The Relationship between Socioeconomic Status and Beliefs about Language Learning: A Study of Iranian Postgraduate EAP Students

Abstract

This study explored the probable interaction between Iranian language students' beliefs about language learning and their socio-economic status. To this end, 350 postgraduate students, doing English courses at Islamic Azad University of Neyshabur participated in this study. They were grouped in terms of their socio-economic status. They answered a questionnaire in which they indicated their beliefs about language learning in different contexts of language use. The quantitative data were subjected to a set of parametric statistical analyses, including descriptive statistics. The findings manifested a positive relationship between the participants' economic status and their beliefs about language learning. The findings reflected that social factors exert substantial influence on the process of language learning and language teachers should be highly qualified to make professional judgment about the actual language ability of language learners to decrease error of measurement. Language teachers should also create pleasant learning environment fostering learners' positive attitude toward language learning.