ESP Students’ Learning Efforts in Mastering an English Presentation Skill and Their Self-efficacy

Abstract

As communication skills become critical success factors and prominent features of graduates’ global employability, the accounting major students in this study were trained to make English presentations as they took EAP of English for Accounting. The study investigated their learning efforts to master the presentation and their self-efficacy. Sixty-one students were purposively selected for the study.  Two specially designed questionnaires were used to collect data: 1) a 14-statement Likert-type learning effort questionnaire and 2) a 24-statement English presentation self-efficacy questionnaire of ‘can do’ scales. The questionnaires were administered as the students were preparing for their final exam. With SPSS software 25, descriptive and correlational analyses were run. The students had a very high learning effort to master the English presentation skills (mean score = 80.311, SD = 11.039), and a high self-efficacy (mean score = 121.85, SD = 19.152). These two variables were positively correlated at a moderate level (r = 0.573). The study contributes to the research body of learning efforts and self-efficacy of accounting students in mastering English presentation skills.  Other contributions are discussed.