An Investigation Into English Learning Strategies And English Self-Efficacy Of English Majors From A TV University

According to Oxford (1993), language learning strategies refer to specific actions, behaviors, steps, techniques that students use to improve their progress in developing second language skills. Self-efficacy, defined by Bandura (1986, 1994), refers to people's beliefs about their capabilities to produce designed levels of performance that exercise influence over events that affect their lives. It can mediate language development. They are both important variables executing the influence on the learning process.Adopting a quantitative approach, this study reports an investigation into English learning strategies and English self-efficacy and explores their relationship among 96 English majors from a TV university in the form of questionnaire and with the help of SPSS 10.0.The results reveal TV university English majors employ English learning strategies and hold English self-efficacy at moderate level; they use social strategies the most frequently and have the highest level in sense of course dealing. The study finds out significant difference in strategy use and self-efficacy in the terms of family background (from rural or urban areas) and achievement levels. However no significance is found between students from different previous schools: senior high schools or vocational secondary schools. Statistical analyses also confirm the positive correlations between English learning strategies and achievement, between English self-efficacy and achievement, and between English learning strategies and English self-efficacy. The results supply support to the view that English learning strategies and self-efficacy play important roles in English learning and provide proof for the relationship that they are positively correlated with each other.On the basis of the findings and analyses, the author offers implications and suggestions for raising strategy use and for enhancing self-efficacy level of TV university English majors to facilitate English teaching and learning practice.