A domain specific approach to personal epistemology

Abstract

As an extension to previous research in the area of self-referent phenomena in the field of teaching English as a foreign language, the present investigation aims at exploring the academic self-perceptions of Algerian students in the specific situation of teaching English as a foreign language at the university level. To this end, a survey was developed to gauge learners’ self-beliefs and perceptions in the specific context of English language sciences. The «Academic Self-Beliefs Survey in English Language Sciences» was administered to a sample of 73 Master I students enrolled in English language sciences at the University of Constantine1 during the academic year 2014-2015. It is hypothesized that Master1 students might attain successful outcomes in the subject of discourse analysis if they nurture positive and healthy self- beliefs in the area of English language sciences. The other related hypothesis is that Master1 students might obtain unsuccessful results in the subject of discourse analysis if they nurture negative, unhealthy self-beliefs in English language sciences. In the analysis of data, descriptive and inferential statistics were implemented. The Pearson product moment correlation, the chi-square test and cross tabulation statistics were computed to determine the degree of association between learner’s self-related perceptions and their first-semester exam outcomes in Discourse Analysis. The emerging results reflect the valence, the complexity and the specificity of the teaching learning situation: Both Pearson correlations and chi-square testing show inconsistencies and disconnections between learner’s self-judgments and their actual first-semester scores in discourse analysis. Recommendations and implications of the study are discussed and directions for future research agendas in harmony with the objectives of the current educational reforms are suggested.