Language Anxiety and Counseling Self-Efficacy

Anxiety and self-efficacy in Chinese international students' L3 French learning with L2 English and L3 French

The present study explored the relationship between international students' Third Language Anxiety (TLA) and self-efficacy. The research data were collected through questionnaires involving 243 Chinese International students' L3 French Learning with L2 English and L3 French at one university in the U.K. Three of them were interviewed about their experience of anxiety and self-efficacy. Major findings include four underlying factors correlated with TLA and two underlying factors correlated with self-efficacy. Also, levels of these students' TLA were negatively correlated with the level of their self-efficacy, as shown in the correlational analysis. Then, two linear regression models were built to contribute to the prediction of their self-efficacy levels. Lastly, participants reported that grammatical and pronunciation similarities between English (L2) and French (L3) positively decreased their anxiety levels. All of these interviewees encountered communication apprehension. These findings can provide educational implications for L3 teaching and learning, inspiring teachers to consider international students' TLA and self-efficacy and thus propose some coping strategies.

Linguistic Minority International Counseling Psychology Trainees’ Experiences in Clinical Supervision

The present study discusses clinical supervision from the perspectives of 20 international counseling psychology trainees with a focus on English-specific experiences in training. Using concept mapping, we identified four clusters of sociolinguistic experiences in clinical settings: Growth and Strength Through Embracing Vulnerability, Barriers to Showing Clinical Potential, Fear of Being Seen as Incompetent, and Self-Doubt About Therapeutic Performance and Relationships. Helpful supervisory events included seven clusters: Genuine Curiosity and Understanding, Exploration and Validation Regarding Linguistic Identity, Affirmation and Illumination of Strengths, Facilitation of Clinical Communication, Multicultural Awareness and Cultural Humility, Humanity and Compassion, and Externalization and De-emphasis of the Act of Language use Itself. Lastly, unhelpful supervisory events fell into seven clusters: Seeking Understanding From a Deficits-Lens, Lack of Self-Awareness and Cultural Humility, Acts of Disrespect, Disregard and Lack of Interest, Judgment and Over-Correction, Disempowerment, and Superficial Fixes. Implications for practice and advocacy and suggestions for future research are discussed.

Managing hindering self-focused attention in counseling sessions

OBJECTIVE

This study examined the moderation effects of management strategies on the association between hindering self-focused attention and counseling self-efficacy.

METHOD

Participants were 160 counselor trainees. A hierarchical regression was used to analyze the data, and a simple effect analysis was used to explore the nature of the interaction.

RESULTS

Results indicated that, for trainees who used more basic counseling techniques, counseling self-efficacy remained the same no matter their hindering self-focused attention experiences. However, for those who used less basic counseling techniques, their counseling self-efficacy dropped when they had more experiences of hindering self-focused attention. Similarly, for trainees who used more self-awareness to understand clients, these trainees reported a similar level of counseling self-efficacy no matter their hindering self-focused attention experiences. Conversely, for those who used less self-awareness as a tool to understand their clients during their sessions, their counseling self-efficacy decreased when they had more experiences of hindering self-focused attention.

CONCLUSION

This is the first study that extends the literature on direct, linear relationships between hindering self-focused attention and counseling self-efficacy. Results suggested two strategies (i.e., use of basic counseling techniques and use of self-awareness to understand clients) significantly moderate the above association.