PERCEIVED SELF-EFFICACY OF MALAYSIAN ESL ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY STUDENTS ON THEIR SPEAKING ABILITY AND ITS PEDAGOGICAL IMPLICATIONS

Abstract

This study looks into the self-efficacy of Malaysian ESL students (n=338) from a private university in their ability to speak in English. These students are majoring in engineering and technology. A questionnaire, designed by Idrus and Sivapalan (2007), adapted from Bandura (1990) and Mikulecky et al. (1996), was used to assess the perceived self-efficacy of the students on the three dimensions of ability, aspiration and activity perception. The findings indicate that, in general, the students had high self-efficacy beliefs in their speaking ability on all the three dimensions. The study also compared the students’ self-efficacy levels in relation to year of study, gender and ethnicity. This paper discusses the findings and the pedagogical implications for the teaching and learning of speaking skills among English language learners.