Assessing student-writers’ self-efficacy beliefs about text revision in EFL writing

Abstract

Abstract This research proposed and examined a two-factor structure of self-efficacy beliefs about text revision in English-as-a-foreign-language (EFL) contexts. The Second Language Text Revision Self-Efficacy Scale (L2TRSS) was developed and scrutinised; exploratory factor analyses of the responses of 446 EFL learners and a subsequent confirmatory factor analysis with a different sample of 310 participants resulted in a 17-item scale with two factors: (1) self-efficacy beliefs about high-level text revision and (2) self-efficacy beliefs about low-level text revision. Factor analyses combined with model comparisons substantiated the two-factor structure of self-efficacy beliefs, in which the two factors were conceptually interrelated with one another. Scores for each subscale of the L2TRSS were examined in relation to writing test scores and frequencies of revisions marked on the texts. Results showed that self-efficacy beliefs about text revision had weak, positive correlations with writing test scores. However, there was a lack of evidence for the relations between subscale scores of the L2TRSS and frequencies of revisions in different categories. Possible reasons for this lack of significant relationship were discussed. Theoretical implications of the research findings and potential applications of the L2TRSS in classrooms and beyond for assessing EFL learners’ self-efficacy beliefs about text revision are also explored.