The Interplay between Language Anxiety, Locus of Control and Language Proficiency in Online Classes: The Case of EFL Learners

The present study investigated the interplay between language anxiety, locus ofcontrol, and language proficiency of EFL students in online classes. Theparticipants of the study were 67 upper-intermediate students between 18 to 30years old and were selected randomly from a few language institutes in Shiraz.Two questionnaires and a proficiency test were used: Chametzky’s Online WorldLanguage Anxiety Scale, Rotter’s Locus of control questionnaire, and TheExamination for the Certificate of Proficiency in English. Pearson-product-momentcorrelation, multiple regression analysis, and independent-samples t-test were runto answer the research questions. The results of the study revealed a strongnegative correlation between locus of control and language proficiency, meaningthat those who had higher scores on the proficiency test were internal. In addition,a strong negative correlation was found between language anxiety and languageproficiency, indicating that anxiety has adverse effects on language proficiency.Thirdly, both locus of control and language anxiety could predict languageproficiency, but the former was a better predictor. This means that the effect oflocus of control is much higher than anxiety on the language proficiency of IranianEFL learners in online classes. This research can help students and teachers torecognize individual differences better.