A Study On The Correlation Between English Majors’ Perceptions Of Classroom Environment And Their Self-efficacy

The classroom is the primary place for students to acquire knowledge,and the classroom environment refers to the physical,social,and psychological environment in which students are situated in the school classroom.Self-efficacy,as an important concept in psychology,refers to an individual’s confidence in their ability to perform a specific behavior using their acquired skills.The classroom environment undoubtedly influences students’ psychological development,and the psychological and social aspects within the classroom environment have explanatory roles in self-efficacy.Understanding the correlation between students’ perceptions of the classroom environment and their self-efficacy can contribute to improving students’ academic performance.This research is based on Lewin’s field theory,Moos’ human environment theory and Bandura’ s social cognitive theory.The questionnaires used were WIHIC(What Is Happening In This Classroom?)developed by Fraser,and GSES(The General SelfEfficacy Scale),created by Schwarzer.The study involved 301 English majors from four grades and four types of classes at Nanning Normal University,namely English Language Teaching(ELT)Class,Translation Class,Business English Class,and Tao Xingzhi Class,with students from each grade and class type being interviewed.The research questions are as follows:(1)What is current situation of English majors’ perceptions of classroom environment? Are there any differences in terms of gender,grade and class?(2)What is current situation of English majors’ self-efficacy? Are there any differences in terms of gender,grade and class?(3)What is the correlation between English majors’ perceptions of classroom environment and their self-efficacy?The data were analyzed by SPSS 27,and the following findings were obtained:(1)English majors have a good perception of the classroom environment(M=3.67),with the strongest perceptions in the dimensions of student cohesiveness and task orientation.Female students perceive the classroom environment more positively than male students.Regarding different grades,students from Grade One and Grade Three have stronger perceptions of the classroom environment than students from Grade Two and Grade Four.Regarding different class types,the Tao Xingzhi Class has the strongest perception of the classroom environment;(2)The self-efficacy of English majors is at a moderate level(M=2.61).There is no significant difference between male and female students concerning their self-efficacy.Students from Grade Three and Grade Four have higher self-efficacy than students from Grade One and Grade Two.Regarding different types of classes,the Tao Xingzhi Class has the highest self-efficacy;(3)There is a moderate positive correlation(r=0.403)between the perceptions of classroom environment and self-efficacy among the 301 English majors,with the dimensions of student cohesiveness and cooperation have a predictive effect on selfefficacy.Based on the data analysis,the pedagogical implications are given:(1)The dimensions of student cohesiveness and cooperation in the classroom environment have a predictive effect on self-efficacy,suggesting that friendly group cooperation can improve students’ self-efficacy,and therefore,teachers should consciously design group cooperation tasks;(2)English majors have the weakest perceptions in the dimensions of involvement and investigation.Teachers can design engrossing and interesting activities to attract students’ attention and focus on developing their problem-solving abilities.(3)The third year is a crucial year for English majors,as they have the strongest perception of the classroom environment and the highest self-efficacy.Therefore,more effort and attention should be given to this year to a chieve better performance.