Self efficacy and FL education

Self-efficacy references in foreign language learningStudent self-efficacy beliefs: Self-efficacy of college intermediate French students: Relation to Motivation and Achievement Mills,

Self-Efficacy and Foreign Language Education

 What is Self-Efficacy?

 What does self-efficacy do?

 Where does self-efficacy come from?

 What are current areas of self-efficacy research?

 Why would you assess self-efficacy in the foreign language classroom?

 How do you assess self-efficacy?

 What are the results of self-efficacy research in foreign language learning?

 How does current self-efficacy research link to the teaching of less commonly taught languages?

 How do I foster self-efficacy in the LCTL classroom?

What is Self-Efficacy?

Social Cognitive Theory

 Individuals possess a system of self-beliefs that enables them to exercise control over their thoughts, feelings, and actions

 “People’s judgments of their capabilities to organize and execute courses of action required to attain designated types of performances” (Bandura, 1997)

 Beginning with Graham & Weiner’s review of

motivational research in 1996, we have learned that

students’ self-efficacy more consistently predicts

academic performance over and above other

motivational constructs

Great voices of self-efficacy

“They are able who think they are able”

– Virgil (ancient Roman poet)

Great voices of self-efficacy

“A man who doubts himself is like a man who would enlist in the ranks of his enemies and bear arms against himself He makes failure

certain by him being the first person

convinced of it.” – Alexandre Dumas (French

author)

Great voices of self-efficacy

“Whether you think that you can or you can’t, you’re usually right.”

– Henry Ford (Founder, Ford Motor

Company)

Great voices of self-efficacy

“If I have the belief that I can do it, I shall surely acquire the capacity to do it even if I may not

have it at the beginning.”

– Mahatma Gandhi (activist)

Great Voices of Self-Efficacy

“Clearly it is not simply a matter of how capable one is, but of how capable one believes oneself to be.”

– Frank Pajares (Former associate professor of educational psychology, Emory University)

What does self-efficacy do?

What does self-efficacy do?

 Influences pursued courses of action and decisions

 Influences the degree of expended effort

 Influences the level of perseverance and resilience to adversity in the face of obstacles

 Influences affective states

 Influences the degree of success realized

-Bandura, 1997

Where does self-efficacy come from?

Where does self-efficacy come from?

 Interpret the results of their actions

 Develop beliefs about their capabilities to engage

in subsequent tasks and activities

Vicarious Experiences

 If the model’s attributes are similar to their own

(ex: peers, etc.), the influence of the vicarious experience is strong

Emotional States

self-efficacy beliefs and performance

performance

Verbal Persuasions

 Feedback from others (teachers? Peers? Mentors?)

 Positive persuasions  encourage & empower

 Negative persuasions  defeat and weaken SE beliefs

 Importance of appropriate, rigorous,

and non-debilitating feedback

What are current areas of self-efficacy research?

Current areas of self-efficacy research

 Career self-efficacy

 Sports self-efficacy

 Self-efficacy and diets

 Self-efficacy and pain management

 Parental self-efficacy

 Self-efficacy and Depression

 Gender gaps and Self-efficacy

 Teacher Self-efficacy

 Student Self-efficacy

Why would you assess

self-efficacy in the foreign language classroom?

Why would you assess self-efficacy in the foreign language classroom?

 Evaluate students’ perceived competence in the course objectives

 Evaluate the influence of a new pedagogical approach on students’ efficacy (pre vs post)

self- Evaluate the influence of pedagogical interventions (ex: workshops, etc.)

on students’ or teachers’ self-efficacy

 Evaluate the influence of teaching learning strategy techniques (ex:

reading strategies, etc.) on students’ self-efficacy

 Longitudinal evaluation of self-efficacy beliefs (language requirement?)

 Other reasons?

How do you assess self-efficacy?

How do you assess self-efficacy?(quantitatively)

 Creation of self-efficacy questionnaires:

 The questions should be phrased in terms of “can do” as opposed

to “will do”

 Questions should be linked to the outcome measure or the outcome objectives

 “How certain are you that you can…”

“Rate your degree of confidence by recording a number from 0 to 100”

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

What are the results of

self-efficacy research in foreign language learning?

Self-efficacy references in foreign language learning

Student self-efficacy beliefs:

Self-efficacy of college intermediate French students: Relation to Motivation and Achievement (Mills, Pajares, & Herron, 2007)

A Re-evaluation of the Role of Anxiety: Self-efficacy, Anxiety, & their

Relation to Reading & Listening Proficiency (Mills, Pajares, &Herron, 2006)

A Guide du Routard Simulation: Increasing Self-Efficacy in the Standards through Project-based Learning (Mills, 2009)

Global Simulation and the Writing Self-beliefs of Intermediate French

Students (Mills & Péron, 2009)*

Longitudinal Perceptions of Efficacy and Value in the French Language

Requirement (Mills, November 2010) *

Learning strategies and self-efficacy:

Learner strategies and self-efficacy: Making the connection (Graham, 2007)

Strategy instruction in listening for lower-intermediate learners (Graham,

& Macaro, 2008)

Teacher self-efficacy beliefs:

Teacher Self-efficacy of Graduate Teaching Assistants of French (native

vs non-native) (Mills & Allen, 2007)

Teacher self-efficacy in literature of teaching assistants of French (Mills, 2011)*

Action Research: Bridging Theory and Practice (Mills, 2013)

Results from Self-Efficacy Research

Three Sample Research Studies:

Global Simulation and the Writing Self-beliefs of Intermediate

French Students (Mills & Péron, 2009) (quantitative)

Longitudinal Perceptions of Efficacy and Value in the French

Language Requirement (Mills, 2010) * (quantitative)

Teaching assistants’ self-efficacy in teaching literature:

Sources, personal assessments, and consequences

(Mills, 2011)* (qualitative)

How can you evaluate the influence of a

new pedagogical approach or new

curriculum on students’ self-efficacy?

Global simulation and the

development of writing self-efficacy

in French

Mills & Péron, 2009

International Journal of Applied Linguistics

Global simulation and the development of writing self-efficacy in French (Mills & Péron, 2009)

 Global Simulation: Students create a fictive yet culturally grounded world, assume the role of a self-developed

character, and collaborate with fellow community members (Magnin, 1997)

 “For this project , you will become the tenants of a Parisian building, located in the Montmartre quarter and you will write a book of your memoirs of the events in the building

As such, you are going to pretend to be a French or

francophone person living in France You will develop your own character and tell the story of his/her life in the first person.” (- Mélanie Péron)

Global simulation and the development of writing self-efficacy in French

 This study evaluated how global simulation influenced the development of intermediate-French students’ writing self- beliefs (writing self-efficacy*)

 Participants include 134 students enrolled in an Intermediate French I global simulation curriculum

 Writing self-efficacy evaluated at the beginning (PRE) and end of the semester (POST)

“Writing self-efficacy beliefs are defined as individuals’ judgments of their competence in writing , specifically their judgments of their ability to write different writing tasks and of their possession of various writing skills”

- Pajares & Johnson

Global simulation and the development of writing self-efficacy in French

Sample Writing Self-Efficacy

Questionnaire

Directions: Please use the following scale to answer the

following statements Circle the number that best

describes how sure you are that you can perform each of the French writing skills below.

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 _

80 _90 _100

No chance Completely Certain

Content (sample items)

•Write in French about a variety of topics with precision

and detail

•Describe personal experiences fully when writing in

French

•Present arguments or points of view accurately and

effectively when writing in French

Sample Writing Self-Efficacy

Questionnaire

you can…

• Write in French with fluency and ease of expression

• Write in French with a variety and complexity of

Sample Writing Self-Efficacy

• Make few conjugation errors when writing in French

• Make few agreement errors when writing in French

• Make few verb tense errors when writing in French

• Make few errors in spelling when writing in French

• Make few grammatical errors when writing in French

Sample Writing Self-Efficacy Questionnaire

that you can…

you can…

• Write in French with an underlying logical organization

• Write with a clear sense of beginning and closure

• Accurately and effectively use transitions when writing

in French

• Write in French with creativity.

• Interest and engage the reader when writing in French

Global simulation and the development of writing self-efficacy in French

Table Writing Self-Efficacy Beliefs Before and After Global

Simulation

_

Scale Pretest Mean Posttest Mean

 Writing self-efficacy (WSE) 59.6 73.5

 WSE Creativity 61.4 78.2

 WSE Organization 63.7 78.3

 WSE Grammar 56.6 68.8

 WSE Content 62.2 76.1

 WSE Expression 57.3 70.9 _

RESULTS:

Significant differences were found in Intermediate French students’ writing efficacy in grammar, content, creativity, expression, and organization

self-(pre  post)

Development of Writing Self-Efficacy

IMPLICATIONS: Why might global simulation enhance

students’ self-efficacy to write creatively?

 Creative nature of writing assignments

 Choice of topics to motivate students and promote exploration (Campbell, 1998;

Walker 2003)

 Liberation from own identity – exploration of a new, altered, or desired self

IMPLICATIONS: Why might global simulation enhance students’ self-efficacy to write in an organized

manner?

 Consistent writing practice & instructors’ guiding comments on students’ first drafts

 Writing workshops

IMPLICATIONS: Why might global simulation enhance

students’ self-efficacy to write with grammatical accuracy?

 Independent exploration of grammar websites & resources for personal grammar questions

 Grading rubrics focused on grammatical precision in first drafts

(conjugations

 Process-oriented writing

IMPLICATIONS: Why might global simulation enhance students’ self-efficacy to appropriately communicate content?

 Collective writing process

 Personal investment in character’s identity

 Progressive development of the complexity of the character

throughout the global simulation experience

 Choice of topics that attempt to “hook students” (Campbell, 1998; Walker, 2003)

 Learners are provided with choice (Walker, 2003)

IMPLICATIONS: Why might global simulation enhance

students’ self-efficacy to write with enhanced expression?

 Liberation from elementary-level writing (simple sentence structures, simple ideas, etc.)

 Capacity to express themselves in French writing in similar ways as they do when writing in English

 Grading procedure which encourages development of expression

 Use of textual references as models

 Ability to write their persona into the text

How can we use self-efficacy to assess students’

perceived development in the 5 Cs of the

Standards of FL learning from the

beginning to the end of the language

requirement?

Longitudinal Perceptions of Efficacy and Value in the Language Requirement

Mills, November 2010

ACTFL

Longitudinal Perceptions of Efficacy and Value in the

French Language Requirement

Longitudinal Evaluation of students’ perceived efficacy in relation to the

Standards of Foreign Language learning

1 Is there a change in French students’ self-efficacy to Communicate in

French from the beginning to the end of the language requirement?

2 Is there a change in French students’ self-efficacy in their

understanding of the practices, perspectives and products of the

French Culture ?

3 Is there a change in French students’ self-efficacy to make Connections

between French and other disciplines?

4 Is there a change in French students’ self-efficacy to understand the

French language and culture through Comparisons to their own

language and culture?

5 Is there a change in French students’ self-efficacy to participate in

francophone Communities at home and around the world?

Longitudinal Perceptions of Efficacy and Value in the

French Language Requirement

 Approximately 130 students participating in one of the two sequences (Fall 2007-Spring 2009):

Sample Self-efficacy Items: Standards of FL Learning

 On a scale from 0 (no chance) to 100 (completely certain), how sure

are you that you can perform each of the tasks below with reasonable grammatical accuracy, fluency, and ease? Remember that you may use any number between 0 and 100.

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100

No 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%

Chance Certain Certain Certain Certain Certain

Communication: Interpersonal (Sample items)

• I can introduce someone and use basic greetings and leave-taking expressions (Oral)

• I can actively participate in a debate (Oral)

• I can participate in extended written chat conversations (Writing)

• I can express needs in written form (Writing)

Sample Self-efficacy Items: Standards of FL Learning

Communication: Interpretive (Sample items)

 I can understand the main points in short newspaper articles about current and familiar topics (reading)

 I can understand literary texts with a basic vocabulary and a simple straightforward plot (reading)

 I can understand the details of most TV shows (listening)

 I can understand the main ideas of a short documentary (listening)

Sample Self-efficacy Items:

Standards of FL Learning

 Communication: Presentational (Sample items)

 I can write a review of a short film (writing)

 I can write an analytical essay (writing)

 I can present rehearsed skits (oral)

 I can give prepared presentations about a cultural topic (oral)

Sample Self-efficacy Items: Standards of FL Learning

 Culture: Products, Practices, Perspectives (sample items)

 I am familiar with the role of contemporary figures in the French/ francophone culture (Perspectives)

 I can describe customs and traditions of the target culture

(practices)

 I can recognize important monuments and symbols of French and francophone culture (products)