The Effect of Using a Brain-Based Learning Approach on EFL Students' Reading Attitude and Reading Self-Efficacy

Abstract This study seeks to explain the effect of using a brain-based learning approach on students’ reading attitude and reading self-efficacy in an EFL context at Jimma University. This study employed a quasi-experimental design with 109 freshman undergraduate social science students. Purposive sampling was employed to choose these students. Students in the social sciences program were assigned in seven sections. The researchers used simple random sampling to choose the experimental and control groups, both of which are intact. Questionnaires were employed to measure attitudes toward reading as well as self-efficacy in reading. A control group (N=55) continued using the conventional method, while an experimental group (N=54) used the brain-based learning approach. A multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) was conducted-by IMB SPSS 23. The paired samples t-test was also performed using to ascertain the variations in mean scores between each group's pre- and post-intervention values. The results showed that students' reading attitudes and reading self-efficacy were significantly improved by a brain-based learning approach. These results have important implications for EFL instructors and textbook writers.