Study Abroad and L2 Self-Efficacy Beliefs Scale

Abstract

The aim of this study is to develop a data collection tool that will measure students' self-efficacy beliefs and expectations regarding the competencies they can achieve at the end of their language education abroad. The participants of the study include 607 university students. Data were collected during the 2018-2019 academic year. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were applied to reveal the factor structure of the scale. As a result of the exploratory factor analysis, a four-factor structure consisting of 24 items with eigenvalues greater than 1 emerged. These four factors explained 61.48% of the total variance. Factor load values of items varied between .50 and .79. Confirmatory factor analysis was performed on a second study group to confirm the four-factor structure obtained from the exploratory factor analysis. The fit indices that were examined in order to display the adequacy of the model indicated a good fit. The findings obtained from this study reveal that the Study Abroad and L2 Self-Efficacy Beliefs Scale is a valid and reliable measurement tool that can be used to measure the projected self-efficacy beliefs and expectations of students who intend to attend a language course abroad.