The Internet Journal Language, Culture and Society

URL: http://aaref.com.au/en/publications/journal/
ISSN 1327-774X

How do the psycholinguistic factors affect the foreign language learning

process of preparatory class students?

Inst. Demet Nazlı Örmeci

Mehmet Akif Ersoy University

Abstract

It is a widely accepted fact that some individuals are more successful than others in the foreign
language learning process. This difference could be explained by the psycholinguistic factors which
affect an individual's foreign language learning process more or less. These factors which are affect
(language shock and culture shock, anxiety, affective filter), social distance, age difference, aptitude,
motivation, personality, learning style, and learning strategies are all directly related to the
characteristics of the learner and attitudes of the learner toward target language. Therefore, in this
study it is aimed at investigating the influence of psycholinguistic factors on the foreign language
learning process of preparatory class students.

Key words: Psycholinguistic factors, social factors, motivation, affective factor, language learning

Introduction
Language is such a complex phenomenon that it has become the common study point of many social
sciences such as linguistics, psycholinguistics, sociolinguistics, neurolinguistics, and historical
linguistics. In the case of examining these fields in detail, it is possible to find many definitions and
theories which try to explain language, its nature and development through the history, and the effects
of psychology and society on the language. Linguistics is the scientific study of human language and
the main concern of this field is to define the language and its nature, form, meaning, and context.
Language has been defined by many scholars so far. From the perspective of linguistics, language is
"a system of arbitrary, vocal symbols which permit all people in a given culture, or other people who
have learned the system of that culture, to communicate or to interact" (Finocchiaro, 1964: 8). As the
definition put forward by Finocchiaro presents, the field of linguistics brings some controversial issues
into question in the context of language. One of these controversial issues is the difference between
acquisition and learning.
In 1970s, Krashen described the Monitor Model in which the Acquisition-Learning Hypothesis takes
place. He puts forward that individuals have two independent means of developing knowledge of a
second language as acquisition and learning. While acquisition is a subconscious and intuitive
process of constructing the system of a language, learning is the process in which learners attend to
form, figure out rules, and are generally aware of their own process. The process of second/foreign
language learning and teaching is such a complex process that many approaches, theories, and
methods have been put forward to define this process. In the case of examining the developments in
the field of language learning and teaching chronologically, it is clearly realized that there is a
movement from behaviorist approach to humanistic approach.
The views that dominate the language learning and teaching approaches and methods could be
classified as structural view, functional view, and interactive view. While the structural view threats
language as a system of structurally related elements to code meaning, the functional view sees
language as a vehicle to express or accomplish a certain function such as requiring something. On the
other hand, the interactive view threats language a vehicle for the creation and maintenance of social

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relations, focusing on patterns of move, acts, negotiation and interaction found in conversational
exchanges. The main focus in these views is on the teaching, teacher, and product.
With the emergence of humanistic approach, there has been a serious shift within the field of
language learning and teaching. The main emphasis is on the learner and learning. The learner is
treated as a whole person with his/her feelings, interests, strengths, weaknesses, and needs. With the
effect of humanistic approach, many profound innovations are put forward in language learning and
teaching process such as inductive teaching, strategy training, process evaluation. These
developments, especially the emergence of humanistic approach, have provided the emergence of
psycholinguistics, too. Psycholinguistics is the study of the psychological factors that enable humans
to acquire, use, comprehend, and produce language. In the field of psycholinguistics, the effects of
different dimensions on the process of language learning/acquisition are discussed today. Gass and
Selinker (2008) put forward nine dimensions which affect the language learning/acquisition process
positively or negatively as affect (language shock and culture shock, anxiety, affective filter), social
distance, age difference, aptitude, motivation, personality, learning style, and learning strategies.
The dimension of "affect" which is an important issue under the heading of psycholinguistics consists
of three aspects as language shock and culture shock, anxiety, and affective filter. Language shock
refers to the realization that a learner must seem comical to speakers of the target language while
culture shock, which was firstly proposed by Oberg (1960) in the early 1960s, is the personal
disorientation a person may feel when experiencing an unfamiliar way of life or exposure to a new
culture. Foreign language anxiety is the feeling of uneasiness, worry, nervousness and apprehension
experienced by non-native speakers when learning or using a second or foreign language. Anxiety is
not always a negative factor in learning. One of the hypotheses take place in Krashen's Monitor Model
is the Affective Filter Hypothesis. The affective filter is a theoretical construct that attempts to explain
the emotional variables associated with the success or failure of acquiring/learning a second
language. The affective filter is an invisible psychological filter that can either facilitate or hinder
language production in a second language. When the affective filter is high, individuals may
experience stress, anxiety, and lack of self-confidence that may inhibit success in acquiring a second
language. On the other hand, a low affective filter facilitates risk-taking behavior in regards to
practicing and learning a second language. Krashen has claimed that the best acquisition/learning will
occur in the environments where anxiety is low and defensiveness is absent.
Social aspects of using a second language cannot be ignored since second language learning
involves the acquisition of a second identity. In this process, social distance may occur. "Social
distance" is the cognitive and affective proximity of two cultures that come in contact within an
individual. Distance is used metaphorically to denote dissimilarity between two cultures. Some
learners may feel distance against the target culture in the process of second language learning.
The notion of "age differences" is another dimension discussed under the headline of
psycholinguistics. It is possible to get different views and studies about the influence of age on the
language learning/acquisition process. As a general view, children acquire their first language easily
and well while individuals who learn a second language in an educational setting can have difficulty in
the process. One of the most sensational views put forward on this issue is the Critical Period
Hypothesis which claims that there is an ideal time to acquire language and after that period further
language acquisition becomes much more difficult. The theory has been extended to a critical period
for second language learning and it is commonly believed that there is continuous decline in ability to
learn with age.
The next dimension discussed in the field of psycholinguistics is "aptitude". Aptitude is defined as
"natural ability or skill at doing something" (Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary, 2000). In the
context of language learning, language aptitude refers to the potential that a person has for learning
languages. It does not refer to whether or not an individual can or cannot learn a foreign language. It is
assumed that virtually everyone can learn a foreign language in the case of given adequate
opportunity. It is claimed that some learners show a tendency to learn a language while some learners
do not. A student's likelihood of success and ease in learning a foreign language is measured by
means of language aptitude tests. There are different effects on language learning aptitude such as
personality, motivation, first/second language, age, intelligence, and so on.
"Motivation", which is one of the psycholinguistic dimensions, is the key concept in the language
learning process. Motivation is defined in the Oxford English Dictionary as "a reason or reasons for

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acting or behaving in particular way" and "a desire or willingness to do something; and enthusiasm". It
can be considered a driving force, in other words, a psychological drive that compels or reinforces an
action toward a desired goal. In this sense, motivation related to foreign language learning could be
defined as the purpose for doing things that will lead to learning a foreign language. Maintaining a high
level of motivation during a period of language learning is one of the best ways to make the whole
process more successful.
"Personality" and "learning styles" are among the psycholinguistic factors which affect the foreign
language learning process directly or indirectly. Personality is the particular combination of emotional,
attitudinal, and behavioral response patterns of an individual. On the other hand, learning styles is a
term generally used to describe an individual's natural or habitual pattern of acquiring and processing
information in learning situations. Some aspects of personality and learning style are
extroversion/introversion, risk taking, field independence/dependence, and visual/auditory/kinesthetic.
A learner's being extrovert, in other words, his/her being sociable, gregarious, active, assertive,
passionate, and talkative; or his/her being introvert, in other words, his/her being passive, quiet,
reserved, withdrawn, sober, aloof, and restrained has an effect on the foreign language learning
process. Linguists define risk-taking as an ability of being eager to try out new information intelligently
regardless of embarrassment in linguistics. It is suggested that a tendency to take risks in the process
of foreign language learning is associated with the success in that process. On the other hand, in
general, people who exhibit field dependence tend to rely on information provided by the outer world,
the field or frame of a situation and their cognition (toward other things) is based on this overall field.
Contrastingly, field-independent people tend to depend on their inner knowledge and analyze
problems all by themselves, without reference to the frame. There is a common belief that there are
different learner types as visual, auditory, and kinesthetic. Visual learners take in information visually
whereas auditory learners take in information auditorily. On the other hand, kinesthetic learners learn
best when the whole body is involved in the process. To get an effective foreign language
teaching/learning process, it is important to choose appropriate methods, techniques, and materials in
accordance with the learner types.
"Learning strategies" is the last dimension discussed under the heading of psycholinguistic factors
affect the foreign language learning process. Learning strategies are used by students to help them
understand information and solve problems. A learning strategy is a person's approach to learning and
using information. Learning strategies consist of four main components as cognitive strategies,
metacognitive strategies, social strategies, and affective strategies. "Cognitive strategies involve the
manipulation of the learning materials/input by means of repetition, summarizing; metacognitive
strategies involve higher-order strategies such as analyzing, evaluating, organizing learning process;
social strategies involve interpersonal behaviors aimed at increasing the amount of foreign language
communication with native or non-native speakers; and affective strategies involve taking control of
the emotional conditions and experiences that shape one's subjective involvement in learning"
(Dörnyei, 2005; p. 169). In the context of foreign language learning, the key issue is how the learners
strategically use linguistic information to practice the target language.

Literature review

The notion that the psycholinguistic factors affect foreign language learning process is such a
sensational movement that it is possible to reach similar researches conducted on the effects of
psycholinguistic factors on foreign language learning process. Some of these studies are as follows:

Language and Culture Shock

Fan (2010) investigates the understanding and experiences of ten Asian background students in
relation to language shocks. It involves the participation of ten Asian background students from the
TESOL (Teaching English to the Speakers of Other Languages) program in the Faculty of Education
at the University of Tasmania. Semi-structured interviews and focus group meetings were organized to
gather the live experience of these students. The results indicate that the differences in cultures and
language indeed have an impact on these Asian background students’ English language
learning/teaching. Also, teachers and the university are expected to take an active role in preparing
their students in overcoming of culture and language shocks and the development of positive attitude
towards English language learning.
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Anxiety
Andrade and Williams (2009) present an overview of research devoted to foreign language learning
anxiety and then examine in detail the reactions reported by Japanese university students to an
anxiety-provoking situations in English-as-a-foreign language (EFL) classes. Questionnaire data was
obtained from 243 Japanese learners in conversational English classes at 31 four-year universities in
Japan. The research was conducted to determine the physical, emotional, expressive, and verbal
reactions to the anxiety-provoking situation, the characteristics of anxiety in terms of occurrence,
duration, intensity, expectation, and degree of hindrance, and the relationship between anxiety and
pair and small group work. The findings indicate that some degree of anxiety affected 75% of the
learners and that the debilitating aspects of anxiety strongly hindered about 11% of them. Other
findings include significant differences between male-female and high-low perceived ability groups on
several dependent variables.
Affective Filter
Roberton (2011) conducted an action research and explored the role of affective filter in an adult
English language learner classroom. By observing two adult English language learning classrooms,
surveying the students and interviewing their teacher, this study found that when adult affective filter
was lowered, they used their target language more frequently and comfortably. Surveys responses
from students suggest that the language learners were found that these students were intrinsically
motivated by their life goals to learn their target language. In the teacher interviews created a
collaborative learning environment to make students feel more comfortable with each other and
reduce anxiety. The observation and interview data confirmed that student’s affective filter was lower
during cooperative activities when compared to whole class activities.
Social Distance
Nix (1993) investigated the existence of social distance between various ethnic groups. Social
distance was measured by an adaptation of the Bogardus-scale. A questionnaire was administered to
131 graduate and undergraduate American and international students, living in residence halls on the
university campus. The instrument asked various demographic questions and included a social
distance scale. The findings revealed that social distance was a function of ethnic background, current
educational level, and previous interaction with other ethnic groups. In addition, it was found that
whether or not the respondent was an international or American student significantly affected social
distance.
Age Differences
The studies on the influence of age factor on foreign/second language acquisition/learning could be
grouped in two as the studies supporting critical period hypothesis and the studies refuting critical
period hypothesis. Oyama (1976) examined 60 male learners who had immigrated to the United
States. Their ages ranged from 6 to 20 years old and they had lived there for between 5 and 18 years.
Two adult native speakers judged the native-ness of the learners accents during a reading-aloud task
and during free speech. The results showed a significant negative correlation in age of arrival and
acquisition, which meant that the younger their age of arrival was, the more authentic the accent they
acquired. For instance, the youngest arrivals were rated the same as native speakers. However, no
significant relationship was found between the length of stay and their accent.
Burstall (1975) compared two groups of students with five years of instruction in England and Wales.
One group had begun learning French at the age of 8, whilst the other had begun at the start of
secondary school when they were 11 years old. Burstall found that the secondary school starters were
superior in three areas (speaking, reading, and writing) to the early starters, who were superior in only
one area (listening) when compared at the age of 16.
Motivation
Ushida (2005) investigated the role of students’ motivation and attitudes in second language (L2)
study within an online language course context (LOL). Students’ attitudes and motivation were
examined within a socio-educational framework (Gardner & MacIntyre, 1993) while learning contexts

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were examined based on Dörneyi’s (1994) components of foreign language learning motivation.
Students’ learning behaviors and learning outcomes were used as predictor and criterion variables in
a series of quantitative and qualitative analyses. The results showed that students tended to have
relatively high anxiety about the LOL course at the beginning of the semester, perhaps due to their
lack of familiarity with the specific LOL learning environment. However, students’ motivation and
attitudes toward L2 study were relatively positive and stable during the course. The findings provided
some evidence that motivated students studied regularly and productively to take every opportunity to
perfect their language skills. It was also found that each teacher idiosyncratically implemented the LOL
course, thereby creating a unique class culture and affecting students’ motivation and attitudes toward
studying the L2 in the LOL context. The findings reinforced the importance of students’ motivation and
attitudes in L2 study and, equally important, the continuing critical role of the teacher in technology-
enhanced teaching.
Learning styles
Tabanlıoğlu (2003) aimed to identify the learning styles and strategies of students, to check whether
there were significant differences in the learning style and strategy preferences between male and
female learners, and investigate whether there was a relationship between students’ learning style and
strategy preferences. A total of 60 students were asked to complete two questionnaires. One was
used to identify students’ perceptual learning style preferences and the other was used to identify
students’ learning strategies. In addition, think aloud protocols were held to determine the cognitive
and metacognitive strategies students used while reading. The data analysis of the first questionnaire
revealed that students’ major learning style preferences were auditory learning and individual learning.
Furthermore, significant difference was found in the preference of tactile learning between males and
females. The analysis of the second questionnaire revealed that cognitive strategies were favoured
the most. No significant difference was found in the preferences of learning strategies between males
and females. The analysis with respect to the relationship between learning styles and strategies
revealed that visual styles had a significant relation with affective strategies; auditory styles had
significant relationships with memory, cognitive, affective, and social strategies; there was a significant
relationship between the individual learning style and compensation strategies; none of the learning
styles had a significant relationship with metacognitive strategies. The think aloud protocols revealed
that students used various cognitive and metacognitive strategies.
Learning strategies
Chang, Liu, and Lee (2007) investigated the influence of gender and major on college EFL learning
strategy use in Taiwan. A total of 1758 Taiwanese college EFL learners took part in this research
study. The participants completed the two sets of self-reported questionnaires, including Background
Characteristics and Strategy Inventory for Language Learning (SILL) (Oxford, 1989). The findings of
the study were as follows: There was not a great difference among the frequency of each strategy,
memory strategies, cognitive strategies, compensation strategies, metacognitive strategies, affective
strategies, social strategies, that Taiwanese college EFL learners report using, all in medium-use
level. Statistically significant differences were found in the use of cognitive strategies, metacognitive
strategies, social strategies and overall strategies with regard to gender. Statistically significant
differences were found in the use of six subcategories of language learning strategies and overall
strategies with regard to major. In the end of this study, the pedagogical implications were provided.

Aim of the Study

The aim of the present study is to determine the views of the preparatory class students at Mehmet
Akif Ersoy University on their own foreign language learning process. In addition, the study tries to
examine how the psycholinguistic factors affect the foreign language learning process of preparatory
class students attending Mehmet Akif Ersoy University in Turkey.

Research Questions

The present study seeks answers for the following questions:

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1. What are the views of preparatory class students at MAEU on their own foreign language
learning process?
2. How do the psycholinguistic factors affect the foreign language learning process of
preparatory class students at MAEU?
3. Is there a difference between the views of preparatory class students at MAEU and the
independent variables (gender, age, high school graduated from, and the department they
belong to at the university)?

Significance of the Study

The present study is important since it reveals the views of the preparatory class students on their own
foreign language learning process. In other words, the study enables the students to evaluate their
own foreign language learning process. In addition, the study determines the influences of
psycholinguistic factors on the foreign language learning process of preparatory class students.
Moreover, it gives valuable data for the instructors and provides the instructors to review and reform
the foreign language teaching process in accordance with the students' views.

Restrictions
The present study is restricted with fifty preparatory class students at MAEU in the fall semester of
2012-2013 academic year.

Research Design and Methodology

On account of the fact that the purpose of the present study is to determine the influence of the
psycholinguistic factors on the foreign language learning process by means of the students' views, it is
a descriptive research which aims at specifying, delineating, or describing naturally occurring
phenomena without experimental manipulation (Seliger and Shohamy, 1989). Accordingly, the survey
research method which is any procedure used to gather and describe the characteristics, attitudes,
views, opinions, and so forth of students, teachers, administrators, or any other people who are
important to a study was used to carry out this study.

Population and Sampling

The population of the present study is 250 preparatory class students. Accordingly, the sample of the
study is 40 preparatory class students, 27 females and 13 males. The participants have different
English language education background and their linguistic levels are pre-intermediate. These
students have an intense English language program since September of 2012-2013 academic year.
The students who have the preparatory class voluntarily belong to different faculties and vocational
schools at MAEU.

Data Collection Instrument

In order to carry out this study, a questionnaire which aims at revealing the influence of
psycholinguistic factors on the foreign language learning process and getting the views of the students
on foreign language learning process was developed and applied. The questionnaire consists of ten
parts including questions on psycholinguistic factors (language shock, culture shock, anxiety, affective
filter, social distance, age, aptitude, motivation, learning styles, and learning strategies) and forty-five
questions.

Data analysis
The collected data were analyzed using SPSS 15.0 (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences)
program. For the item analysis, percentages and frequencies were measured. For the independent
variables, independent samples T-test was used.

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Results

The results below were reached at the end of the process of analyzing the questionnaires:

Table 1. Gender
Valid Cumulative
Frequency Percent Percent Percent
Valid Male 13 32,5 32,5 32,5
Female 27 67,5 67,5 100,0
Total 40 100,0 100,0

As it is seen in Table 1, 13 male and 27 female students participated in the study.

Table 2. Age
Valid Cumulative
Frequency Percent Percent Percent
Valid 18 10 25,0 25,0 25,0
19 11 27,5 27,5 52,5
20 12 30,0 30,0 82,5
21 7 17,5 17,5 100,0
Total 40 100,0 100,0

As it is seen in Table 2, the ages of participants range from 18 to 21.

Table 3. High School Graduated From

Valid Cumulative
Frequency Percent Percent Percent
Valid AHS 16 40,0 40,0 40,0
VHS 24 60,0 60,0 100,0
Total 40 100,0 100,0

As it is seen in Table 3, 16 students graduated from Anatolian High School while 24 students
graduated from Vocational High School.

Table 4. The Views of the Students on the Influence of Psychological Factors on Foreign Language
Learning Process
Item Statement SA A U D SD
% % % % %
1 To learn a new foreign language makes me happy. 52,5 47,5 0 0 0
2 I feel stressed in the process of learning a foreign language. 10 35 22,5 27,5 5
3 I am affected negatively by the thought that my classmates will laugh at 20 25 22,5 0 32,5
me when I speak English.
4 The fear of making mistakes while speaking English affects my 52,5 35 10 2,5 0
performance negatively.
5 Language and culture are inseparable concepts. 70 25 0 2,5 2,5
6 Learning a foreign language means learning the culture of that society, 27,5 35 20 10 7,5

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too.
7 To learn about other cultures motivates me. 37,5 27,5 20 15 0
8 This is the first time I have ever learned about the American and British 35 50 10 5 0
cultures deeply.
9 The difference between British/American and Turkish cultures amaze 62,5 35 0 2,5 0
me.
10 I eliminate the prejudices about other cultures thanks to the foreign 55 40 5 0 0
language learning process.
11 I have some prejudices about other cultures in the process of learning 17,5 52,5 157 12,5 0
foreign language.
12 I think there are big differences between the British/American and 56 20 5 14 5
Turkish cultures.
13 To learn the differences between cultures changes my point of view. 45 49 4 1 1
14 I feel social distance toward target culture. 15 10 10 45 20
15 Cultural transmission affects my foreign language learning process 36,5 22,5 3 20,5 17,5
positively.
16 I have extremely high anxiety in the process of learning a foreign 52,5 35 10 2,5 0
language.
17 Because I have extremely high anxiety, I cannot have an effective 35 27,5 2 20 15,5
foreign language learning process.
18 I have extremely low anxiety in the process of learning a foreign 17,5 10,5 20,5 25 26,5
language.
19 Because I have extremely low anxiety, I have an effective foreign 40 42,5 5 10 2,5
language learning process.
20 I always monitor my improvement in the foreign language learning 35 45 12,5 7,5 0
process.
21 High monitoring affects my performance positively. 35 40 15 10 0
22 High monitoring affects my performance negatively. 60 32,5 5 2,5 0
23 I rarely monitor my improvement in the foreign language learning 40 42,5 5 10 2,5
process.
24 Low monitoring affects my performance positively. 65 35 0 0 0
25 Low monitoring affects my performance negatively. 62,5 35 2,5 0 0
26 Age has great influence on the effective foreign language learning 62,5 35 2,5 0 0
process.
27 I support the idea that foreign language education should begin at early 70 27,5 2,5 0 0
ages.
28 I think that I am a bit late for an effective foreign language learning 75 20 5 0 0
process.
29 There is a direct relationship between aptitude and foreign language 27,5 45 22,5 5 0
learning.
30 I have an aptitude for learning a foreign language. 40 42,5 5 10 2,5
31 I am highly motivated in foreign language learning process. 35 45 12,5 7,5 0
32 My success in foreign language learning process increases my 52,5 47,5 0 0 0
motivation.
33 My failure in foreign language learning process decreases my 27,5 35 22,5 10 5
motivation.
34 I dare to take risks in the foreign language learning process. 20 25 22,5 0 32,5
35 I do not dare to take risks in the foreign language learning process. 52,5 35 10 2,5 0
36 I am a field dependent learner in the foreign language learning process. 70 25 0 2,5 2,5

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37 I am a field independent learner in the foreign language learning 27,5 35 20 10 7,5

process.
38 I am a visual learner. 37,5 27,5 20 15 0
39 I am an auditory learner. 35 50 10 5 0
40 I am a kinesthetic learner. 62,5 35 0 2,5 0
41 I am an extroverted learner. 55 40 5 0 0
42 I am an introverted learner. 17,5 52,5 157 12,5 0
43 Being an introverted learner affects foreign language learning process 52,5 47,5 0 0 0
positively.
44 Being an extroverted learner affects foreign language learning process 10 35 22,5 27,5 5
positively.
45 I use some strategies to be successful in foreign language learning 40 42,5 5 10 2,5
process.

The statistical results above provide valuable data to understand the influence of psychological factors
on the foreign language learning process. The statistical data reached could be interpreted for each
psychological factor as follows:
Language Shock: The questions 1-4 refer to the factor of language shock. While most of the students
are eager to learn a foreign language and are confident in the process of learning, most of them feel
stressed in the case of making mistakes. They think that the fear of making mistakes affects their
performance negatively.
Culture Shock: The questions 5-15 refer to the factors of culture shock and social distance. Most of
the students are aware of the importance of culture and the influence of culture transmission on the
language learning process. Most of the students are eager to learn about the other cultures, they are
tolerant toward the differences among cultures, they do not have prejudices about other cultures, and
they do not feel social distance toward the target culture.
Anxiety: The questions 16-19 refer to the factor of anxiety. Most of the students have high anxiety in
the process of foreign language learning and they think that they cannot have an effective foreign
language learning process because of this high anxiety.
Affective Filter: The questions 20-25 refer to the factor of affective filter. Most of the students state
that they always monitor themselves in the process of foreign language learning. While some of the
students think that high monitoring affects their performance negatively, some students think that low
monitoring affects their performance positively.
Age Differences: The questions 26-28 refer to the factor of age differences. Most of the students
agree that foreign language education should begin at early ages and they are conscious of the
influence of age factor on the effective foreign language learning process. Most of the students think
that they are a bit late for an effective foreign language learning process.
Aptitude: The questions 29-30 refer to the factor of aptitude. Most of the students think that there is a
direct relationship between aptitude and foreign language learning and they state that they have an
aptitude for learning a foreign language.
Motivation: The questions 31-33 refer to the factor of motivation. It is seen that most of the students
are highly motivated in the process of foreign language learning and they think that there is a direct
relationship between success and motivation.
Personality and Learning Style: The questions 34-44 refer to the factors of personality and learning
style. Most of the students do not dare to take risks in the foreign language learning process, they are
field dependent, visual, kinesthetic, and auditory learners. It is seen that most of the students are
extroverted and they think that being extroverted affects the foreign language learning process and
success positively.
Learning strategies: The question 45 refers to the factor of learning strategies. Most of the students
state that they use some strategies to be successful in the foreign language learning process.

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According to the independent samples t-test results, no significant difference was found between the
students views and their gender, age, and the high school they graduated from (p>0.05).

Discussion

As the results revealed, the present study provides valuable data for the literature and the people
dealing with the field. This importance could be understood better in the case of comparing the
present study with the other studies conducted in the field before. The study conducted by Fan
revealed that the differences in cultures and language indeed have an impact on the Asian students'
English language learning. On the other hand, the present study shows that a new foreign language
and the target culture do not have a negative effect on the preparatory class students. The only issue
the students hesitate is the fear of making mistakes. The study conducted by Andrade and Williams
and the present study reveal that the learners have high anxiety in the process of foreign language
learning and this situation affects the performance of students negatively. The study carried out by
Roberton shows that low affective filter facilitates the foreign language learning process. The present
study reveals the similar results and it is concluded that low affective filter enables the students to use
target language frequently and comfortably. While the study carried out by Nix reveals that the
participants significantly affected social distance, the present study do not reach such a result. The
participants of the study do not feel social distance toward the target culture and society. This may be
the result of that the participants do not live in the target country and culture.
There are different studies on the influence of age factor on the effective foreign language learning
process. In the case of comparing the present study with the studies conducted by Oyama and
Burstall, it is concluded that the participants think that they are a bit late for an effective foreign
language learning process. The study conducted by Ushida on motivation shows that students'
motivation and attitudes toward L2 were relatively positive and motivated students studies regularly.
The present study reveals the similar results. The participants of the present study wanted to have an
intense English language education voluntarily. Thanks to this situation, the students in the
preparatory classes are highly motivated and there is a direct relationship between their success and
motivation level. The study conducted by Tabanlıoğlu and the present study show that the
personalities and learning styles of the students are different from each other. It is possible to find
different students such as introvert, extrovert, visual, kinesthetic, auditory in a small classroom setting.
The personalities and the learning styles of the students affect the foreign language learning process
directly. The study conducted by Chang, Liu, and Lee shows that the students use some strategies to
be successful in the foreign language learning process. The similar result is valid for the present study.
Since the participants are conscious and motivated in the process, they develop and use some
strategies to be successful.

Conclusion

It is a well-known fact that foreign language learning is a complex process. For many years, there has
been a great discussion on the characteristics and necessities of an effective foreign language
learning/teaching process. In addition to theories, approaches, and methods put forward to define this
process, the brief summary of the studies conducted in the field shows that psycholinguistic factors
have an influence on the foreign language learning process. It is possible to explain the complexity of
foreign language learning by means of the psycholinguistic factors which are affect (language shock
and culture shock, anxiety, affective filter), social distance, age difference, aptitude, motivation,
personality, learning style, and learning strategies.

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ISSN 1327-774X

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