An Investigation into Ambiguity Tolerance in Iranian Senior EFL Undergraduates

Abstract

<p>The present study aimed to explore how tolerant of ambiguity Iranian EFL learners at university level are and if gender plays a role in this regard. To this end , upon filling in the revised SLTAS scale of ambiguity tolerance 194 male and female Iranian teacher trainees were assigned to three ambiguity tolerance groups; namely, high, moderate and low. Cluster analysis of the SLTAS scores indicated that Iranian EFL learners were mostly moderate as far as tolerance of ambiguity was concerned. Examining the gender differences through an independent sample t-test manifested that female participants were less tolerant of ambiguity than their male peers. Also, the differences between the expected and observed number of participants categorized in the three AT groups were non-significant undermining the role of gender as a moderator variable in assigning participants to AT groups and further approving of SLTAS validity. Implications for classroom practice are presented in the light of findings. The results are helpful in syllabus design and teaching methodology.</p

The Impacts of Multiple Intelligences on Tolerance of Ambiguity and English Proficiency—A Case Study of Taiwanese EFL College Students

“…Comparatively, since they were in an EFL situation, students were more tolerant of ambiguity in reading (7 th ), lexical development (6 th ), speaking (5 th ), and listening (4 th ). The results were keeping with some other studies conducted in EFL fields, such as Karamia (1999), Kamran (2011), and Marzban et al (2012).…”

“…Findings show that AT is positively related to willingness to take risks, cognitive complexity, and receptivity to change. Later, what with Ely's Second Language Tolerance of Ambiguity Scale (English version) (1995) and what with English has become the "Lingua Franca", the communicating language, studies of the effects of tolerance of ambiguity, together with other factors related to ESL/EFL learning, have become more and more popular themes worldwide in EF learning situations than ever before, such as China (Wen, 2003;Xu, 2005;Du, 2006;Liu, 2006;Bu, 2007;Li, 2007;Yu, 2007;Lai, 2009;Wu, 2009;Li, 2010;Liu, 2015), Korea (Lee, 1998), Japan (Fukuchi & Sakamoto, 2005;Kondo-Brown, 2006); Iran (Khajeh, 2002;Rostami, 2010;Kamran, 2011;Marzban et al 2012;Zarashan & Ardeshiri, 2012), Egypt, (El-Koumy, 2000), Turkey (Erten & Topkays, 2009), Greek (Karamia, 1999), and many others. In short, some studies of ambiguity tolerance deal with the relationship between AT and ethnocentrism or authoritarianism (O'Conner, 1952;Levitt, 1953;Budner, 1962;Ehrlich, 1965;Chapelle, 1983); some refer to AT and learners' rigidity or receptivity of change (MacDonald, 1970;McLain, 1993); some mention about AT and other variables, such as Field Dependence/Independence (Chapelle & Roberts, 1986), or strategy use (Ely, 1989); some focuse on AT and second/foreign language success (Pimsleur et al, 1966;Naiman, 1975;MacDonald, 1970;Chapelle, 1983;…”

Investigating the Association between Ambiguity Tolerance and Vocabulary Knowledge in Iranian EFL Learners

“…According to the findings, gender did not have any significant impact on the EFL learners' ambiguity tolerance levels. Therefore, the findings of the study contradict the related literature (Maubach & Morgan, 2001;Erten & Topkaya, 2009;Marzban et al, 2012) to a certain extent in spite of showing parallel results with some previous studies (Kamran, 2011;Kissau, 2006) that identified no gender-related difference in EFL learners' ambiguity tolerance levels.…”

“…On the part of gender effect, no statistically significant difference was revealed between Iranian male and female English language learners in their ambiguity tolerance. Marzban et al (2012) aims at exploring how tolerant of ambiguity Iranian EFL learners at university level are and if gender plays a role in this regard. To this end, upon filling in the revised SLTAS scale of ambiguity tolerance 194 male and female Iranian teacher trainees were assigned to three ambiguity tolerance groups; namely, high, moderate and low.…”

“…White (1999) stresses that it may cause a high level of stress in learners and negatively affects language learning if it is not tolerated in a reasonable manner. Marzban et al (2012) believe that an awareness of the impact of AT as a psychological construct on EFL learning is of great importance and would result in teachers' modifications in planning and execution of lessons in order to better help the students` overcome psychological barriers. It is therefore deemed necessary to look for possible differences in ambiguity tolerance among learners in order to minimize the gap in teacher-learner interaction and the amount of attention which is paid to important individual traits in classroom context.…”