Examining the relationship between prospective teachers' listening skills, reading habits, effective speech self-efficacy, writing dispositions and communication skills: Structural equation modeling approach

Abstract

Conceptually, although the effectiveness of communication is generally associated with the development of language skills, studies that model this relationship comprehensively are limited. Based on this, the current study examines the relationship between different linguistic variables (listening skills, attitude towards reading habits, speech self-efficacy, and writing disposition) and their own and communication skills. The study data was collected from 566 prospective teachers in Turkey. As a result of the study, the theoretical structure between linguistic variables and communication skills has been statistically proven. In the model, it was seen that the model-data fit was at a good level ( χ²/df= 4.46, CFI= .955 , RMSEA= .078, SRMR= .033 ). The proposed model indicates that listening skills affect communication skills at a medium level and speech self-efficacy at a high level. In addition, writing disposition affects communication skills indirectly through speech self-efficacy, and reading habits affect communication skills indirectly through both listening skills and speech self-efficacy. The highest relationship is between listening skills and speech self-efficacy. Also, the relationships between all the variables are significant. The study supports existing hypotheses about the role language plays in communication skills.