An Investigation into the Impact of Multidimensional Perfectionism on Second Language Listening Comprehension through the Mediating Roles of General Self-efficacy and Metacognitive Listening Strategies: A Multicategorical Multiple Mediation Analysis

Document Type : Research Article

Authors

• Mohammad Hasn Razmi
• Ali Akbar Jabbari

Department of English, Yazd University, Yazd, Iran

https://doi.org/10.22067/lts.v54i2.87131

Abstract

 
The present investigation set out to examine the impact of multidimensional perfectionism on second language listening comprehension through the mediating effects of self-efficacy and metacognitive listening strategies within the Complex Dynamic Systems Approach. To this end, a total of 117 junior and senior EFL students completed the measures of perfectionism, self-efficacy, five distinct types of metacognitive listening strategies, and the IELTS listening comprehension test. Having gathered the data, cluster analysis was used to identify the perfectionism clusters (adaptive, maladaptive and non-perfectionist). Following a multicategorical multiple mediation analysis, the direct, relative indirect, and total effects of perfectionism on listening comprehension were analyzed to probe the postulated hypotheses of the study. Findings showed that perfectionism exerted direct effects on self-efficacy, three metacognitive strategies (person knowledge, mental translation, and problem solving). The direct effects of perfectionism on listening comprehension and planning and evaluation and directed attention strategies were not significant. Self-efficacy also exhibited significant direct effects on person knowledge and listening comprehension. In terms of relative indirect effects, the mediation analysis was significant and while perfectionism did not show a direct effect on listening comprehension, the relative indirect effects as well as the relative total effects through self-efficacy and metacognitive strategies were significant. Therefore, the inclusion of mediating variables made a significant contribution to the relationship between perfectionism and listening comprehension. The instructional implications of the study are discussed too.

Keywords

• Multidimensional Perfectionism
• General Self-Efficacy
• Metacognitive Listening Strategies
• Cluster Analysis
• Multidicategorical Multiple Mediation Analysis
• Complex Dynamic Systems Approach

20.1001.1.22285202.1400.54.2.5.4

References

امیری، م.، قنسولی، ب.، و قپانچی، ض. (1397). عملکرد زبان‌آموزان ایرانی در آزمون تافل: بررسی نقش دو راهبرد. مطالعات زبان و ترجمه، 51(2), 51-74.

فتحی، ج.، و درخشان، ع. (1397). تأثیر آموزش راهبردمحور بر خودکارآمدی و اضطراب مهارت نگارش در بین زبان‌آموزان ایرانی. مطالعات زبان و ترجمه، 51(4), 139-161.

Amini, D., & Shamlou, M. (2014). Effect of metacognitive strategy training and perfectionism on listening comprehension sub-processes. The Journal of Applied Linguistics and Discourse Analysis, 2(2), 11-20.

Authentic IELTS Examination Papers from Cambridge ESOL examinations. (2013). Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press.

Bandura, A. (1986). Social foundations of thought and action: A social cognitive theory. New Jersey, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Bandura, A. (1997). Self-efficacy: The exercise of control. New York, NY: W.H. Freeman.

Barabadi, E., & Khajavy, G. H. (2020). Perfectionism and foreign language achievement: The mediating role of emotions and achievement goals. Studies in Educational Evaluation, 65, 1-14.

Bosscher, R. J., & Smith, J. H. (1998). Confirmatory factor analysis of the general self-efficacy scale. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 36(3), 339-343.

Deuling, J. K., & Burns, L. (2017). Perfectionism and work-family conflict: Self-esteem and self-efficacy as mediator. Personality and Individual Differences, 116, 326–330.

Dörnyei. Z., & Ryan, S. (2015). The psychology of the language learner revisited. New York, NY: Routledge.

Flavell, J. H. (1979). Metacognition and cognitive monitoring: A new area of cognitive development enquiry. American Psychologist, 34(10), 906-911.

Flett, G. L., Hewitt, P. L., Su, C., & Flett, K. D. (2016). Perfectionism in language learners: Review, conceptualization, and recommendations for teachers and school psychologists. Canadian Journal of School Psychology, 31(2), 75-101.

Frost, R. O., Marten, P. A., Lahart, C., & Rosenblate, R. (1990). The dimensions of perfectionism. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 14(5), 449-468.

GhorbanDordinejad, F., & Farjad Nasab, A. H. (2013). Examination of the relationship between perfectionism and English achievement as mediated by foreign language classroom anxiety. Asia Pacific Education Review, 14)4), 603-614.

Gnilka, P. B., & Novakovic, A. (2017). Gender differences in STEM students’ perfectionism, career search self-efficacy, and perception of career barriers. Journal of Counseling & Development, 95(1), 56-66.

Goh, C. C. M. (2019). Comprehending speech genres for the listening classroom. In X. Gao (Ed.), Second handbook of English language teaching, Springer international handbooks of education (pp. 1-13). Cham, Switzerland: Springer International Publishing.

Goh, C. C. M., & Hu, G. (2014). Exploring the relationship between metacognitive awareness and listening performance with questionnaire data. Language Awareness, 23(3), 255-274.

Goudarzi, E., Ghonsooly, B., & Pishghadam, R. (2014). An exploration of the interrelationships among EFL learners’ English self-efficacy, metacognitive awareness, and their test performance. Pragmatics & Cognition, 22)3), 25–339.

Graham, S. (2011). Self-efficacy and academic listening. Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 10(2), 113–117.

Gregersen, T., & Horwitz, E. K. (2002). Language learning and perfectionism: Anxious and non-anxious language learners’ reactions to their own oral performance. The Modern Language Journal, 86(4), 562-570.

Hawkins, C. C. (2005). The nature of perfectionism and its academic implications for secondary school students (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia.

Hayes, A. F. (2018).  Introduction to mediation, moderation, and conditional process analysis. (2nd Ed.). New York, NY: The Guilford Press. 

Hewitt, P. L., & Flett, G. L. (1991). Perfectionism in the self and social contexts: Conceptualization, assessment, and association with psychopathology. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 60(3), 456–470.

Jones, B. K. (2016). Enduring in an “impossible” occupation: Perfectionism and commitment to teaching. Journal of Teacher Education, 67(5), 437–446.

Liu, M., & Jackson, J. (2008). An exploration of Chinese EFL learners’ unwillingness to communicate and foreign language anxiety. The Modern Language Journal, 92(1), 71-86.

Mahmoodi-Shahrebabaki, M. (2017). The effect of perfectionism on burnout among English language teachers: the mediating role of anxiety. Teachers and Teaching, 23(1), 91-105.

Matthews, J. (2018). Vocabulary for listening: Emerging evidence for high and mid-frequency vocabulary knowledge. System, 72, 23-36.

Matthews, J., & Cheng, J. (2015). Recognition of high frequency words from speech as a predictor of L2 listening comprehension. System, 52, 1-13.

Mills, J. S., & Blankstein, K. R. (2000). Perfectionism, intrinsic vs extrinsic motivation, and motivated strategies for learning: A multidimensional analysis of university students. Personality and Individual Differences, 29(6), 1191-1204.

Moradan, A., Kazenian, E., & Niroo, Z. (2013). The relationship between perfectionism and listening comprehension among EFL students of Kerman University. International Journal of Linguistics & Communication, 1(1), 8-16.

Pishghadam, R., & Akhoondpoor, F. (2011). Learner perfectionism and its role in foreign language learning success, academic achievement, and learner anxiety. Journal of Language Teaching and Research, 2(2), 432-440.

Rahimi, M., & Abedi, S. (2014). The relationship between listening self-efficacy and metacognitive awareness of listening strategies. Procedia-Social and Behavior Sciences, 98, 1454–1460.

Razmi, M. H., Rastegar, M. (2012). The Metacognitive listening strategy preferences of Iranian learners of the English as a foreign language in relation with their perceived self-efficacy components. International Journal of Psychology, 6(1), 99-117.

Seo, E. H. (2008). Self-efficacy as a mediator in the relationship between self-oriented perfectionism and academic procrastination. Social Behavior and Personality: An International Journal, 36(6), 753–764.

Sherer, M., Maddux, J. E., Mercandante, B., Prentice-Dunn, S., Jacobs, B., & Rogers, R. W. (1982). The self-efficacy scale: Construction and validation. Psychological Reports, 51(2), 663-671.

Speirs Neumeister, K. L. (2004). Interpreting successes and failures: The influence of perfectionism on perspective. Journal for the Education of the Gifted, 27)4), 311–335.

Stewart, M. A., & George-Walker, L. D. (2014). Self-handicapping, perfectionism, locus of control and self-efficacy: A path model. Personality and Individual Differences, 66, 160–164.

Stoeber, J. (2014). Perfectionism in sport and dance: A double-edged sword. International Journal of Sport Psychology, 45(4), 385–394.

Vandergrift, L. (1997). The comprehension strategies of second language (French) listeners: A descriptive study. Foreign Language Annals, 30(3), 387-409.

Vandergrift, L., Goh, C. C. M., Mareschal, C., & Tafaghodtari, M. H. (2006). The metacognitive awareness listening questionnaire: Development and validation. Language Learning, 56(3), 431–462.

Yabukoshi, T. (2021). Self-regulation and self-efficacy for the improvement of listening proficiency outside the classroom. The Language Learning Journal, 49(1), 27-40.

Yoshida, R. (2013). Conflict between learners’ beliefs and actions: Speaking in the classroom. Language Awareness, 22(4), 371-388.