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The purpose of the study was to validate a writing motivation questionnaire that consists of four scales for first-year college writers--students with low writing skills in basic writing classes and students in typical first-year composition (FYC)--to investigate differences between these two groups and to examine the relationship of motivational constructs with writing quality. Participants were 371 college students (142 in basic writing classes and 229 in FYC). Students completed a 49-item motivation questionnaire with scales for goal-orientation, self-efficacy, beliefs, and affect about writing and wrote an argumentative essay. Confirmatory factor analysis provided evidence for the structural construct validity of all scales for both groups. Statistically significant differences between basic writers and FYC students were found on self-efficacy for grammar and strategies and on beliefs about the importance of substance and mechanics. Structural equation modeling found statistically significant positive relationships of essay quality with all three self-efficacy scales and belief about the importance of substance to good writing, as well as negative relationships with avoidance goal orientation and belief in the importance of mechanics. Limitations and implications for motivation and instruction of basic writing students and of adults with learning disabilities are discussed.

The first purpose of this empirical study was to assess and validate the Academic Writing Self-Efficacy Belief Questionnaire (AWSEBQ) framed by social cognitive theory. The second purpose was to evaluate the predictive effects of different aspects of self-efficacy beliefs on academic writing performance. Data were collected from 743 learners at a Chinese university. The assessment and validation process involved a series of rigorous confirmatory factor analyses. The results validated the hypothesized five-dimensional structure of academic writing self-efficacy beliefs, including linguistic knowledge efficacy (LKE), self-regulatory efficacy (SRE), information organization efficacy (IOE), writing performance efficacy (WPE), and rehearsal and memory efficacy (RME). Model comparisons confirmed the function of self-efficacy beliefs as a multidimensional construct, in which the five factors were intercorrelated. The results of regression analysis demonstrated the significant predictive effects of five dimensions (i.e., LKE, SRE, IOE, WPE, and RME) on English as a foreign language (EFL) academic writing performance. The findings suggest that self-efficacy beliefs can explain EFL academic writing performance. This study ends by providing theoretical and empirical implications for writing assessment and the possible enhancement of EFL academic writing.

Objective: The aim of the study was to understand Chinese university students' psychological development during the COVID-19 outbreak. Method: Four online surveys, i.e., emotional adjustment, perceived social support, self-efficacy belief, and anxiety in English learning, were administered to 585 university students in China. The data were analyzed through a latent profile analysis. Results: Three profiles were identified--high adaptation, moderate adaptation, and low adaptation. The students with high adaptation (n = 276, 47.1%) possessed a more positive self-efficacy belief and demonstrated lower levels of anxiety. In contrast, the students with low adaptation (n = 82, 14%) possessed a less positive self-efficacy belief and demonstrated higher levels of anxiety. Conclusion: The findings highlight the need of psychological interventions to support the psychological development of vulnerable groups of learners within and beyond the COVID-19 pandemic.

Metacognitive strategies, language learning motivation, and self-efficacy belief are crucial to online or remote learning success. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the interrelationship among metacognitive strategies, language learning motivation, self-efficacy belief, and English learning achievement. The data were collected from three surveys and an English test. The participants were 590 Chinese university students. The findings revealed that self-efficacy belief predicts English learning achievement. In particular, metacognitive strategies and language learning motivation mediate the predictive effects of self-efficacy belief on English learning achievement. The findings show the potential of enhancing online English learning achievement by facilitating learners' self-efficacy belief, motivation, and metacognitive strategies. Implications can be gained for remote learning within and beyond the coronavirus (COVID-19) context.

Research has identified 10 high-leverage teaching practices (HLTPs) that can impact student learning of a foreign language. While acknowledging the importance of this work, more research is needed to inform the preparation of novice teachers to enact these practices. In response, the researchers conducted a case study involving two foreign language teacher preparation programs in the United States and Germany, to better understand how the two very different programs prepare their candidates to implement HLTPs, which HLTPs are emphasized, and how successful they are at preparing their aspiring teachers to implement one practice that has been identified in the research as particularly important (facilitating target language comprehensibility). Survey, teaching observation, and interview data collected from teacher candidates and their instructors suggested the critical nature of select HLTPs, that some of the subcomponents of one of these practices may be more challenging for novice teachers to master than others, and that there may be multiple approaches to preparing foreign language teachers to implement HLTPs.

Self-Regulated Strategy Development (SRSD) is a criterion-based teaching approach incorporating explicit and systematic instruction of writing strategies, knowledge or skills, and self-regulation procedures into writing. This study aims to estimate the overall average effect of SRSD on English writing outcomes and to examine the extent to which the effect was moderated by outcome features (writing outcome, genre, measure type), methodological features (assignment, duration of intervention, and methodological quality), learner features (educational level and country), and publication features (publication type). A total of 43 effect sizes were extracted from 22 primary studies that were published or written in the past decade. Results suggested that SRSD had a positively large effect on writing outcomes. Writing outcome type was found to moderate effect size estimates. SRSD had a statistically smaller effect on writing length than on quality and elements. In addition, published journal articles had significantly larger effect size estimates than dissertations. The current meta-analysis informs practitioners, classroom teachers, and program designers of the overall effect of SRSD on English writing and factors related to the effectiveness of SRSD interventions.

Higher education faculty use of current digital technologies based on their perception of importance, competence, and motivation is examined in this study. Two hundred and forty-seven faculty in the United States responded to an online survey on current digital technology use. Descriptive statistics and categorical means for the digital technologies are provided. Faculty rated the use of learning management system as the highest in terms of importance and competence. They rated social media as the lowest in terms of importance and adaptive learning in terms of competence. For motivation to integrate digital technology, faculty rated benefit to learning as the most influential factor and reappointment, promotion, and tenure as the least influential factor. Faculty characteristics such as gender, teaching level, primary teaching method, faculty rank, and teaching experience and its association with faculty beliefs of importance, competence and motivation on using digital technologies are also examined in this study.

The transition into high school is a critical time to act for students with a history of academic difficulty. In this study, researchers examined the impact of a learning strategies intervention program called High School Success on performance of students demonstrating deficits in literacy and academic skills. Data were collected on performance in a 9th grade English course, an associated high-stakes literacy test, and subsequently their long-term rates of graduation following this unique 9th grade experience. Chi-square analysis comparing the treatment group (n = 428) who participated in High School Success to a control group of at-risk students not exposed to the intervention course (n = 629) revealed a significant impact (X[superscript 2] (df = 1) 28.02, p < 0.001) on whether students dropped out of high school. The data revealed that students in High School Success had statistically significantly better achievement and rates of high school graduation. These results provide evidence for ninth grade literacy and learning interventions as primary strategies for easing transition into high school and increasing retention of students with a history of academic difficulty.

The current study examined how Chinese characters were taught by primary grade teachers in Macao during online instruction resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic (i.e., emergency remote instruction). A random sample of 313 first to third grade teachers in public and private schools were surveyed about their instructional practices. Most teachers surveyed (72%) reported they taught a lesson about Chinese characters once every 3-4 weeks during emergency remote instruction, and 83% and 81% of teachers indicated they assigned homework for writing and reading characters, respectively, at the same rate. On average, they reportedly spent 97 min per week teaching students to write, read, and understand the meaning of new characters, devoting equal time to each of these skills. They also indicated students practiced writing and reading characters in class for 40 min per week. They further noted students were expected to spend 35 min a day practicing writing and reading characters for homework. While teachers reportedly used a variety of instructional practices for teaching characters (M = 30.38), the typical teacher applied less than one-half (N = 64) of practices assessed. Teachers reported use of asynchronous (online learning activities which can be completed at other times) and synchronous (real-time videos and audio/text) teaching methods and perceptions of adequacy of technical support predicted reported teaching practices. The findings from this study raise questions about the teaching of Chinese characters in Macao during emergency remote instruction.

Faculty readiness to teach online is a state of faculty preparedness for online teaching. In this study, it is measured by faculty attitudes about the importance of online teaching competencies and faculty's perceptions of their ability to confidently teach online. Validity and reliability of faculty responses to an online instrument and factors related to faculty perception are examined. Descriptive statistics and item-level means for the competencies are provided. For course design, course communication, and technical competencies, faculty rated the perception of importance higher than they rated their ability in these areas, whereas for time management their perception of their ability was higher than their attitude about its importance. MANOVA showed significant differences in gender, years of teaching online, and delivery method for faculty perceptions of importance of online teaching competencies. Significant differences were also noted in years of teaching online and delivery method with respect to ability to teach online.