Exploring EAP Self-Efficacy Ratings of an Academic Faculty at a Major Japanese Research University

This paper presents the results of a pilot survey conducted in a Faculty of Education at a major research university in Western Japan. The purpose of the survey was twofold: Assessing faculty members’ perceived self-efficacy in key academic English (EAP) skills, and gauging faculty interest in further developing certain EAP skills. Faculty (n = 67) responded to twelve EAP self-efficacy items and nine EAP developmental interest items. Faculty responses indicate high self-efficacy with generally simple tasks like self-introductions and emails, and lower efficacy for tasks like writing publishable manuscripts. Efficacy with skills in between these two ends of the spectrum revealed little pattern, indicating faculty feel they possess a diverse range of EAP skills. There was a clear pattern of preference for developing EAP skills directly related to engaging in international conferences or writing manuscripts in English. Limitations of and future directions for this line of research are discussed.