The Relationship between Classroom Environment and EFL Learners' Academic Self-Efficacy

Abstract

The present study sought to examine the relationship between classroom environment and English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners' academic self-efficacy. To this end, a sample of 200 advanced EFL learners (146 females and 54 males) completed the What is Happening In This Class? (WIHIC) which consists of seven scales including Student Cohesiveness, Teacher Support, Involvement, Investigation, Task Orientation, Cooperation, and Equity that help to measure classroom learning environment. The Self-Efficacy for Learning Form (SELF-A) was also administered to gauge the participants’ academic self-efficacy. In order to analyze the data, Spearman rank-order correlation was run. The results revealed that there was a significant relationship between EFL learners’ classroom environment and their self-efficacy (rho = .438). The findings reflected that the highest relationship was between task orientation and self-efficacy (rho = .433) followed by the relationship between student cohesiveness and self-efficacy (rho = .353).  However, the lowest relationship was found for the relationship between cooperation and self-efficacy (rho = .199). Overall, the results highlight the relationship between classroom environment and academic self-efficacy.