The Impact of Self-Efficacy and Self-Regulated Learning Strategies on EFL College Students’ Academic Achievement: Links to Gender

This study aims to investigate EFL college students’ self-efficacy and their use of selfregulated learning (SRL) strategies. It also examines how these two constructs relate to each other, how they influence their academic achievement, and how they identify gender differences. The participants were 196 college students aged between 19 and 28 years, who were studying different majors. They all completed two questionnaires about their self-efficacy and use of SRL strategies in learning EFL. They were also required to take an English language test. The results showed that (1) female students reported higher self-efficacy and more frequent use of SRL strategies than male students to a significant degree, despite the fact that men and women attained similar levels of academic achievement; (2) both gender groups revealed the highest levels of self-efficacy in writing and the lowest levels of self-efficacy in listening; (3) gender influenced the frequency of use of SRL strategies; (4) within both gender groups, statistically significant relationships were identified between self-efficacy and use of SRL strategies; and (5) regardless of gender, self-efficacy was a stronger predictor of academic achievement than the use of SRL strategies; frequent use of particular strategies did not correlate with English language test scores. Pedagogical implications for EFL classroom teachers are suggested.