A Study On The Relationship Between English Writing Self-efficacy And Writing Strategies Of English Majors

English writing is an important skill for college students to grasp,while it is also the most challenging part in students' English language learning.Numerous scholars have done unremitting efforts in second language writing and have put forwards suggestions.Studies have shown that English writing is not only a complicated cognitive activity,but also an affective activity.In the field of Second Language Acquisition,studies on positive affective factors like self-efficacy have received increasing attention.As an internal motivational variable,self-efficacy exerts direct influence on learners' strategy choices and learning outcomes.During last few decades,scholars at home and abroad have conducted researches within great breadth and depth with regard to self-efficacy and learning strategies,confirming that self-efficacy is significantly related to learning strategies.However,it bears noting that paucity of research on a specific area like second language writing has been done.Focusing on English writing,this thesis adopts mixed research methods including questionnaires and the interview in order to explore English majors' level of English writing self-efficacy,the employment of English writing strategies as well as the correlation between the two variables.It is aimed at exploring effective ways to improve writing self-efficacy as well as guiding students to use effective writing strategies to promote their English writing proficiency in order to provide references for English writing teaching.Junior English major students in four universities in Shanghai are chosen as research subjects.195 valid questionnaires are collected for data analysis.Furthermore,six students who have filled out the questionnaires are chosen to participate in the interview to explore supplementary information based on quantitative data.The research findings are as follows.First of all,English majors experience a moderate level of English writing self-efficacy.To be more specific,English majors report a higher writing skill self-efficacy than writing task self-efficacy.Additionally,English majors have a medium employment of English writing strategies.They employ cognitive strategies most frequently,followed by metacognitive strategies.Social/affective strategies are used least.Finally,English writing self-efficacy is positively correlated with English writing strategies with a moderate correlation,which means that students with higher English writing self-efficacy tend to employ more writing strategies.Meanwhile,the dimensions of English writing self-efficacy and English writing strategies are also positively correlated.Specifically,English writing self-efficacy has the tightest correlation with cognitive strategies,followed by metacognitive strategies.Social/affective strategies have the lowest correlation coefficient with writing self-efficacy.On the basis of research findings,it is hoped that this study will enrich research achievements in English writing and provide implications for English writing teaching and writing.Teachers should improve writing teaching modes and increase students' confidence in writing.Meanwhile,it is advisable to strengthen writing strategy instructions,facilitating students' abilities in employing various writing strategies.