Iranian EFL Students’ Emotional Intelligence and Autonomy in Distance Education

Abstract

The present study aimed to clarify EFL learners’ conceptions of autonomy and whether their autonomy was correlated with their emotional intelligence. The research was carried out with the participation of 110 learners at Distance Education University in Urmia, Iran. Questionnaires were emailed to the participants. Results of statistical analyses revealed substantial correlations between learners’ conceptions of autonomy and their emotional intelligence. ‘Independence’, ‘Stress Tolerance’, ‘Problem- Solving’, ‘Happiness’, ‘Self-actualization’, ‘Self-awareness’, ‘Optimism’, ‘Self-regard’, ‘Empathy,’ and ‘Impulse Control’ became the most determining elements of emotional intelligence (EI) for learners. Overall, the findings led the researcher to conclude that learners’ EI is a key factor influencing the extent to which they are ready to learn autonomously, and that teachers could therefore strive to ascertain learners’ intelligence type before they train them to become autonomous.