The Mediating Role of Social Support in the Relationship Between General Self-Efficacy and Turkish Language Self-Confidence

Abstract

This study investigated the relationship between general self-efficacy and language self-confidence among Turkish as a foreign language (TFL) learners in 2024, with an emphasis on the mediating role of perceived social support. There is a lack of research in the existing literature on the effect of self-efficacy perceptions on language self-confidence. In today’s world, the educational environment is rapidly changing; thus a need for a better and more comprehensive understanding of the factors that foster student motivation, positive attitudes toward learning, academic engagement, and learning strategies has emerged. This study aimed to contribute to this understanding by investigating the mediating role of social support in the relationship between general self-efficacy and Turkish language self-confidence among TFL learners. Using a quantitative research approach, a sample of 227 TFL students from Necmettin Erbakan University was used. Data were collected through the administration of three separate scales using multistage cluster sampling. The open source integrated development environment (IDE) Rstudio version 1.4 was used to analyze the data. The results revealed the importance of creating a supportive educational environment that effectively fosters self-efficacy beliefs. Such an environment, in turn, leads to an increase in perceived social support and linguistic self-confidence among TFL learners. The implications of these findings are multifaceted and provide universities with a valuable toolkit for creating strategies and interventions that also aim to nurture important foundations for self-efficacy beliefs. By doing so, these institutions can effectively nurture the linguistic self-confidence of TFL learners and thereby improve their educational experiences and outcomes.

Received: 22 June 2025 / Accepted: 09 October 2025 / Published: 05 November 2025