Revisiting and measuring foreign language confidence from a World Englishes perspective: Scale development and validation

Abstract

Building on a World Englishes perspective, this article revisits foreign language confidence (FLC) and elaborates on the development and validation of a three-factor Foreign Language Confidence Scale (FLCS) including Foreign Language Competence, Sense of Linguistic Security, and Sense of Linguistic Ownership. It first critically examines the existing understanding and measurement of FLC. Then it offers a theoretical and empirical justification for the three-factor proposition in the FLCS. To examine the psychometric quality of the FLCS, two datasets (Sample 1: N = 673, Sample 2: N = 380) were collected from 1053 undergraduate English-as-a-foreign-language (EFL) learners at a top-tier university in China. Results of exploratory factor analysis using Sample 1 demonstrated a stable three-factor structure in the FLCS with sufficient factorial eigenvalues and strong item loadings. The confirmatory factor analysis based on Sample 2 cross-validated the FLCS's underlying factor structure and substantiated the reliability and validity (e.g., convergent and discriminant validity) of the three-factor 16-item FLCS. This article also discusses the psychometric properties of the FLCS and points out its potential use for future teaching and research purposes against the backdrop of decolonizing English language education.