Research on Humanities and Social Sciences www.iiste.org ISSN 2222-1719 (Paper) ISSN 2222-2863 (Online) Vol 2, No.9, 2012 91 On the Correlation between Iranian EFL Learners' Shyness Level and their Attitudes toward Language Learning Parviz Alavinia 1* Mahsa Salmasi 2 1. PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of English Language and Literature, Faculty of Humanities and Letters, Urmia University, Valfajr 2 Blvd, Urmia, West Azerbaijan, Iran, PO box 57198 84375 2. MA Candidate, Department of English Language and Literature, Urmia Branch, Islamic Azad University, Urmia, Iran * E-mail of the corresponding author: pevinia2006@yahoo.com Abstract The current probe was after pinpointing the would-be correlation between learners' shyness and their language learning attitudes. The participants of the study were a total of 104 male and female institute EFL learners and the means of data collection were two ready-made questionnaires, one for gauging the learners' shyness and the other for tapping data regarding their language learning attitudes. The data thus collected were then analyzed through running Pearson Product Moment Correlation, independent samples t-test, and Eta Test. The results gained pointed toward lack of a significant correlation between the participants' shyness and the subscales of attitudes toward language learning. Moreover, no significant relationship was reported to be at work between gender of participants and their language learning attitudes. Nonetheless, with regard to learners' shyness, gender difference was found to play a part. Keywords: ambiguity tolerance, attitudes toward language learning, ego-permeability, inhibition, Iranian EFL learners, risk-taking, self-image, shyness 1. Introduction To embark on discussing the main argument put forth in the current study, i.e. language learners' shyness, it might prove beneficial to go over Chu's (2008) assertion regarding the experience of foreign language learning which is said to be considered by the learners as not only "cognitively demanding, but also emotion-laden." The formal instructional settings which are fraught with ongoing performance judgments and evaluations on the part of the teacher and peers, give rise to the establishment of "the kind of scenario that can be daunting for most learners, especially those who are shy, due to their fear of negative evaluation and desire for approval from others" (Chu, 2008, p. 1). As Tanveer (2007, p. 5) nicely points out "learners of English language often express a feeling of stress, nervousness or anxiety while learning to speak English Language and claim to have, a ‘mental block’ against learning English." This, as the researcher says, is not a grade-level specific issue, and is, indeed, found to be at work at different levels of proficiency "from beginning to more advanced levels. Even highly advanced ESL/EFL learners feel anxious while learning and particularly speaking English in some situations, both within and out of the classroom settings." Shyness is normally looked upon as a hindering attribute in learners, which acts as a setback standing on the way of their normal educational accomplishment, the reason being that shy individuals are regarded as less adept at expressing themselves during social encounters, and are hence more likely to be left out from the mainstream practice of education due to their inclination for leading a solitary life. One thing that is thought to be affected by shy students' passive approach to language learning is their attitudes toward the general learning process. Thus, in an attempt to probe the would-be linkages between shyness and learners' attitudes toward language learning, the researchers in the current study strived to delve into this relationship by considering the principal components of language learning attitudes, i.e. self-image, inhibition, risk-taking, ego-permeability, and ambiguity tolerance. To set out for this quest regarding the possible correlation between Iranian EFL learners' shyness and their language learning attitudes the following research questions were set forth, in the first place. It's also noteworthy that, for the