Mediating Effects Of Computer Self-efficacy On CALL-Related Learning Performance

Computer Assisted Language Learning(CALL) is an indispensible teaching and learning mode for modern language education. Currently, with the wide spread of information technology, CALL has become a hot issue in foreign language teaching circle. However, although a great number of researchers have devoted to the study of CALL both at home and abroad, few of them have studied learners’ psychological factors related to computers. Even universities using CALL to teach English seldom pay attention to the individual differences and learners’ perception of CALL. Previous studies find that gender and major differences may exist with regard to computer anxiety and computer self-efficacy, and there are certain relationships between these two variables as well as perceived usefulness which is reported to have an indirect influence on learning performance. Therefore, current study aims to investigate the following questions. Under CALL environment,1) With regard to computer anxiety and computer self-efficacy, are there any gender or major differences for college English learners? Why?2) What are the interrelationships between computer anxiety, computer self-efficacy and perceived usefulness?3) Is there a relationship between perceived usefulness and learners’ learning performance? If yes, how does learners’ perceived usefulness affect their learning performance?The current research is carried out via questionnaire, which is conducted with 340 subjects from Jiangnan University. Among the 309 effective responders, 105 are males and 204 are females. These subjects are then categorized into three majors, respectively major of Arts, major of Science and Computer-related majors. The number of each group is 98, 104 and 107. Research data are analyzed by the statistic software SPSS 16.0 for windows. Reliability test, difference analysis, regression analysis and correlation analysis are used in this study to find out the individual differences and mutual relationships. Findings of this study are listed as below.1) There is no significant gender or major differences with regard to learners’ computer anxiety and computer self-efficacy. With increasing use of computers and equal social expectation, learners of different genders and majors tend to have similar affection and cognition towards computers and thus use computers equally while performing common English tasks. The results indicate that CALL learning mode can be widely applied to English learners of different genders and majors to help improve their English proficiency.2) a. Computer anxiety has a negative relationship with perceived usefulness. b. Computer anxiety has a negative relationship with computer self-efficacy. c. Computer self-efficacy has a positive relationship with perceived usefulness. When computer self-efficacy is included, the original negative relationship between computer anxiety and perceived usefulness becomes weaker. Above conclusion supports the partial mediating effects of computer self-efficacy between computer anxiety and perceived usefulness, which gives us a sight on how to reduce the negative effects of computer anxiety on perceived usefulness by improving learners’ computer self-efficacy3) There is an indirect relationship between perceived usefulness and learning performance. Perceived usefulness can exert an influence on learning performance by directly affecting learner behaviors. This study finds that learners’ perceived usefulness has a positive correlation with learner behaviors but does not significantly correlate with their English performance. On one hand, it shows that though perceived usefulness has a positive influence on learning behaviors, it is not the decisive factor to improve English proficiency. Clear learning goal, sufficient learning time and effective learning strategies also play important roles on successful English language learning. On the other hand, the result implies that we cannot totally rely on CALL, the assistive tool, to improve English. In current learning environment, rational teaching design and persistent learner efforts are still indispensible for English improvement.This paper mainly discusses the mediating effects of computer self-efficacy in CALL and the impact of perceived usefulness on CALL learners’ learning performance. Current study enriches the application of Social Cognitive Theory and Technology Acceptance Model as well as former research findings on CALL. It provides some implications on the effective use of CALL system for college English language teaching and learning. Moreover, research findings give rise to the concern of computer-related factors in CALL for further researches. Due to the wide application of CALL in China, the same study can be done in learners of different grades or different levels of schools such as primary and secondary school, which can gain more sights than a sample from the same grade of one university.