The Importance Of Self-Efficacy And Foreign Language Learning In The 21st Century

Abstract

Two decades have now passed since Bandura (1986) introduced the concept of self-efficacy within the social cognitive theory of human behavior. He defined it as "people's judgments of their capabilities to organize and execute courses of action required to attain designated types of performances (1986). Much empirical evidence now supports the idea that self-efficacy touches almost every aspect of people's lives including foreign language learning; However, it has apparently received the least attention compared to other cognitive and affective issues. The present article attempts to shed some light on importance of the concept of self-efficacy, the role it can play in foreign language learning and the pedagogical implications it may have for foreign language teachers and the students of English language in the end of the first decade of the twenty first century.