Self-regulated Learning Strategies and Self-efficacy Beliefs of Children Learning English as a Second Language
Author: Chuang Wang
Publisher:
Published: 2004
Total Pages:
ISBN-13:
DOWNLOAD EBOOKAbstract: This is a qualitative case study to investigate elementary school children's self-efficacy beliefs and use of self-regulated learning (SRL) strategies in the process of learning English as a second language. Drawing upon the social cognitive and sociocultural perspectives of self-regulation, recent studies of students' self-efficacy beliefs, and language learners' willingness to communicate, this study provides a "thick description" of four Chinese children's behaviors associated with self-efficacy beliefs and their strategy use across home-based and school-based contexts. Participants reported self-efficacy beliefs across a variety of language-learning tasks in listening, speaking, reading, and writing. This study suggests that self-efficacy is a task-specific construct. Each child's self-efficacy varies across specific tasks and across home-based and school-based language-learning contexts. All participants in this study reported higher self-efficacy to complete listening and speaking language activities than reading and writing activities. Sources of the children's self-efficacy were also explored. The participants' self-efficacy beliefs were associated with their expertise in the content area, self-perceptions of English proficiency level, task difficulty level, social persuasion, physiological or emotional state, interest, attitude toward the English language and the English speaking community, and the social and cultural context. Nearly all 14 classes of the SRL strategies developed by Zimmerman and Martinez-Pons (1986) were reported. Students reported more strategies in reading than writing. The most commonly used SRL strategies employed by all the participants were seeking social assistance, seeking information, reviewing records, and environmental structuring. These findings have extended scholarly work on children's self-efficacy beliefs and their use of language-learning strategies in the context of second language acquisition. The implications of this study also extend to language classroom teaching since teachers may better understand their students' self-efficacy and the impact of self-efficacy based on this study. They may incorporate SRL strategies specific to second language learning in the curriculum and enhance students' self-efficacy beliefs by providing accurate and continuous feedback to the students.
