Assessment Framing, Communicative Self-Efficacy, and Stability in EFL Speaking Performance

Speaking performance in instructed second language contexts often fluctuates across comparable classroom tasks, even among learners with similar proficiency levels. Existing explanations typically attribute such variability to differences in linguistic competence or task conditions but pay limited attention to the regulatory influence of assessment environments. This study examines whether assessment framing in classroom speaking evaluation contributes to lower variability in speaking performance through communicative self-efficacy. Drawing on social-cognitive theory and formative assessment research, the study proposes a mechanism in which assessment environments shape learners’ confidence in their ability to perform speaking tasks successfully, thereby influencing the consistency of observable speaking performance. Data were collected from 372 undergraduate EFL students enrolled in university speaking courses in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam. Structural equation modeling indicated that assessment framing positively predicted communicative self-efficacy (β = .48, p

Communicative competence · Formative assessment · Linguistic competence · Structural equation modeling · Communication in Education and Healthcare · EFL/ESL Teaching and Learning · International Student and Expatriate Challenges