Enhancing college English writing through self-efficacy-based instruction

Area of Science:

• Educational Psychology
• Second Language Acquisition
• Writing Pedagogy

Background:

• First-year non-English majors often struggle with academic writing.
• Improving writing self-efficacy is crucial for academic success.
• Existing interventions may not adequately address individual learning needs.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate a 15-week instructional intervention for college students' English writing.
• To examine the impact of differentiated instruction, multi-source feedback, and structured writing on writing self-efficacy and performance.
• To investigate the mediating role of self-regulated learning and the correlation between self-efficacy and performance.

Main Methods:

• Quasi-experimental design with pre- and post-intervention assessments.
• Integrated approach: differentiated instruction, multi-source feedback, three-phase writing instruction.
• Focus on scaffolding, mastery experiences, and self-regulated learning behaviors.

Main Results:

• Significant improvements in both writing self-efficacy and writing performance were observed.
• A strong positive correlation was found between writing self-efficacy and writing performance.
• Self-regulated learning behaviors mediated the relationship between psychological beliefs and writing performance.

Conclusions:

• The integrated intervention effectively enhanced students' English writing skills and confidence.
• Differentiated instruction catered to diverse learner needs, promoting progress.
• The 'confidence-skill synergy' model offers a scalable framework for EFL writing instruction.