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Description
This study investigates the impact of Self-Directed Learning (SDL) on the academic performance of fourth-year English majors at Thu Dau Mot University. Guided by Knowles’ (1975) theory of SDL, the research aimed to explore the extent to which students engage in SDL processes diagnosing learning needs, setting goals, identifying resources, designing learning plans, and evaluating outcomes and to determine their correlation with academic performance measured by Grade Point Average (GPA). Adopting a quantitative approach, data were collected through a self-constructed questionnaire administered to 94 students. Descriptive statistics and Spearman correlation analysis were employed to analyze the data. The results revealed that participants generally demonstrated a high level of SDL, with particularly strong engagement in identifying learning resources and designing learning plans. Statistically significant positive correlations were found between GPA and three SDL components: diagnosing learning needs, setting learning goals, and designing learning plans, with the latter showing the strongest association. These findings suggest that strategic planning and proactive goal setting play a critical role in academic success. The study offers pedagogical implications for integrating SDL into language curricula and highlights the need for further research involving more diverse samples and mixed-methods approaches.
Keywords: self-directed learning (SDL), academic performance, GPA, English majors.
