The Role of Self-assessment in Promoting Iranian EFL Learners’ Motivation

Abstract

During the last decade, increasing attention has been paid to the role of learner in the process of language learning and testing. Moreover, there is a general consensus in the literature that motivation is one of the key learner characteristics. The objective of this study was to explore the role of journal writing as a self-assessment technique in promoting Iranian EFL learners’ motivation. The participants were 60 intermediate students in two groups. The particular self-assessment technique used in the experimental group was journal writing. At the beginning and end of the semester, both groups took a language proficiency test to ensure their homogeneity, and completed a questionnaires regarding motivation. The results revealed that writing journals in a regular base had a role in promoting the learners’ motivation.