Exploring the effects of self-efficacy on
lexical sophistication in writing and strategies
for productive vocabulary use
WANG Jingyuan & MIZUMOTO Atsushi
Kansai University, Japan1

§Definition: Self-efficacy is a person’s belief in theirown capabilities and the ability to attain specificgoals (Bandura,1977).

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& VOCABULARYLEARNING STRATEGIES§ Bandura (1977, 1986) conceptualized self-efficacy to be

an influential predictor of students’ learning achievement,
but he also suggested that this relationship might be
mediated through some other human mechanisms.

§ According to Fenollar et al. (2007), self-efficacy is

predicted to have an indirect effect on the academic
performance through learning strategies which have adirect effect on academic performance.
3§ (Fenollar et al., 2007)4

& VOCABULARYLEARNING STRATEGIES§ Therefore, Mizumoto (2012) did a study to explore theeffects of self-efficacy on vocabulary learning strategies.

§ In this research, The Vocabulary Size Test (Nation &Beglar, 2007) was used to measure the participants’
vocabulary size. And an open-ended questionnaire wasused to explore the VLSs that participants used.
5§ The Vocabulary

Size Testn (Nation & Beglar, 2007)6§ Three dimensions of vocabulary knowledge

development were put forward by Henriksen (1999):
A. partial to precise knowledge
B. depth of knowledge
C. receptive to productive use ability§ Converting receptive vocabulary into productive

vocabulary is the final stage of vocabulary learning(Brown & Payne, 1994).
↓§ How do self-efficacy influence the achievement ofvocabulary use in writing?

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§Learner’s productively lexical richness (achievement)

in writing can be demonstrated by some indices.

§For example:

lexical originality (LO); lexical density (LD);lexical variation (LV); lexical sophistication (LS) etc...
8§According to Laufer & Nation (1995), lexicalsophistication (LS) = Number of advanced tokens/
Total number of lexical tokens. Although what islabelled as "advanced' would depend on theresearcher's definition.
↓§Lexical sophistication involves both the depth andbreadth of lexical knowledge available to speakers,
readers, and writers (Meara, 1996, 2005a).
↓9§Lexical sophistication is an important predictor ofholistic scores of writing proficiency with regard toindependent writing tasks (Kyle & Crossley, 2016).
↓§Lexical sophistication is measured in this researchas the productive ability (achievement in vocabularyuse).
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§RQ1: What is the effect of self-efficacy on lexicalsophistication in writing?

§RQ2:What is the effect of self-efficacy on strategies
for vocabulary use in writing?

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1. Participants:§70 non-English-major sophomores from two universities in

the northeast of China§23 male and 47 female students§19 ~ 21 years old§38 basic users, 27 independent users, 5 proficient users

122. Instruments(1) Independent writing from CET-4 (CollegeEnglish Test Band 4):

Directions: For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes
to write a short essay on the challenges of living in a
big city. You should write at least 120 words but nomore than 180 words.

(2) A six-point scale questionnaire on self-efficacy
based on Faraj’s (2015) Questionnaire for EFL
Writing (Appendix A)
Alpha = .95

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2. Instruments(3) An open-ended questionnaire on productive
vocabulary use strategies (Appendix B) based on- Gu’s (2018) Vocabulary Learning Questionnaire(Version 6.4)
- Teng & Zhang’s (2016) Writing Strategies for SelfRegulated Learning Questionnaires
143. Measurement of lexical sophistication(1) TAALES 2.8.1 (Kyle & Crossley, 2018)(2) Human rating of lexical sophistication (resource) basedon rating descriptors of IELTS writing task (0~9)
Kappa = .75
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§RQ1: What is the effect of self-efficacy on lexicalsophistication in writing?

Alpha = .95

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§RQ1: What is the effect of self-efficacy on lexicalsophistication in writing?

§Hypernymy stands for the degree of word

specificity in a semantic hierarchy (Kyle & Crossley,2017).

§For example:tree (hypernym): oak, pine etc. (hyponym)
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§RQ1: What is the effect of self-efficacy on lexicalsophistication in writing?

Alpha = .95

18

§RQ1: What is the effect of self-efficacy on lexicalsophistication in writing?

Kappa = .75

19§RQ1: What is the effect of self-efficacy on lexicalsophistication in writing?

§ One example of writing compositions:

Challenges is so important that it exists everywhere around us in
the big city. There are so many chances and challenges but not everyone
can seize the precious chance. Some people will complain that the highprice in the big city prohibit them to live in the big city. But I think if
you really work hard, it is not a problem. Some people just leave the bigcity because they can not tackle their pressure. Although there are manyother challenges in the big city like traffic congestion, air pollution andso forth. I think we can overcome them by taking actions not bycomplaining about. In my opinion challenges are the same as chances,even more important because it can reinforce our abilities and make us
persevere ahead.

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§RQ1: What is the effect of self-efficacy on lexicalsophistication in writing?

§ The other one example of writing compositions:

I really do not want to live in the big city. I need to do happythings in the big city very much. Sometimes, I can't to doing some myfavourite things. Because, I am not at home. In the big city, I am very
tired and sad .my rest's time is very less. I don't like the big city. The bigcity have many challenges of living for me. I must work and study hardto overcome it. Or I can not afford a house in the big city because theprice of the big city are very high and high. Or else, my health maybe
can get too bad because in the big city of their bad air pollution. In aword, I really do not like living in the big city.
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§RQ2:What is the effect of self-efficacy on
strategies for vocabulary use in writing?

§ Cluster analysis:22

§RQ2:What is the effect of self-efficacy onstrategies for vocabulary use in writing?

§ Thematic analysis:cluster1 cluster2 cluster3 cluster4
Q 2:2.H ow do you select your attention to the w ords? (m etacognitive strategies selective attention)
According to the frequency
According to the test
According to the interest
Q 3:3.H ow do you regulate yourself to learn and use the w ords? (m etacognitive strategies)
Self-initiation (learning)
M otivation (test)
M otivation (interest)
G oalsetting
Q 4:4.H ow do you use the dictionary? (D ictionary strategies)pay attention to the exam ples and usages.
Q 5:5.H ow do you take notes? (Taking notes)
Im ake a note w hen Isee a usefulexpression or phrase or collocation.
Inote dow n exam ples show ing the usages of the w ord Ilook up.
Q 6:6.H ow do you rehearse the w ords that you have learnt? (Rehearsal)
Im ake regular review s of new w ords Ihave m em orized and their usage.
W hen Itry to rem em ber a w ord,Iw rite it and its Chinese m eanings again and again.
Ireview the w ords by using the w ords.
Q 7:7.H ow do you activate the w ords that you’ve learnt? (Activate)
Im ake up m y ow n sentences using the w ords Ijust learned.
Itry to use the new ly learned w ords as m uch as possible in w riting.
Itry to use new ly learned w ords in realsituations.

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23§RQ2:What is the effect of self-efficacy on
strategies for vocabulary use in writing?

Cluster 2 (n = 20):n Interest-drivenn Less test-drivenn Less rote learningn Always regularly
using learned words
n High self-initiation
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§RQ2:What is the effect of self-efficacy on
strategies for vocabulary use in writing?

Cluster 3 (n = 25):
nNot interest-drivennTest-driven
nRote learning
nSometimes using
learned words
nHigh self-initiation
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§RQ2:What is the effect of self-efficacy on
strategies for vocabulary use in writing?

Cluster 1 (n = 17):
nNot interest-drivennTest-driven
nRote learning
nSometimes using
learned words
nLow self-initiation
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§RQ2:What is the effect of self-efficacy onstrategies for vocabulary use in writing?

Cluster 4 (n = 8):
nNot interest-drivennTest-driven
nRote learning
nHardly using
learned words
nLow self-initiation27

§ Self-efficacy enhancement may be an influential factor in vocabulary using,

especially hyponym using from the perspective of lexical sophistication.

§ Higher self-efficacy may lead to a flexible strategy using (not rote learning).
§ Higher self-efficacy may lead to a more regular vocabulary using.
§ Self-efficacy may be an important factor in metacognitive strategy using.

Self-initiation may be an important factor in productive vocabulary using.
Motivation may also be an important factor in productive vocabulary
using (interest-driven vs. test driven).
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Q&A
Mail：
icewings2015@outlook.com
29§ Bandura, A. (1977). Social learning theory. Englewood Cliffs, NJ:

Prentice Hall.
§ Bandura, A. (1986). Social foundations of thought and action: A social
cognitive theory. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
§ Brown, C.,& Payne, M. E. (1994). Five essential steps of processes invocabulary Learning. Paper presented at the TESOL Convention,Baltimore, Md.
§ Faraj, A. K. A. . (2015). Effective strategies for turning receptive
vocabulary into productive vocabulary in efl context. Journal ofEducation & Practice, 6(27), 10-19.
§ Fenollar, P., Roman, S., & Cuestas, P. J. (2007). University students’
academic performance: An integrative conceptual framework andempirical analysis. British Journal of Educational Psychology,77(4), 873-891.
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nGu, P. Y. (2018). Validation of an online questionnaire of vocabulary

learning strategies for ESL learners. Studies in Second Language
Learning and Teaching, 8(2), 320-335.
§ Henriksen, B. (1999). Three dimensions of vocabulary development.
Studies in Second Language Acquisition 21(2), 303-317.
§ Kim, M. , Crossley, S. A. , & Kyle, K. . (2017). Lexical sophistication

as a multidimensional phenomenon: relations to second
language lexical proficiency, development, and writing
quality. The Modern Language Journal, 102(1), 120-141.

§ Kyle, K. , & Crossley, S. . (2016). The relationship between lexicalsophistication and independent and source-based writing. Journalof Second Language Writing, 34, 12-24.

31§ Laufer, B. , & Nation, P. . (1995). Vocabulary size and use: lexicalrichness in l2 written production. Applied Linguistics,16(3), 307322.
§ Meara, P. (1996). The dimensions of lexical competence. In G. Brown,
K. Malmkjaer & J. Williams (Eds.), Performance andcompetence in second language acquisition (pp. 35–53).
Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press.
§ Meara, P. (2005a). Designing vocabulary tests for English, Spanishand other languages. In C. Butler, S. Christopher, M. A. Gomez
Gonzalez, & S. M. Doval Suarez (Eds.), The dynamics oflanguage use (pp. 271–285). Amsterdam, the Netherlands: JohnBenjamins.
32§ Mizumoto, A. (2012). Exploring the effects of self-efficacy onvocabulary learning strategies. Studies in Self-Access Learning
Journal, 3(4), 423-437.

§ Nation, P., & Beglar, D. (2007). A vocabulary size test. The Language

Teacher, 31(7), 9–13.

§ Teng, L. S. , & Zhang, L. J. . (2016). A questionnaire-based validationof multidimensional models of self-regulated learningstrategies. The Modern Language Journal, 100(3), 583-731.

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§Faraj’s (2015)

Questionnaire
for productive
vocabulary.

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§Open-ended Q1:What do you think of vocabulary using? (Beliefs about vocabulary using)questionnaire Q2:How do you select your attention to the words? (metacognitive strategies selective attention)
on productive Q3:How do you regulate yourself to learn and use the words? (metacognitive strategies)
vocabulary Q4:How do you use the dictionary? (Dictionary strategies)
use strategies Q5:How do you take notes? (T aking notes)
Q6:How do you rehearse the words that you have learnt? (Rehearsal)
Q7:How do you activate the words that you’ve learnt? (Activate)35