The paper titled "The Association between Self-efficacy of Saudi Learners and Their EFL Academic Performance" by Fakieh Alrabai focuses on exploring the relationship between self-efficacy beliefs and academic performance in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) among Saudi university students. The primary research question investigates whether there is a significant correlation between students' self-efficacy and their achievement in EFL.
The purpose of the study is to assess the self-efficacy levels of Saudi EFL learners and determine how these beliefs influence their academic outcomes in English. The scope includes evaluating the efficacy across four language skills—listening, speaking, reading, and writing—and measuring their academic performance through final exam scores in these areas.
The methodology employed is a quantitative research design, involving 221 undergraduate English-major students at King Khalid University. The study used a questionnaire to measure self-efficacy and analyzed the data using descriptive statistics and Pearson correlation coefficients to identify relationships between self-efficacy and EFL performance.
Key findings indicate that the participants generally exhibited very low self-efficacy in English language learning, which corresponded with low academic performance in EFL. A positive correlation was found between students' self-efficacy beliefs and their EFL achievement, suggesting that higher self-efficacy is associated with better academic outcomes.
The study concludes that improving the self-efficacy of Saudi EFL learners could enhance their academic performance. It recommends focusing on the sources of self-efficacy—such as mastery experiences, vicarious experiences, verbal persuasion, and emotional states—to foster positive beliefs and attitudes toward language learning. The study highlights the need for educators and curriculum developers to address these factors to improve EFL learning outcomes in Saudi Arabia.