language mindset

Considering the facilitative role of corrective feedback in language learning, the impact of learners’ noticing on its effectiveness, and the significant contributions of individual attributes in learners’ noticing the corrective feedback, this study is designed to examine how learners’ implicit theories of intelligence (Mindset), an individual attribute, predict their preferences for oral corrective feedback (henceforth, OCF). A total of 143 Iranian EFL learners participated in the study. The participants were assigned to groups of fixed mindset (N=26) and growth mindset (N=26) based on their scores on Language Mindset Inventory (LMI) scale. The data obtained from the questionnaires were analyzed quantitatively. The results indicated that there were significant differences between the fixed-mindset and the growth-mindset groups in their beliefs toward some aspects of OCF. All in all, it can be claimed that language mindset (henceforth, LM) has a significant role in EFL learners’ beliefs about OCF. Pedagogical implications for considering learners’ LM in providing OCF are also discussed.

This study aimed at exploring a host of objectives: it examined whether self-efficacy, learner autonomy, and critical thinking play a significant part in predicting EFL learners'' language mindset. Moreover, it inspected the direct and indirect relationships among all the above-mentioned variables. To achieve these purposes, a correlational survey design was used; survey questionnaires (Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (MSLQ), Learner Autonomy Questionnaire, California Critical Thinking Skills Test (CCTST), and Language Mindsets Inventory (LMI) were administered to more than 700 male and female intermediate EFL learners selected through convenient sampling from several language institutes in Isfahan, Iran, and the required data were collected and statistically analyzed by path analysis in the SmartPLS environment. The obtained results showed that all the variables are partially related to language mindset. However, the significant relationship with mindset was that of self-efficacy. This finding has useful implications for language teachers. Growth mindsets must be captured and modeled by them for the proper implementation of mindset interventions so that learners can understand their flexible capacities as a reflection of their efforts. They can also develop attitudes and behaviors in the learner that will help them succeed in life. Learners who undergo a growth mindset intervention to increase self-efficacy will benefit from greater academic success and commitment to learning.

This study addresses a significant knowledge gap in understanding the effects of task-specific enjoyment and anxiety conditions on the language mindset of Iranian EFL learners in a listening course. Using a quasi-experimental design, 75 male high school students were divided into three groups: a task enjoyment (TE) group, a task anxiety (TA) group, and a control group. The TE group participated in a low-stakes, autonomy-based listening task designed to foster enjoyment, while the TA group completed a high-stakes, evaluative listening task intended to induce anxiety. Data were collected using standardized instruments, including the Foreign Language Enjoyment Scale (FLES), the Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (FLCAS), and the Language Mindset Inventory (LMI). A series of T-tests and ANOVA were conducted to analyze pre- and post-test scores across the three groups. Results showed that the TE group experienced significantly higher levels of task enjoyment and subsequently developed significantly stronger growth-oriented beliefs regarding overall linguistic intelligence and second language learning compared to both the TA and control groups. Conversely, the TA group exhibited significantly higher anxiety levels and a shift toward more fixed language mindsets. No significant differences were found between groups regarding beliefs about age sensitivity in language learning. These findings highlight the importance of considering task-related emotions in language teaching and suggest that fostering enjoyment through autonomy-supportive tasks can promote a growth mindset, while anxiety-inducing tasks may reinforce fixed beliefs about language learning.