ACADEMIC PROCRASTINATION IN THE STUDY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES
The paper analyzes academic procrastination as one of the factors influencing the process of foreign language learning and its results. The research is aimed at revealing the degree of academic procrastination that students with different levels of foreign language proficiency demonstrate. It also compares procrastination-related findings with other characteristics of members of the sample. The research is based on classical studies devoted to academic procrastination. Empirical findings in recent studies undertaken in the USA, Canada, Germany, Turkey and Russia indicate that the nature of academic procrastination in terms of foreign language learning has hardly ever been a subject of discussion. The hypothesis of this study is that the manifestation of procrastination varies, being determined by the foreign language studied and the level of students’ proficiency. To test this hypothesis, we conducted an empirical research involving students of the University of Tyumen, Institute for Social Sciences and Humanities. The sample comprised 213 participants. The variables included department, year of student experience, gender, foreign language and proficiency level. To collect data, we used a survey (demographic data) and a test (the Tuckman Procrastination Scale was used to determine the degree of academic procrastination). Statistical methods were applied to analyze the data: Student's t-test, Kruskal-Wallis test, Mann-Whitney U-test, Cohen's d. The results of the research revealed that the correlation between procrastination and the variables mentioned above is not obvious. The mean values of the degree of procrastination suggest “active” procrastination among students. Only the procrastination level of third-year students is higher and statistically significant compared to the one indicated by first and second-year students. In addition, the level of procrastination does not vary strongly depending on the foreign language. However, in terms of the effect size, a significant difference was revealed between students who speak a foreign language at the A1 level, from students with the A2/B2 levels. The research results can be used to prevent and overcome problems in the process of teaching foreign languages.