The Correlation between EFL Undergraduate Students’ Self-Efficacy Beliefs in Essay Writing and Writing Performance
Keywords:
Self-efficacy, writing performance, freshmen studentsAbstract
Despite established links between self-efficacy and EFL writing performance, research on Indonesian EFL freshmen remains scarce. Prior research has not extensively examined this relationship among Indonesian EFL freshmen. This study examines the relationship between writing performance and self-efficacy among 45 freshmen majoring in English education at a university in Surabaya, Indonesia. Utilizing a quantitative correlational design, the study found a Spearman’s rho correlation of 0.069, indicating a weak, non-significant relationship between writing self-efficacy and actual writing performance. In some instances, an inverse relationship was observed, where students with higher self-efficacy reported lower writing performance, and vice versa. These findings challenge the common assumption that higher self-efficacy consistently leads to better writing performance in EFL contexts. The research emphasizes the need for a more holistic approach to assessment by combining self-efficacy measures with objective performance evaluations. Further research is recommended to explore other internal and external factors that may influence the relationship between self-efficacy and writing performance among EFL undergraduates.
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