Comparing the self-efficacy and writing-related abilities of native and non-native English-speaking students

Abstract

The internationalisation of higher education generates several issues related to quality, uniformity of subjects taught across campuses and the role of differences in English-speaking ability, which may affect student learning and skills development. This study used a self-assessment survey framework to investigate Australian (native English speaking) and Malaysian (non-native English speaking) students' perceptions of their writing-related competencies. These perceptions were then correlated with students' grades for specific writing tasks at the Australian and Malaysian campuses of Monash University, a research-intensive tertiary institution. Student perceptions of six competencies were determined upon commencement and completion of a core science subject, SCI2010. Australian and Malaysian student perceptions of their abilities improved for all six, and four of the surveyed competencies, respectively. Upon commencement of the science unit, Malaysian students' self-efficacy was higher than that of Australian students for three competencies. However, by completion, Australian students had higher self-efficacy for all six competencies, which correlated with their higher literature review grades.The authors are science academics with a diverse range of teaching and research interests, including plant sciences, ecology and evolutionary biology, molecular biology and science communication and dissemination. Their scholarly research in learning and teaching include facets of work-integrated learning, effective use of technology to enhance student learning and skills development, and evaluation of students' self-efficacy of their generic skills. Additionally, the authors are actively engaged in curriculum innovation and renewal across tertiary science curricula, including large enrolment foundation units and core subjects at higher year levels. They have collaborated with science colleagues to develop, implement and evaluate inquiry learning across undergraduate programmes, and to enhance tutor capability with respect to these pedagogies. The authors have been the recipients of a range of grants and awards, including national grants for disciplinary and pedagogical research, and university and faculty awards for education and teaching excellence. PUBLIC INTEREST STATEMENTThis paper presents valuable information about the differences in confidence related to writing and writing-associated abilities between native English-and non-native English-speaking university students. These two sets of science students attended an Australian and Malaysian campus of Monash University, respectively. The possible relationship between students' writingrelated confidence and their actual writing ability was also investigated. Initially, Malaysian students were more confident about their writing-related abilities than were Australian students, although this pattern reversed over the course of the course. This study demonstrates that assumptions cannot be made about students' confidence in their writing-related abilities, regardless of th...

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