The effect of self-perceived learning needs on self-regulated learning and learning outcomes in an EFL listening course

The present study explored how students’ self-perceived learning needs affected their self-regulated learning and academic achievements in an EFL listening course. The study was conducted at a stage when the intended learning objectives focused on word and phrase recognition, involving 87 Chinese college students. Self-perceived learning needs were quantified through a questionnaire, immediate learning outcomes were measured through quizzes in the course of the study, and academic achievements were measured at the beginning and end of the study. Path models that hypothesized different structural relationships among the variables were compared. The results revealed that the full effect of self-perceived learning needs on immediate outcomes could be decomposed into an indirect negative effect and a direct positive effect, attributed respectively to the descriptive and evaluative components of self-perception. The effect of self-perceived learning needs on final outcomes was mediated by immediate outcomes. Besides, qualitative evidence from six participants’ learning journals indicated that students who over-estimated their learning needs engaged more actively in the intended learning objectives, in line with the direct positive effect of self-perception on immediate outcomes. The study highlighted extra awareness of one’s learning needs as an enhancer of self-regulated learning and learning outcomes.