Impacts of Instant Gratification on the Academic Achievement of EFL Learners: A Survey among Saudi University Students

Learners are frequently challenged by distractors that undermine their self-control and affect their academic achievement. The purpose of this study was to examine how Saudi EFL learners' achievement is affected by instant gratification and explore the strategies learners employ to resist immediate pleasure. The scale of self-control developed by Tangney, Baumeister, and Boone (2004) was distributed to 98 students in the English department to identify those with low self-control, of which 36 students were selected. The findings revealed that low self-control affected students’ ability to control their emotions and regulate their thoughts; affecting their academic performance. This study demonstrated that learners employed strategies to resist temptation, such as thinking critically about their future goals, planning, and goal-setting. The participants failed to resist temptations many times because of the habits they developed in responding to immediate pleasure. Our findings have significant implications for educators and policymakers when considering implementing training activities and developing curricula to foster learners' self-control. The results of this study cannot be generalized to all students in other universities, whose conditions and environments might be different, as self-control is affected by other factors such as culture, mood, and individual differences.