Scrutinizing the Roles of EFL Learners’ Reflection, Autonomy, Grit, and Foreign Language Engagement in their Call-based Emotional Beliefs

Nabizade, Aysun; Ahangaran, Farnoush; Pouyan, Aram

doi:10.22034/iepa.2026.565230.1562

Scrutinizing the Roles of EFL Learners’ Reflection, Autonomy, Grit, and Foreign Language Engagement in their Call-based Emotional Beliefs

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

Aysun Nabizade ¹

Farnoush Ahangaran ¹

Aram Pouyan ²

¹ Department of English Language and Literature, Ur.C., Islamic Azad University, Urmia, Iran.

² Department of English Language and Literature, Urmieh University, Pardis Campus, Iran.

https://doi.org/10.22034/iepa.2026.565230.1562

Abstract

Objective: This study investigated the roles of reflection, autonomy, grit, and Foreign Language Engagement (FLE) in predicting emotional beliefs (EBs) of male and female EFL learners in Computer-Assisted Language Learning (CALL) courses, as well as the role of gender differences in learners’ EBs.
Method: A total of 234 intermediate-level EFL learners (109 male, 125 female) from a language institute in Urmia, Iran, participated in the study. Participants completed some standardized questionnaires over a five-week period using Google Forms as follows: The Emotional Beliefs Questionnaire (Becerra et al., 2020), Reflection Questionnaire (Kember et al., 2000), Learner Autonomy Questionnaire (Lee, 2011), Grit Questionnaire (Teimouri et al., 2020), and Foreign Language Engagement (FLE) Questionnaire (Eerdemutu et al., 2024). Their English proficiency was ensured using the Oxford Placement Test (Allan, 2004). Multiple regression analyses were conducted separately for male and female learners, and an independent samples t-test was used to explore gender differences.
Results: For male learners, reflection and grit were the strongest predictors of emotional beliefs whereas for female learners, autonomy and FLE were the main predictors. Female learners also reported significantly higher levels of EBs compared to those of males in CALL courses.
Conclusions: The findings suggest that emotional beliefs in CALL environments are shaped by distinct gender-specific factors: self-regulation and perseverance for males, and autonomy and engagement for females. These results underscore the importance of gender-sensitive pedagogical strategies and indicate that fostering reflection, grit, autonomy, and engagement can enhance learners’ emotional development in technology-mediated language learning.

Keywords

Autonomy

Computer-Assisted Language Learning

Emotional Beliefs

Foreign Language Engagement

Grit

Reflection

Subjects

Language Psychology

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