Kobayashi, Dawn 
ORCID: 0000-0001-7798-1415
(2021)
Exploring the Sources of Japanese University Students’ EFL Speaking Self-Efficacy: A Mixed Methods Study.
Doctor of Education thesis, University of Liverpool.
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Abstract
Self-efficacy is situated within Bandura's social cognitive theory of human agency over behaviour (1997). Defined as "peoples' beliefs in their capabilities to succeed in a specific task" (Bandura, 2006), it is formed through the interpretation of four sources: mastery experiences, social modelling, social persuasion, and physiological states. Self-efficacy has been shown to be a predictor of academic success in subject domains such as mathematics and science in predominantly Western settings. The sources of self-efficacy remain a relatively under-researched field in Japan, especially in English foreign language (EFL) speaking. Consequently, this study aims to explore Japanese university students' low self-efficacy to speak English through their sources of EFL speaking self-efficacy experiences at junior and senior high school (12-18 years old). The issue is important because the ability to communicate effectively in English provides access to global education and employment opportunities. However, Japanese people have one of the lowest English proficiency levels in Asia. The study uses a sequential, exploratory, mixed methods design. In the first stage, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 15 second-year university students. The transcripts were analysed with hybrid thematic analysis to yield seven themes: the four sources (mastery, social modelling, social persuasion, physiological states), goals for studying English, attitude to studying English, and desired second language (L2) self. The themes were then used to develop an inventory of sources of EFL speaking self-efficacy. This was administered to a larger sample of Japanese university students (N=353) to see whether the results of the first interview stage could be generalised to the larger sample. The results showed that Japanese university students had not encountered enough self-efficacy forming experiences. The unique findings of this study were that positive physiological states and social persuasion appear to be more influential for Japanese students than mastery experiences. The study's theoretical implications are that students' desired second language self is potentially an additional source of self-efficacy and that the four sources may act differently due to cultural and domain contexts. The practical implications are that teachers at university will need to provide targeted self-efficacy forming activities to develop students' speaking proficiency.
| Item Type: | Thesis (Doctor of Education) |
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| Uncontrolled Keywords: | EFL speaking, sources of self-efficacy, Japanese university students, sequential exploratory mixed methods study |
| Divisions: | Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences > School of Histories, Languages and Cultures |
| Depositing User: | Symplectic Admin |
| Date Deposited: | 15 Jun 2021 11:03 |
| Last Modified: | 18 Jan 2023 22:47 |
| DOI: | 10.17638/03122282 |
| Supervisors: |
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| URI: | https://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/id/eprint/3122282 |
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