1.7 Outline of the Thesis

The present research includes eight chapters. Chapter 1 provides the background of the present research. Chapter 2 deals with literature review. Chapter 3 mainly represents the research methodology for the present study. Chapter 4 reports and discusses the EFL learners’ ILP competence in the present study with a comparison of the previous studies. Chapter 5 to Chapter 7 report and discuss the EFL learners’ variations in ILP competence according to nationality，gender and level of language proficiency one by one. Chapter 8 is the conclusion of the whole study，which includes the summary of the findings of the present study，the pedagogical implication from the study，the limitation of the present study and suggestions for future research.