چکیده:
This study intended to explore the interplay between young language learners' sense of self-efficacy regarding reading comprehension in their reading test performance associated with learning English among universities. To undertake the study, a purposive sampling method was adopted. A total of 60 freshmen undergraduate learners of English consented to participate in this study. A self-efficacy questionnaire was employed to collect to young learners' beliefs in their own reading capabilities with a hope to explore the effects of high and low self-efficacy on reading proficiency. Accordingly, students’ reading proficiency was examined based on their performance to the reading comprehension test adopted from a paper-based Longman TOEFL. The findings revealed that there was a direct and significant relationship between the learners' self-efficacy beliefs about learning and their language proficiency. The result attested that students with high self–efficacy are more proficient in their language learning as compared with those of low self-efficacy. EFL teachers and students as well materials developers’ can take the advantage of the findings. Theoretical and pedagogical implications for foreign language learning and teaching are also discussed.
خلاصه ماشینی:
The findings revealed that there was a direct and significant relationship between the learners' self-efficacy beliefs about learning and their language proficiency.
Foreign language learning, Self-efficacy, Reading proficiency, Learners' beliefs 1*.
According to Bernhardt (1997), if people have high positive self-efficacy about learning a second language, then they believe that they have the power and abilities to reach this goal.
, Rahimpour and Nariman-Jahan (2010) in a study considered the influence of self-efficacy and proficiency on EFL learners’ written task performance regarding the concept of fluency, complexity, and accuracy in an Iranian setting.
Moreover, Rahemi (2007) in a conducted study explored the English self-efficacy beliefs students' humanities and examined the contributions they make to their EFL achievements.
The results revealed that the students majoring in humanities had a very weak English self-efficacy and held certain negative beliefs about their academic ability as foreign language learners.
Procedure As it was mentioned in the section of instrumentation, one questionnaire on the students' self-efficacy and a multiple-choice test on reading proficiency were used for collecting data in the current study.
Data analysis To answer the research questions posed earlier, the following statistical procedures were carried out in this study: (1) Descriptive statistics including Cronbach alpha, standard deviation and means computed to summarize the students' responses to the self-efficacy questionnaire and reading comprehension test.
Findings of this study support the idea, confirming the significance of EFL learners' self-efficacy about language learning.
Findings of this study support the literature, confirming the importance of EFL learners' self-efficacy about language learning.