The paper titled "Exploring the Unknown: The Autonomy of Saudi EFL Learners" by Fakieh Alrabai focuses on investigating the level of autonomy among Saudi students learning English as a foreign language (EFL) and its relationship with their academic achievement. The study addresses a significant gap in the research concerning learner autonomy within the Saudi context, where such investigations have been scarce.
The purpose of the study is to assess the degree of autonomy that Saudi EFL learners exhibit and to explore how this autonomy correlates with their performance in learning English. The study specifically examines the students' autonomous behaviors and their academic outcomes, with an additional focus on potential gender differences in these aspects.
Methodologically, the study utilized a questionnaire and standardized achievement tests to gather data from 630 Saudi EFL learners across various educational levels and regions. The autonomy questionnaire was administered in Arabic to ensure that language barriers did not affect the responses. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, t-tests, and correlation analyses to examine the relationships between learner autonomy, academic achievement, and gender.
The key findings reveal that Saudi EFL learners exhibit low levels of autonomy, with a mean autonomy score of 2.35 out of 5. This finding indicates that these learners are generally non-autonomous in their approach to learning English. Additionally, their average achievement score was low, at 66 out of 100, further underscoring their challenges in mastering the language. The study also found a significant positive correlation between autonomy and achievement, suggesting that students with higher levels of autonomy tend to perform better academically. Gender differences were also significant, with female students showing slightly higher autonomy and achievement levels compared to their male counterparts.
In conclusion, the study highlights the critical need to promote learner autonomy within the Saudi EFL context. The findings emphasize the importance of raising both learners' and educators' awareness of the role of autonomy in language learning. The study calls for practical measures, such as learner training and teacher development programs, to foster an environment where autonomy can thrive, ultimately leading to improved academic outcomes. The research also suggests that future studies should explore the causal relationship between autonomy and achievement using longitudinal designs and mixed-method approaches to provide a more comprehensive understanding of these dynamics.