Introduction: In today's society, the English language is very important, and educational experts have suggested many strategies and techniques to learn it better, one of which is teaching based on self-directed learning skills. Therefore, the present study was conducted with the aim of evaluating the effectiveness of English language teaching based on self-directed learning skills on the writing and reading comprehension skills of medical students.
Materials & Methods: The statistical population of the study was students of the Faculty of Medicine of Hamadan Azad University in the English language course in the academic year 2023-2024, from which 40 students were selected using the available sampling method and randomly assigned to two experimental groups (20 students) and a control group (20 students). The intervention method of teaching English based on self-guided learning was implemented for sixteen 90-minute sessions twice a week, and the control group did not receive any intervention. The research instrument included Zhang's (2001) standard written skill questionnaire and a researcher-made reading comprehension test consisting of 30 four-choice questions and four argumentative texts. Data analysis and analysis were also performed using the multivariate analysis of covariance test in SPSS 26 software.
Results: The two groups were homogeneous regarding baseline variables (age and gender).The results showed that English language training sessions based on self-directed learning skills were effective (P<0.05). Specifically, the findings of this research showed that the teaching of a self-directed skills program in the English language course had a significant effect on the improvement of all components of writing skills and comprehension (P<0.005).
Conclusion: Writing and reading comprehension skills are fundamental requirements of learning English. Since many students possess limited proficiency in these skills, it is essential to employ methods that facilitate more effective and accelerated learning. Teaching English through a self-directed lesson plan supports this objective.

Acknowledgments: This article is derived from a Master’s thesis supervised by the first author, titled “The Effectiveness of English Language Instruction Based on Self-Directed Learning Skills on the Writing and Reading Comprehension Skills of Medical Students at Islamic Azad University, Hamadan Branch.” The authors of the article would like to express their sincere gratitude to all participants, as well as to the officials and the respected Vice Presidency for Research of the university for their cooperation.

Availability of data and materials: The datasets analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

Conflict of Interest:The authors of this article declare that there are no financial or non-financial conflicts of interest regarding this study. None of the authors have any employment, consultancy, shareholding, or financial support relationships with entities that might be affected by the results of this study. Furthermore, there are no patents or intellectual property rights related to the content of this article.

Ethical approval and consent to participate:The ethics code for this research project is IR.IAU.H.REC.1403.073.The participants were informed that their participation in the study was voluntary. The participants’ data were analyzed and reported anonymously and confidentially. The study was conducted in accordance with the ethical principles outlined in the Declaration of Helsinki.

Funding: No funding was received for this study.

Author Contributions:Sharifi: Conceptualization 75%, Methodology 70%, Data curation 30%, Formal analysis 90%, Writing – original draft 100%, Writing – review & editing 65%, Finalization 100%, and Accountability 0%.Najafi Saram: Conceptualization 25%, Methodology 30%, Data curation 40%, Formal analysis 10%, Writing – original draft 25%, Writing – review & editing 30%, Finalization 10%, and Accountability 30%.Mahmoudi: Conceptualization 10%, Methodology 10%, Data curation 30%, Formal analysis 10%, Writing – original draft 50%, Writing – review & editing 10%, Finalization 10%, and Accountability 30%.

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