چکیده:
This study aimed at examining the relationship between Emotional Intelligence (EI) and learning English language vocabulary. The male (N= 119) and female (N= 98) participants who were randomly selected from high schools in Zanjan Province were asked to complete a Persian version of an emotional intelligence (EI) questionnaire and answer a vocabulary achievement test. The EI questionnaire consisted of 90 items that examined fifteen components of EI. The vocabulary test battery contained 40 items in various test formats that was developed on the basis of an official high school textbook. The results of the study showed a low and negative correlation between the students’ emotional intelligence and vocabulary knowledge. This finding, which is not consistent with earlier studies, implies that the contribution of EI to vocabulary learning is controversial. The results also showed that male and female students are significantly different from each other in performing on some components of EI. This indicates that the emotional capacity of male and female students has been developed differently. Moreover, these emotional capacities can be employed in a different way in the processes of language learning in general and vocabulary learning in particular.
خلاصه ماشینی:
University of Tehran Zeinab Rahimi* High School English Language Teacher, Mahneshan, Zanjan Province, Ministry of Education Received: December 1, 2011 Accepted: January 26, 2012 This study aimed at examining the relationship between Emotional Intelligence (EI) and learning English language vocabulary.
The male (N= 119) and female (N= 98) participants who were randomly selected from high schools in Zanjan Province were asked to complete a Persian version of an emotional intelligence (EI) questionnaire and answer a vocabulary achievement test.
Is there any relationship between Iranian high school language learners’ emotional intelligence and their performance on various vocabulary test formats?
The fifteen components which are measured by the questionnaire are emotional self-awareness, assertiveness, self-regard, self-actualization, independence, empathy, inter-personal interrelationship, social responsibility, problem solving, reality testing, flexibility, stress tolerance, impulse control, happiness, and optimism.
The results, as displayed in Table 5, show that there is a significant difference in the performance of participants on emotional intelligence questionnaire and vocabulary test formats (F (20, 4515) = 129.
Males and females have also significant difference in the emotional intelligence and vocabulary test as a whole (F (1, 4515) = 17.
Therefore, the results did not corroborate with those of Song, Haung, Peng, Law, Wong, and Chen (2010) who reported that emotional intelligence and general mental ability can predict the academic performance of the students.
Conclusion Many researchers such as Laufer (1998), Henriksen (1999), Hulstijn and Laufer (2001), Cameron (2002), Nation (2002), Qian (2002), Nassaji (2006), Alderson (2007), and Zhang and Annual (2008) have emphasized the role of vocabulary knowledge as a significant component of language proficiency.