ GPA.