The Perception of EFL University Students in Tolerance of Ambiguity
Shaima M. Saalh
Department of English Language/ College of Education for Women/University of Baghdad
DOI: https://doi.org/10.25130/jls.6.2.9
Keywords: EFL students, tolerance of ambiguity, university students’ perception
Abstract
Ambiguity tolerance (AT), is defined as "the degree to which you are cognitively willing to tolerate ideas and propositions that run counter to your belief system or structure of knowledge.” Ambiguity tolerance is one of the most important learning styles that focus on the learners’ learning more than the methodology. The study aims to investigate the EFL students’ perception of ambiguity tolerance. The study is a quantitative descriptive one. The sample of 53 students was selected randomly from the fourth stage at the department of English Language, College of Education for Women/ University of Baghdad. They responded to the Second Language Tolerance of Ambiguity Scale (SLTAS) modified by Erten and Topkaya (2009). The study tool's validity is ascertained by giving the scale to the number of experts to decide its suitability to measure the study aims, while the reliability has been ascertained by using the alpha-Cronbach formula. After finding out the waiting means and percentages of the scale items, the results showed that the degree of tolerance of ambiguity is moderated for all the scale items. This result indicates that the EFL students’ willing to tolerate moderately the ambiguity of the foreign language structure and knowledge that run counter to their native language structure and knowledge. Accordingly, several recommendations and suggestions are set forward.
