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The goal of critical thinking for students is to help them learn how to think critically and systematically so they can solve problems and make informed decisions. It aids students in developing their capacity for independent thought, allowing them to generate their own conclusions and base those decisions on facts and evidence. Therefore, one of the key goals of this study was to explore the factors affecting critical thinking of English as foreign language (EFL) learners. This article used social cognitive theory (SCT) to investigate how personal and cognitive factors affect EFL learners' critical thinking. Data from 305 Chinese EFL learners were collected online, and structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to evaluate the data. The results showed that metacognitive learning strategies (MLS) were positively related to critical thinking and that self-efficacy, selforiented learning perfectionism, and learner anxiety were significantly related to MLS. Moreover, MLS mediated the link between self-efficacy, self-oriented learning perfectionism, learner anxiety, and critical thinking. The findings further indicated that learner proactivity moderated the association between MLS and critical thinking. By applying social cognitive theory to examine the variables influencing EFL learners' critical thinking, this study adds uniqueness. It does this by emphasizing the moderating influence of learner proactivity and the mediating function of metacognitive learning strategies. The findings of the research have significant ramifications for educators since they emphasize how vital it is to support metacognitive strategies for learning in order to improve EFL learners' critical thinking abilities. Additionally, to create an atmosphere that is favorable for the development of critical thinking skills in EFL education, policymakers should think about implementing support systems and interventions that focus on learner anxiety, learner proactivity, and self-efficacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Anxiety, which is seen as a barrier in the language learning process by many teachers and researchers, prevents learners from learning effectively. Also, determining the impacts of negative feelings on the language learning process is quite important for teachers since these feelings may be a mental block for the learners by preventing them from using the comprehensible input, they get. Although there are numerous studies on the impact of anxiety levels in language classrooms and on the reasons that might cause anxiety, there are relatively fewer studies on teachers' impact on the anxiety level of learners' speaking. Also, foreign language classroom anxiety has been studied deeply, yet speaking anxiety and its reasons related to foreign language teachers were not investigated sufficiently. Therefore, this study aims to explore the role of teachers on the anxiety level of university preparatory school learners' speaking skills. For this study, a quantitative research design with the help of an online questionnaire, which was administered to the university preparatory learners studying at a state university based in Ankara, was used. 226 participants from different age ranges and academic majors participated in the study. Based on the data analysis, the research presented here showed how teachers can increase or decrease the anxiety level of foreign language learners especially while they are speaking the target language. The results show that there is a strong relationship between the teacher and learners' speaking anxiety. Depending on the rapport between learners and teachers, the level of different feelings in the classroom has been changing. Furthermore, female, and male learners differ in terms of their anxiety level while speaking English. However, there is not a significant difference between the anxiety levels of learners and their age or academic majors. Based on this, the findings can contribute to a better learning environment with lower affective filters by revealing the relationship between the teacher and learners' anxiety levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study tries to investigate the implementation of classroom dynamics and its impact on learner anxiety and on the development of the learners' autonomy in a collaborative EFL learning environment. To this aim, classroom dynamics and learning anxiety inventories were completed on 240 EFL learners. The results of Pearson correlation analysis revealed that classroom dynamics developed a sense of collaboration among the learners implying learner autonomy to EFL learning. The results also indicated that classroom dynamics was highly applied in learners' collaborative EFL learning and accelerated learners' performance in the EFL classroom. The findings also revealed that classroom dynamics is remarkably associated with learner autonomy and to the minimization of the factors associated with learners' anxiety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The demanding task of language learning necessitates great efforts on the part of the learners. In the process of learning, some learners are overawed by language anxiety via setting some unreasonable standards. Different factors influence a learner’s anxiety one of which is educational level of the learner. In this respect, this study sought to investigate the effects of educational level on learner anxiety. To this end, both learner’s educational qualifications and parents’ qualification were considered and their influences were measured on the learner anxiety. 150 students were involved who attended some language institutes in Shiraz, Iran. The participants were asked to fill in the Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety questionnaire. The statistical analysis applied in this study was Multivariate of Analysis (MANOVA) and the pertinent data were analyzed using SPSS version 22. It came to light that participants with different levels of education and different mother’s educational levels did not differ in their anxiety level. In other words, neither learner education nor his or her parents’ education had any significant effects on the learner anxiety. Delving into factors which may hamper successful language learning is not only worthwhile but also promising and learner anxiety is one of them.

Highlights • Motivation to be multilingual correlates positively with competitiveness. • Non-Arab expatriate adolescents do not show a strong desire to learn Arabic. • English does not cause negative interference when learning LOTEs. • Motivation to learn an L4 draws mostly from visions of an ideal future self. Abstract This study uses the L2 Motivational Self System framework to explore the motivational profiles of 114 non-Arab expatriate teenagers attending UK curriculum schools in the United Arab Emirates. The study specifically investigates their motivational self concepts as these relate to the simultaneous learning of English, Arabic and, in some instances, an additional foreign language. The results of the study indicate that while participants are most motivated to learn English, this does not have a negative effect on their motivation to learn languages other than English (LOTEs). The findings also suggest that competitiveness positively correlates with an individual's motivation to be multilingual. As for Arabic, the study shows that participants approach its study in mostly functional terms, and are not particularly interested in Arabic media or culture. Parental influence also does not appear to be an important motivating factor with respect to participants' decision to learn LOTEs. This study not only sheds light on the language learning motivations of expatriate teenagers in the Gulf, especially with respect to Arabic, but it also contributes to research on motivation as it concerns the learning of languages other than English. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The goal of critical thinking for students is to help them learn how to think critically and systematically so they can solve problems and make informed decisions. It aids students in developing their capacity for independent thought, allowing them to generate their own conclusions and base those decisions on facts and evidence. Therefore, one of the key goals of this study was to explore the factors affecting critical thinking of English as foreign language (EFL) learners. This article used social cognitive theory (SCT) to investigate how personal and cognitive factors affect EFL learners' critical thinking. Data from 305 Chinese EFL learners were collected online, and structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to evaluate the data. The results showed that metacognitive learning strategies (MLS) were positively related to critical thinking and that self-efficacy, self-oriented learning perfectionism, and learner anxiety were significantly related to MLS. Moreover, MLS mediated the link between self-efficacy, self-oriented learning perfectionism, learner anxiety, and critical thinking. The findings further indicated that learner proactivity moderated the association between MLS and critical thinking. By applying social cognitive theory to examine the variables influencing EFL learners' critical thinking, this study adds uniqueness. It does this by emphasizing the moderating influence of learner proactivity and the mediating function of metacognitive learning strategies. The findings of the research have significant ramifications for educators since they emphasize how vital it is to support metacognitive strategies for learning in order to improve EFL learners' critical thinking abilities. Additionally, to create an atmosphere that is favorable for the development of critical thinking skills in EFL education, policymakers should think about implementing support systems and interventions that focus on learner anxiety, learner proactivity, and self-efficacy., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2023 Fu, Ding, Nie and Zaigham.)

Research indicates that approximately 50% of foreign language learners experience some form of anxiety in the learning process, and that learning and teaching styles in particular are possible sources of language anxiety (LA). This article is based on a study designed to identify the relationship that exists between teaching styles and their varying effects on anxiety levels among non-native pre-service EFL teachers (NNPSETs). Teaching styles were identified according to the Grasha–Riechmann Teaching Style Survey (1996) while learner anxiety was measured through the Foreign Language Class Anxiety Scale (FLCAS) developed by Horwitz, Horwitz, and Cope (1986). Results suggest that certain teaching styles or style clusters seem to provoke more anxiety, especially when accompanied by other factors such as gender, grade point average and past performance. This article discusses the need for an increased awareness among teachers concerning LA and how particular teaching styles can either hinder or facilitate language learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]