A Correlation Study Of College Students’ English Writing Self-Efficacy,Writing Anxiety And Writing Performance

In recent years,self-efficacy and anxiety are two heated research subjects in English as a foreign language learning(EFL).In EFL writing,writing self-efficacy(WSE),claimed as “writers’ confidence in their abilities to complete designated writing tasks”(Tang & Xu,2011: 22),has been acknowledged to play a pivotal role in one’s writing performance(WP).Likewise,writing anxiety(WA),described by Guo & Qin(2009)as learners’ anxiety behavior in the output process of writing in foreign language,is considered as an influential factor of one’s writing achievement.The significant impact of writing self-efficacy and writing anxiety on learners’ writing performance has given rise to many studies abroad since the 1980 s,which includes studies at the sub-skills level.By comparison,relevant studies are sparse in China.No study has probed into WSE at the sub-skills facet so far.Also,there is no consistent conclusion in terms of the relationship among WSE,WA and WP.Under the guidance of Social Cognitive Theory,this thesis aims to probe into the current situation of Chinese college students’ WA and WSE at the micro-skills level,and explore their relationship with WP.There are three research questions in this study: a)What is the status quo of college students’ writing self-efficacy and writing anxiety? b)What is the relationship between college students’ writing self-efficacy and writing anxiety? c)How does college students’ writing self-efficacy and writing anxiety correlate with their writing performance respectively?To answer the aforementioned questions,236 first-year college students from a university in northeastern China were involved in this study.Two questionnaires for WSE and WA measurement and a writing task for WP assessment were distributed to participants.The data were then analyzed with SPSS 20.0.Subsequently,8 students took part in an interview for further details in relation to their perception on WSE,WA and WP.The research findings of this study are: Generally,(1)Among Chinese college students,there is a moderate level of overall writing self-efficacy(M = 3.06)and its two sub-components: writing skills self-efficacy(WSSE)(M = 3.13)and writing tasks self-efficacy(WTSE)(M =2.98).(2)Students experience a relatively moderate to high level of overall writing anxiety(M = 3.26),but a high level in the dimension of avoidance behavior(M = 3.55).(3)With respect to the correlation,students’ WSE is found to be significantly negatively correlated with WA at a moderate magnitude(r =-.485),which indicates that WSE can be affected by one’s anxious state inversely.Specifically,WSE is correlated most highly with avoidance behavior(r =-.563);while WA is correlated most with idea dimension(r =-.494).(4)Students’ WP is found to correlate in positive direction with WSE(r =.695)but in negative direction with WA(r =-.290).Specifically,there is a comparatively stronger relationship between WP and the dimensions of mechanics,expression and avoidance behavior.From the above,it can be found that the situation of Chinese college students’ WSE and WA is not satisfactory and there is a close relationship among WSE,WA and WP.Several pedagogical implications,therefore,are proposed.First,both teachers and students should realize the importance of self-beliefs and affective variables.Second,teachers should create a relaxing classroom atmosphere and provide more positive feedback.Third,teachers are advised to assess students’ WSE and WA at the beginning of the term,so that they can intervene with appropriate teaching strategies.In spite of the efforts made,the present study is limited in the number of participants as well as the scope of the participants(all from one university),so the results may not be applicable to other situations.Besides,the cause-effect relation is not inspected as this is a correlation study.