Beliefs about Langage Lerning, Learning Strategy Use, and Self-Efficacy/Confidence of EFL Learners with and without Living-Abroad Experience

This study investigates university-age EFL learners' beliefs about language learning, their uses of learning strategies, and their self-efficacy and confidence, as related to their previous learning backgrounds.A questionnaire consisting of 78 Likert-scale questions was given to 182 Japanese university students with living-abroad experience (n = 104) and without it (n = 78).The main findings of the study were: (1) Learners without living-abroad experience (-LAE) showed stronger belief in analytic learning than did learners with living-abroad experience (+LAE), who showed greater adherence to beliefs in experiential learning; (2) -LAE learners used analytic learning strategies more frequently than did +LAE learners, who, in turn, resorted to more experiential learning strategies; (3) -LAE learners were more nervous and afraid of using English and less confident with their English abilities than were +LAE learners, but the former group was more confident about their ability to explain English grammar than was the latter; (4) There were overall modest positive relationships between the kinds of beliefs learners have and their uses of learning strategies; (5) The use of analytic strategies was generally related to less feelings of self-efficacy and less confidence in their English abilities, while the use of experiential strategies was related to more self-efficacy and more confidence in their English abilities.These results held true regardless of their previous learning backgrounds.