International Journal of Applied Linguistics & English Literature ISSN 2200-3592 (Print), ISSN 2200-3452 (Online) Vol. 5 No. 2; March 2016 Australian International Academic Centre, Australia Autonomy, Critical Thinking and Listening Comprehension Ability of Iranian EFL Learners Atefeh Elekaei (Corresponding author) Young Researchers and Elite Club, Qazvin Branch, Islamic Azad University, Qazvin, Iran E-mail: atefehelekaei@yahoo.com Sajad Faramarzi Young Researchers and Elite Club, Karaj Branch, Islamic Azad University, Karaj, Iran E-mail: sajadfaramarzijj@gmail.com Hossein Heidari Tabrizi Department of English, Isfahan (Khorasgan) Branch, Islamic Azad University, Isfahan, Iran E-mail: heidaritabrizi@gmail.com Received: 05-09-2015 Accepted: 04-12-2015 Advance Access Published: December 2015 Published: 01-03-2016 doi:10.7575/aiac.ijalel.v.5n.2p.40 URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.7575/aiac.ijalel.v.5n.2p.40 Abstract The present study was conducted in order to identify the relationship among autonomy, critical thinking ability and listening comprehension ability of Iranian EFL learners. 114 male and female learners learning English as a foreign language participated in the present study. The obtained data were analyzed using Pearson correlation coefficient and One-Way ANOVA. The results of the present study indicated that there was a significant positive relationship between autonomy and critical thinking ability of learners. Moreover, the results of One-Way ANOVA revealed that learners with high autonomy level had the best listening comprehension ability. Furthermore, learners with high critical thinking ability had high listening comprehension ability. Keywords: autonomy, critical thinking ability, listening comprehension ability, Iranian EFL learners 1. Introduction Nowadays, listening comprehension has attracted the focus of more researchers. As Rost (2002) believes, listening comprehension is an inferential process. Moreover, the main function of education in educational setting is learning to think (Dewey, 1933) and critical thinking ability is one internal factor that affects the process of learning (Chamot, 1995).Goss (1982) mentions that listening comprehension is a mental process and listeners try to create meaning out of the information they receive from the speakers. Moreover, critical thinking which includes assessment is a strong- minded decision utilized in examination, deduction, estimation as well as understanding (Astleitner, 2002). At the same time, learner autonomy has become more important recently and more learners try to be autonomous as learners are the main parts of language teaching as well as learning. As O'Donnell, Reeve and Smith (2012) points out, autonomy is one of the internal factors that help learners experience being autonomous, competent as well as related to others and as Ku (2009) remarks, promoting learner autonomy needs take advantage of learner's potential for learning through critical reflection. Also, Wagner (1997) believes that people cannot develop knowledge or skills in various areas without engaging in the process of thinking. Although many researchers have investigated listening comprehension ability, critical thinking ability and autonomy (Kato, 2005; Modirkhamene, and Rezazade, 2012; Myers and Dyer, 2006; Nation and Meara, 2002; Yahong, 2009), few have examined research on the relationship among them. Therefore, the present study aims to find answers to the following questions: 1. Are there any significant relationships between autonomy and critical thinking ability of Iranian EFL learners? 2. Does autonomy level significantly influence listening comprehension ability of Iranian EFL learners? 3. Does critical thinking ability level significantly influence listening comprehension ability of Iranian EFL learners? 2. Literature Review 2.1 Learner Autonomy Learner autonomy is the ability of learners to make their own decisions rather than being influenced by someone else. Dickinson (1995) defines autonomy as attitudes of learners towards learning through which learners practice to take responsibility for learning. Moreover, Breeze (2000) argues that learner autonomy is an inquiry of attitudes and experience. Similarly, Little (1995) mentions that autonomy is a matter of learning as well as learning how to learn in Flourishing Creativity & Literacy