Critical thinking skills as predictors of critical listening and foreign language listening anxiety

The present study investigated the predictive power of critical thinking skills on critical listening and foreign language listening anxiety of Iranian intermediate EFL. To this end, 200 intermediate adult male and female Iranian EFL learners from a private language institute took part in the study by completing Michigan test of English language proficiency, the California critical thinking skills test, Critical listening scale and foreign language listening anxiety scale. Using KR-21 and Cronbach’s Alpha, the reliability of questionnaires was re-estimated. The results of multiple regression indicated there was a statistically significant predictive of critical thinking skills. Furthermore, the findings of this study show a negative relationship between critical thinking skills and foreign language listening anxiety as measured by FLLAS; this seems logical. The quantitative findings gathered through CTS and FLLA scales suggest that when there is an increase in CTS of the students, FLLA decreases and vice versa. High anxious students generally do not employ critical thinking skills and have some concerns while listening in the target language compared to low anxious students. The results and implications of the study are discussed in more detail in the paper.