Investigating the relationship between the perception of self-efficacy and the use of self-regulated learning strategies in the English writing skill

Abstract

This study is intended to investigate (a) English as a foreign language (EFL) learners’ self-efficacy perceptions, (b) their use of self-regulated strategies, and (c) whether a possible link exists between their self-efficacy perceptions and self-regulated strategy use in English writing skill. The data were collected with the participation of 50 EFL learners from the Department of Translation and Interpretation through quantitative methods. The instruments used in this research include a tool used for assessing self-efficacy beliefs (Teng, 2016; Teng, Su, & Xu, 2018) and another tool for exploring self-regulated strategies in English writing (Teng, 2016; Teng & Zhang, 2016). The collected data were analyzed quantitatively by performing descriptive statistical analyses and correlation tests. The results demonstrated that participants’ perceived self-efficacy levels fell into the high range. In addition, the findings also displayed that self-regulated writing strategy deployment was in the slightly high range. As for the correlation between these two constructs, a linear, positive relationship was confirmed between self-efficacy perceptions and self-regulated writing strategies. A number of strong, positive correlations were also found between the sub-components of the two variables. The resulting information of this study can be helpful for those who aim at designing an effective writing curriculum that can enable learners to become more self-efficacious and to frequently employ an array of self-regulatory strategies in English writing.