Relationship of Self-Regulated Learning and Academic Achievement Among English Language Learners

Abstract

There has been a rapid increase in the emergence of minority groups during the past few decades in the United States. Hispanics are the largest minority group that has people who speak English as a second language. The increasing proportion of English Language Learning (ELL) students has made it more difficult to maintain high learning standards. Furthermore, this increase has led to other problems such as the over and underrepresentation of ELL students in special education, high dropout rates and the underachievement obtained in standardized tests such us the Arizona's Instrument to Measure Standards (AIMS). For this reason, researchers have strongly emphasized the importance of studying self-regulated learning (SRL) as a critical component in the learning process as it is suggested to improve the academic outcomes of students. However, SRL has mostly been researched in middle class Caucasians but there has not been much research in relation to minorities or ELL students. Due to the paucity of research, the present study examined the relationship between SRL and academic achievement of ELL students. The study was conducted in a southern Arizona school district. The sample was comprised of 30 students attending seventh and eighth grades from a solicited sample of 130 students. The students completed the Motivated Strategies Learning Questionnaire (MSLQ). Results indicated that SRL is related to the academic achievement of students in reading, writing, and mathematics. Similarly, the components of SRL (i.e., motivation and learning strategies), especially motivation, were found to be significantly related to achievement as well. Additionally, the MSLQ was encountered to be a reliable instrument to be used with ELL students as indicated by the reliability indexes. The implications and suggestions for future research are discussed.