| Self-efficacy, the belief that one can complete a specific learning task effectively, is of vital importance for students studying Spanish as a foreign language. In prior research increased self-efficacy has been correlated with enhanced learner motivation, academic performance, and overall achievement. Theoretically, learners' ability to self-assess their own strengths and limitations during the learning process may be linked to overall self-efficacy. However, this association has not been tested empirically. The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of a continuous self-assessment component on the self-efficacy of undergraduate students studying Spanish as a foreign language. One hundred and four undergraduate students from two different universities participated in this experimental study. 62 participants were in a treatment group, and 42 participants were in the control group. All participants completed the Spanish as a Foreign Language Self-Efficacy Questionnaire (SFL-SEQ) during the second week of the semester (i.e., pretest) and during the final week of the semester (i.e., posttest). Participants in the treatment group also completed weekly Self-Assessment Questionnaires throughout the semester. Results of an Analysis of Covariance, which tested whether inter-group differences in self-efficacy were different between the control and treatments group at posttest after controlling for participants' pretest self-efficacy scores (i.e., the covariate) were not statistically significant (F [1,86] = 1.77, p = .19). However, results of a follow-up 2X2 Analysis of Variance, which tested whether intra-group self-efficacy increased from pretest to posttest, were statistically significant (F [1,87] = 12.40, p < .01). Pairwise t-tests for dependent measures showed that self-efficacy scores did increase significantly from pretest to posttest for treatment group participants (t = -7.18 [df = 53], p < .001), but self-efficacy scores did not significantly increase from pretest to posttest for control group participants (t = -.90 [df = 34], p = .38). Therefore, Spanish undergraduate students' self-efficacy seemed to be heightened significantly more with continuous self-assessment than without it. In addition, Pearson correlations revealed that participants' Self-Assessment Questionnaire scores were significantly positively correlated with their SFL-SEQ scores. That is, when students rated themselves as learning and knowing more during the course, their self-efficacy scores proportionately increased as well. A detailed interpretation of these results, as well as implications for foreign language education, is provided. |
