The organization of 8th grade learners' beliefs related to learning English as a foreign language

The primary concern of this study was to investigate the organization of 8th grade Turkish learners? beliefs about learning English as a foreign language (EFL) in Turkey with gender and school status (private vs. public) as determining variables. The Language Learning Beliefs Scale (LLBS), newly developed by the researcher, was administered to 738 students. As a result of an exploratory factor analysis, eight factors were identified as the underlying constructs of subjects? language learning beliefs. Among these factors, six were explained by gender and school status. The three LLBS factors were found to be significantly predicted by only gender; ?self-efficacy and confidence?, ?threat to personality?, and ?error correction and age factor?. More specifically, our results indicated that, female learners appear to have more self-confidence and yet feel more timid in speaking the language, and are more likely than males to believe in the importance of age factor and the necessity of error correction in language learning. School status, on the other hand, determines learners? beliefs related to the importance and status of learning English as a foreign language in their country. The results revealed that the students of private schools are more likely than the students of state schools to believe in the importance of the learning context in language learning. As the third category of our findings, both gender and school status affect learners? beliefs regarding foreign language learning and communication strategies, and oral communication. Overall, our findings suggest that such variables as gender and school status are significant predictors of learners? beliefs about learning English as a foreign language.