THE CONFIDENCE FACTOR: AN EXPLORATORY STUDY OF THE INTERACTION OF SELF-CONFIDENCE AND ACCURACY IN TEST PERFORMANCE AMONG A GROUP OF JAPANESE LEARNERS OF ENGLISH

In this study of a group of adult Japanese learners
of English in the United States, an attempt is made
to discover the relationship between confidence and
accuracy in answering test items. The crucial aspect
of confidence under investigation was considered to
be a reflection of the language learner's perception
of his or her knowledge. The students were required
to answer 50 test items and to indicate, on a 5 point
scale for each item, how sure they were of their
answers. Generally, the average confidence ratings
were found to be higher on correct answers than on
wrong answers. However, two other patterns emerged
on a number of items which indicated "nonconfident
correct answering" and ''very confident
wrong answering." The study shows that the as-
sumption of a straightforward relationship between
accuracy and confidence in answering test items
may be misguided. Implications for language teaching
and the interpretation of test results are
discussed.