International Journal of Applied Linguistics & English Literature ISSN 2200-3592 (Print), ISSN 2200-3452 (Online) Vol. 4 No. 1; January 2015 Copyright © Australian International Academic Centre, Australia The Relationship between Internet Use and Academic Procrastination of EFL Learners across Years of Study Maryam Mohammadi (Corresponding author) Department of English Language and Literature, University of Guilan, Rasht, Iran E-mail: maryammohammadi_66@yahoo.com Abdorreza Tahriri Department of English Language and Literature, University of Guilan, Rasht, Iran E-mail: atahriri@gmail.com Jaleh Hassaskhah Department of English Language and Literature, University of Guilan, Rasht, Iran E-mail: jaleh_hassaskhah@yahoo.com Received: 22-07-2014 Accepted: 08-09-2014 Published: 01-01-2015 doi:10.7575/aiac.ijalel.v.4n.1p.231 URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.7575/aiac.ijalel.v.4n.1p.231 Abstract The present study aimed at exploring the relationship between Internet use and academic procrastination of a group of EFL learners across years of study (freshmen, sophomores, juniors, and seniors). The study was conducted in two phases. First, a pilot study was conducted among 30 representative university students in order to check the reliability and validity of the main instrument utilized, i.e. a questionnaire. After that, the piloted questionnaire was distributed among 380 undergraduates studying at the University of Guilan, Kharazmi University, and Ferdowsi University. Results of Spearman Rank Order Test at the .01 level of significance revealed a medium positive relationship (rho= +.47) between Internet use and academic procrastination of the participating students. Furthermore, the results of Kruskal Wallis Test at the significance level of .05 indicated that there is a significant difference in both Internet use (sig=.029, p≤ .05) and academic procrastination (sig=.007, p≤ .05) of learners across different years of study, with freshmen being the pioneer in this respect. However, the results of another Kruskal Wallis Test run on data concerning areas of academic procrastination did not reveal any statistically significant difference among learners across years of study. The implications of the findings for EFL instructors and learners are discussed Keywords: academic procrastination, Internet use, years of study, EFL. 1. Introduction The Internet plays a crucial role in the access of information resources. In fact, “sources of information and other opportunities available via the Internet are increasing exponentially. This comes with the steady increase in Internet use for education and research” (Edwards & Bruce, 2002, p.182). The Internet is also an important teaching and learning resource in educational environment if used in a manner appropriate to its aims (Odaci, 2011). With the help of the Internet, students can easily access the materials they need for their studies and obtain information through different ways. However, as with all technologies, in addition to facilitating individuals’ lives to a considerable extent, the Internet also brings problems with itself; in particular, the improper use of the Internet may create negative effects. To put it more specifically, the Internet provides people with a variety of potentially entertaining distractors such as emailing or chatting with friends and/or family online, as well as access to sports scores, entertainment news, and hobbies (Thatcher, Wertschko, & Fridghan, 2008). Odaci (2011) maintained that university students, at a critical time in terms of their social and emotional development, are a potential risk group for Internet dependence. The fact that Internet is a very useful resource for meeting academic purposes of students does not minimize the negative consequences of the Internet or what has been called unhealthy or Problematic Internet Use (PIU). This can soon lead to tasks that the individual needs to complete but are postponed in an unrealistic manner (Lay, 1988). University students in this way are unable to devote sufficient time to their academic assignments and studies, so they might constantly postpone the tasks they are required to do. This postponement of academic task called ‘academic procrastination’ is one variant of general procrastination, which can lead to a problem in getting ready for exams, doing assignment, completing projects, etc. In other words, ‘academic procrastination’ which can also be named as reflection of daily postponement to school life is defined as to delay duties and responsibilities related to school or to save them to the last minutes (Sepehrian & Jabari Lotf, 2011). As such, the Internet can be considered as a tool for procrastination in that it provides an environment where all features contributing to the maintenance of a procrastination field are present to the user. In fact, the Internet developers place the user at risk for procrastination. As such, an atmosphere facilitating time wasting is heightened with the illusion of