Determinants of Speaking Self-Efficacy Among Independent English Users in Japan

Abstract

This study develops a model for CEFR Independent User-level Japanese L2 English learners to examine the relationships among reflections, classroom community, fear of negative and positive evaluation, and conversation-focused speaking self-efficacy, using structural equation modeling (SEM) with bootstrapping. The study collects data from 236 students through a questionnaire comprising four psychometric scales. The investigations found that reflections with consistent instructor feedback may potentially predict enhanced classroom community among independent users. Additionally, classroom community significantly predicts fear of positive evaluation but not fear of negative evaluation. Moreover, reflections with consistent instructor feedback indirectly predict a reduction in both evaluation-related fears among independent users. Overall, the model explains variance in conversation-based speaking self-efficacy for independent users (15.8%). The findings of this study conclude that instructors using reflections should provide consistent feedback, as it may play a key role in facilitating classroom community.