The title of the paper is "Prediction of English as Foreign Language Courses’ Grades." The primary focus of this study is to explore how well Ajzen’s Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) can predict the grades that students will receive in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) courses. The research question revolves around understanding the extent to which students' attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control influence their intentions and, subsequently, their academic performance in EFL courses.
The purpose of the study is to assess whether TPB can serve as a reliable framework for predicting EFL course grades. The scope of the research includes examining the attitudes of students and those around them, their self-efficacy, and how these factors collectively influence their academic outcomes in a Saudi Arabian university context.
The methodology employed in the study is a mixed-method approach. The researchers distributed a questionnaire based on TPB to 380 students enrolled in prerequisite EFL courses at a university in Saudi Arabia. The questionnaire was administered at the beginning of the semester, and the students' grades were collected at the end. The data were analyzed using both quantitative and qualitative methods, including Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) through AMOS statistical software to validate the TPB model.
The key findings indicate that TPB is a valid model for predicting students' grades in EFL courses. The students' intentions, heavily influenced by their attitudes and the perceptions of important people around them, significantly impacted their academic performance. Additionally, self-efficacy was found to play a role, albeit to a lesser extent. The study also uncovered other factors influencing grades, such as cognitive abilities, curriculum design, student responsibilities, motivation, teaching methods, awareness, and testing conditions, suggesting that future models should consider these additional variables.
The study concludes that while TPB is effective in predicting EFL course grades, incorporating other factors could enhance the predictive power of such models. The findings underscore the importance of considering cultural contexts, such as the collectivist culture of Saudi Arabia, where the attitudes and expectations of family and peers play a significant role in shaping students' academic intentions and outcomes. The study recommends further research to refine predictive models and suggests that mixed methods provide a more comprehensive understanding of the factors influencing EFL learners' grades.