scholarly journals Self-efficacy and Its Relation to ESL Writing Proficiency and Academic Disciplines

Author(s):  
Saeid Raoofi ◽  
Jalal Gharibi ◽  
Hassan Gharibi

Writing is an essential skill for academic development within any disciplinary area. Despite the rapidly growing body of research on the various aspects of second language writing, research on writing self-efficacy remains scarce. This study investigated the relationship the between writing self-efficacy and writing proficiency in English as a second language. In this cross-sectional study, 304 Malaysian undergraduate students completed a writing self-efficacy questionnaire. The participants’ writing proficiency was assessed using two different writing tasks. The results showed that there was a significant difference in writing self-efficacy among the three writing proficiency groups. It was also found that science students had significantly higher writing self-efficacy than those in social sciences. Limitations of the study and Implications for second language writing instruction are also discussed. 

Author(s):  
Cheyvuth Seng ◽  
May Kristine Jonson Carlon ◽  
Jeffrey Cross ◽  

Introduction. This paper examines the information literacy self-efficacy of undergraduate students at provincial universities in Cambodia, and to determine whether there are significant differences in information literacy self-efficacy in terms of sex, academic year, faculty and university. Method. We adapted the information literacy self-efficacy skills survey by Kurbanoglu and administered to 1,009 undergraduate students at three public provincial universities to measure their confidence on information literacy. Analysis. Descriptive and inferential statistics using independent sample t-test (t-test) and analysis of variance (ANOVA) were used to analyse the responses. Results. The results indicated that the information literacy self-efficacy of provincial universities in Cambodia was low as the mean scores were lower than the midpoint value of the original scale. Significant differences were also observed across the faculties and universities. This study revealed no significant difference of information literacy self-efficacy between male and female students. However, significant difference was observed between universities due to the performance of infrastructures and supporting funds. Conclusions. The findings indicated that undergraduate students at the provincial universities in Cambodia exhibited low confidence in information literacy. Policy making on information and communication technologies should be well implemented to provide practical skills to students from first to fourth year.


2014 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 447-453 ◽  
Author(s):  
Whye Lian Cheah ◽  
Hazmi Helmy ◽  
Ching Thon Chang

Abstract Rural communities have shown marked increase in metabolic syndrome among young people, with physical inactivity as one of the main contributing factors. This study aimed to determine factors associated with physical inactivity among male and female rural adolescents in a sample of schools in Malaysia. A cross-sectional study was conducted among 145 students aged 13–15 years. Data on socio-demographic, health-related, and psychosocial factors (perceived barriers, self-efficacy, social influences) were collected using a self-administered questionnaire. Anthropometric measurement was taken to generate body mass index (BMI)-for-age, while physical activity (PA) level was assessed using pedometers. The mean steps per day was 6251.37 (SD=3085.31) with males reported as being more active. About 27% of the respondents were either overweight or obese, with more females in this group. There was no significant difference in steps among males and females (p=0.212), and nutritional status (BMI-for-age) (p=0.439). Females consistently scored higher in most items under perceived barriers, but had significantly lower scores in self-efficacy’s items. Males were more influenced by peers in terms of PA (p<0.001) and were more satisfied with their body parts (p=0.047). A significantly higher body size discrepancy score was found among females (p=0.034, CI –0.639, –0.026). PA level was low and almost one-third of the respondents were overweight and obese. Female students faced more barriers and had lower self-efficacy with regards PA. Based on the findings, it is recommended that interventions focus on reducing barriers while increasing support for PA. This is particularly important in improving the health status of the youth, especially among the females.


2018 ◽  
Vol 08 (04) ◽  
pp. 221-225
Author(s):  
Beenish Fatima Alam ◽  
Hira Raza ◽  
Shizma junejo ◽  
Marium Azfar ◽  
Tuba Saleem ◽  
...  

Objective: To determine the differences of self-perception of halitosis and oral hygiene practices among the medical and dental undergraduate students. Methodology: A cross-sectional study conducted over duration of 9 months amongst the medical and dental undergraduate students of Bahria University Medical and Dental College. The questionnaires were distributed to 298 students. Questionnaire employed for this study was adopted and modified from the study conducted by Khalid Almas et al. Descriptive statistics were checked by means of percentages and frequency for all variables. Chi-square test was applied to check significant difference among the responses given by the medical and dental undergraduate students. Results: The response rate for the survey was about 85%. 55% of dental and 17 % of medical students were able to smell their breath. About having examination by dentist about 73% of medical students agreed as compared to 53% of dental students. Both medical and dental students preferred having examination done by the dentist. For management of halitosis, dentist was preferred by 62% of the dental students, while 97% of the medical students did not agree. 62% of the dental students preferred using traditional medications, while 82% of the medical students preferred using self-medications for treatment. Conclusion: The results suggest that there is not a high level of agreement among dental and medical students concerning the detection and management of halitosis. Although large percent of the respondents claimed to be aware of dentistry, our findings revealed low level of knowledge and attitude to Dentistry by the medical undergraduate students. Efforts should be made towards closing this knowledge gap to attain effective oral health.


2021 ◽  
Vol X (3) ◽  
pp. 66-73
Author(s):  
Liliya Makovskaya ◽  

Feedback has always been considered important in second language writing. Quite recently due to various reasons, electronic feedback has become one of the frequently applied types (Zareekbatani, 2015; Ene & Upton, 2018). The aim of the research study was therefore to identify lecturers’ and students’ views on the use of online comments provided on the second language writing tasks. The data was collected through conducting online semi-structured interviews with undergraduate students and lecturers of one Uzbek university. The findings revealed that a variety of comments given on different aspects of the written assessment tasks in the Google documents and combined with additional oral feedback were effective. The article aims at discussing the detailed findings of the research study and providing possible suggestions for language teachers on the use of electronic feedback in L2 writing.


Author(s):  
Harish B. R. ◽  
Bharath J.

Background: Nomophobia (no mobile phobia), is the fear an individual gets if he is out of mobile phone contact due to no network, has run out of balance or run out of battery; the persons gets anxious, which adversely affects the concentration level of the person. Since the younger generation is the latest consumer of the mobile phones and the under 25 year age group in professional colleges like medical colleges use mobile phones quite frequently this study was conducted to determine the prevalence of nomophobia in the undergraduate students of Mandya Institute of Medical Sciences, Mandya.Methods: This was a cross sectional study conducted at Mandya Institute of Medical Sciences during May 2018 to June 2018. All undergraduate students were included i.e. same as study population (n=450). Data collection was done during June 2018 using structured questionnaire.Results: Mean age of the study participants was 20.1±1.3 years. Majority of the study population were hostelites. Approximate amount of money spent on last recharge/last postpaid bill was INR 354.1±185.0. Main reasons for using smartphones were ‘to call family members’, ‘using internet for academics’ and ‘for social networking’. Prevalence of moderate to severe nomophobia among the study population was 99.0%. No statistical significant difference was observed between gender and nomophobia.Conclusions: Prevalence of nomophobia among undergraduate medical student was 99.0% and majority had moderate level of nomophobia. There was no association between nomophobia and gender, place of present residence, amount of money spent on last recharge. 


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sundus Ziad AlKadi ◽  
Abeer Ahmed Madini

With new technology, writing became a skill that is being developed year after year. The present study questions whether there is a difference between paper-based and computer-based writing in terms of errors and lexico-grammar. It aims at exploring sentence-level errors and lexico-grammatical competence in two writing genres in a collaborative writing environment within paper-based and computer-based writing. A sample of 73 female intermediate level learners participated in the study at the University of Business and Technology (UBT), in Saudi Arabia. This mixed-methods research is significant in the literature of second language writing since it highlights genre awareness, lexico-grammatical competence, analyzing errors, and collaboration in two styles of writing. The reading-based writing tasks acted as a reflection of the learners' lexico-grammatical competence on paper and via Web 2.0 tool (Padlet). Statistically, the Mann-Whitney U-tests showed that there was no significant difference between paper-based and computer-based groups in the sentence-level errors in narrative genre, whereas there was a significant difference between the two different tools of writing groups in the sentence-level errors in opinion genre. However, there was no significant difference between paper-based and computer-based groups in the clauses (lexico-grammar) of the two groups. Immediate semi-structured interviews were conducted and analyzed through NVIVO to get more insights from the learners to explain the comparison between the paper-based and the computer-based writing. In light of the significant findings, implications are sought to create an equillibrium between paper-based and computer-based writing, along with enhancing collaboration in second language writing.


2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Shinta Antin Kumalasari ◽  
Sri Suparti ◽  
Kala Raani

Background: Early Clinical Exposure is a learning approach that integrates classroom learning with the clinical practice at the students' academic stage. Based on an interview with 3rd-semester Nursing Students, the results showed that they had low self-efficacy and readiness towards early clinical exposure. Objective: This study aims to evaluate self-efficacy and readiness towards early clinical exposure among nursing students of Universitas Muhammadiyah Purwokerto (UMP). The study design was a cross-sectional study involving 218 undergraduate students at a private Islamic university in their third semester. Methods: Data were collected using an online questionnaire of Google Form developed by the researcher, and the questions were valid and reliable based on a reliability test. The sampling method in this study was the total sampling technique. There were 50 questions of the item in the questionnaire and 6 items for demographic data. Result: The majority of pupils showed strong self-efficacy (98.2%) according to the findings of this study and moderate self-efficacy (1.8%). The majority of students presented high readiness (97.7%) and moderate readiness (2.3%). According to the correlation test results, a correlation (r = 0.545, p0.05) was found between self-efficacy and readiness for early clinical exposure. Conclusion: The higher the student's self-efficacy is, the more the readiness will be to face the practice of early clinical exposure.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Kirsten Reid

<p>Students studying in university contexts often find learning to write English for academic purposes especially challenging. Some of the challenges reside in acquiring the necessary skills and strategies to be successful academic writers. A less tangible consideration which has received recent attention from first and second language writing researchers is the relationship between writing and identity. How do student writers become part of a situated community in which some discourses may be privileged over others? While all writing can be a potential site of struggle, this may have particular significance for second language students who bring their own unique backgrounds and literacy histories to their academic writing and may find becoming part of a new and heterogeneous discourse community profoundly unsettling. Using case study methods, this dissertation explores the experiences of four undergraduate students as they become academic writers in a second language. It also carries out an analysis of some of the linguistic features one particular student essay to examine how writers simultaneously construct their texts and are constructed by them.</p>


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Md Shahjalal ◽  
Ahmed Hossain ◽  
Most Fatematujjuhora ◽  
Arifa Sultana ◽  
Shatabdee Hawlader ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Imposter Phenomenon (IP) is a highly prevalent behavioural health issue affecting individual professional performance and regular activity. The current study focused on evaluating IP prevalence and assessing the factor contributing to IP among undergraduate students of Dhaka city. This was an analytical cross-sectional survey performed among undergraduate students between August to December 2020. The Young Imposter Scale (YIS) was used to determine the dichotomous assessment for the presence or absence of IP. Results Among the recruited 1,139 students, 378 (33%) had imposter syndrome. The prevalence was relatively higher (34%) among males compared to females (32%). Around one third (31.6%) reported that they face problems in sleeping. Our analysis shows that the sleeping problem of the student (p=<0.01) and academic year (p=0.04) had a statistically significant association with IP. Students who completed two academic years were more likely to have IP (AOR:1.18; 95% CI: 1.01-1.41). There was a statistically significant difference in the experience of IP across who had a sleeping problem than those who didn’t (AOR: 1.54; 95% CI: 1.25-1.90). Conclusion Our study revealed a relatively high prevalence of IP among undergraduate students, affecting their professional lives. Awareness-raising programmes should be arranged at the university level to help students to cope up with IP.


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