This study reviews the empirical literature of self-efficacy, a central component of social cognitive theory, in the area of second language learning by focusing on two research questions: first, to what extent, has self-efficacy, as a predicting variable, has been explored in the field of second language learning? Second, what factors affect learners’ self-efficacy beliefs in learning a foreign/second language? On addressing the research questions, 32 articles published between 2003 and 2012 were selected. The articles were classified into two main categories – effects of self-efficacy and factors affecting self-efficacy. Then each category was divided into certain subcategories for discussion. The findings of the review revealed that several factors enhance the level of students’ self-efficacy, and self-efficacy is a strong predictor of performance in different language skills and tasks. Limitations of the empirical studies discussed and directions for further investigation are also presented.

This study reports on an investigation into writing strategies of Malaysian university students learning English as a second language. Qualitative data were collected from 21 undergraduate university students aged 19 to 21. The students interviewed reported using a variety of writing strategies. It was also found that all of the participants reported doing some pre-writing activities, and having awareness of their own writing problems. The findings of the study also revealed that the highly proficient student writers reported using more moremetacognitive strategies such as organizing ideas and revising content than less skilled ones. Limitations of the study are discussed, and suggestions for future research are offered. Implications for writing instruction are also presented.

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Metacognition appears to be a significant contributor to success in second language (SL) and foreign language (FL) learning. This study seeks to investigate empirical research on the role metacognition plays in language learning by focusing on the following research questions: first, to what extent does metacognition affect SL/FL learning? Second, what are the factors shown to influence metacognition of learners in the area of second/foreign language learning? Data from 33 studies published between 1999 and 2013 were coded based on a coding scheme adapted from previous systematic reviews (e.g., Norris & Ortega, 2001;Plonsky, 2011). The findings of the review show that the metacognitive interventions have the possibility to promote language performance, but, on the whole, mixed evidence was found for the effectiveness of the intervention in enhancing metacognitive awareness/strategy use. The results also indicate that several factors appeared to affect L2 learners' metacognition. This review expands our understanding of the role of metacognition in language learning and will lead to pedagogical implications for SL/FL learning and teaching. Limitations of the existing studies and directions for future research are also discussed.

Awareness of abstract writing skill plays an important role for research article (RA) abstract writers to meet the discourse community expectations.In academic writing, writers should persuade readers to read the whole article by writing an effective abstract in terms of both content and rhetorical structure. This paper utilised Swales ' (1990)