Volume 7-2 April 2011.

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Title
A Study on Iranian University Students’ and Teachers’ Beliefs about Language Learning

Authors
Sanaz Ghobadi Mohebi (M.A.)
Islamic Azad University, Mashhad Branch, Mashhad, Iran

Ebrahim Khodadady (Ph.D.)
Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Iran

Bio Data
Sanaz Ghobadi Mohebi, Graduated in Teaching English as a foreign language (M.A) from Ferdowsi University of Mashhad. She is a lecturer at the department of English language, Islamic Azad University, Mashhad Branch, Iran. Her major interest are Teaching English, Language learning, psychology of Language, and Individual Differences.

Ebrahim Khodadady is assistant professor of Applied Linguistics at Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Iran. He has offered undergraduate and graduate courses such as Advanced Writing, Advanced Speaking, Teaching Language Skills, Testing, Research Methods and Principles and Syllabus Design in Canada and Iran. He has published widely in the field.

Abstract
The aim of the study is to investigate beliefs students usually held about language learning, based on the Beliefs About Language Learning Inventory (BALLI) questionnaire (Horwitz, 1988) and comparing them with teachers. For this purpose, 423 Iranian learners of English were selected. Running descriptive statistics and the scree plot test, five factors were extracted: Formal Learning and Motivation for English Learning, Learner’s Confidence in Learning English, Strategy and Attitude in Learning English, Aptitude and Strategy in Learning English, and the Importance of English and Formal Learning. Evidence of the relative similarities and significant differences between teachers’ and learners’ beliefs about language learning on nine items was provided. The findings of the current study suggest that teachers should be aware of learners’ beliefs as well as their own in order to assist less successful language learners.

Keywords: BALLI, Beliefs about language learning, Learners’ beliefs, Teachers’ beliefs.