Vocabulary Knowledge and Self-Efficacy in EFL Students’ Descriptive Writing Performance: A Correlational Study
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.30762/ireell.v4i2.9368Keywords:
descriptive text, EFL students, self-efficacy, vocabulary knowledge, writing performanceAbstract
Writing performance in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) involves both linguistic resources and learners’ beliefs about their writing ability. This study examines the relationships among vocabulary knowledge, self-efficacy, and descriptive writing performance among Indonesian EFL learners. The study used a quantitative correlational design with 20 eleventh-grade students from an Islamic boarding school in Pandeglang, Banten, selected through purposive sampling. The study collected data through a vocabulary knowledge test, a self-efficacy questionnaire, and a descriptive writing task. Descriptive statistics and Spearman’s rank-order correlation were used for data analysis. Vocabulary knowledge was strongly and positively associated with writing performance (rho = .714, p < .001). In contrast, self-efficacy showed a very weak and non-significant association with writing performance (rho = .055, p = .816). Vocabulary knowledge and self-efficacy were also not significantly related (rho = .297, p = .204). The findings indicate that vocabulary knowledge was the strongest correlate of descriptive writing performance in this sample, while the relationship involving self-efficacy was not detectable. These non-significant findings should be interpreted with caution, as the sample was small and self-efficacy scores showed limited variation. The study suggests that EFL writing instruction should give sustained attention to vocabulary development while continuing to support students in developing realistic perceptions of their writing abilities.
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