Iranian EFL Learners’ Perceptions of Using YouTube Educational Videos for Self-Regulated Learning: Challenges and Opportunities

Focusing on a growing English-learning trend in Iran, this study explored 211 Iranian students’ perceptions on YouTube educational videos to see whether these contents can improve learners’ SRL skills outside the classroom. In addition, according to students’ views, some considerations were suggested to help teachers create more effective English-learning videos on YouTube. This research also shed more light on the challenges and difficulties Iranian EFL learners are confronted with as well as raising their awareness of YouTube algorithm in order to use this platform appropriately. A questionnaire-based survey along with two open-ended questions was adopted as the primary data collection method. Participants were invited mostly through YouTube and Telegram community channels. The survey was created by Google Form and the link was published via YouTube and Telegram community channels. It consisted of three parts: the first part included demographic information and the learners’ access to ICT platforms. The second part made use of Self-Regulated Language Learning Scale (SRLLS), adapted from Lai and Gu (2011), which involved six elements: Goal Commitment, Affect, Resource, Metacognitive, Social and Culture skills and included 28 Likert scale questions ranging from 1= Strongly agree, 2= Agree, 3= Neutral, 4= Disagree and 5= Strongly Disagree. The third part consisted of two open-ended questions regarding the students’ views on features of an effective educational YouTube video as well as the challenges they face while watching them in Iran. The quantitative data was analyzed using SPSS 27. The Cronbach Alpha coefficients for all six elements of Self-Regulated Language Learning Scale (SRLLS) were above than .60 which confirmed a satisfactory score for reliability (Dörnyei, 2007). The qualitative data was then coded using NVivo 14 (the most cited and powerful software for qualitative data analysis) and explained in the result section.