This maxim is inscribed on the Jackson Arch barracks entrance at the Virginia Military Institute in Lexington, Virginia, and was taken from a book of proverbs kept by Jackson, a teacher in mathematics at the institute prior to the American Civil War. These words offer a fine example behind the whole idea of self-efficacy – a person’s belief about their own ability to perform to a certain level or accomplish a task.

The term was first used by Albert Bandura, a Canadian-American psychologist who defined his concept of self-efficacy as the perception of self and what the self can accomplish through personal judgment rather than through external influence or past experiences. Among the benefits of this perceived self-efficacy is that it can be used throughout one’s life – including learning a new language such as Arabic.

According to research, self-confident learners are more likely to throw caution to the wind, set challenging goals for themselves, and are confident they will achieve them. Insecure learners, on the other hand, are more likely to get caught up in their fear of making mistakes, not realizing that failure is an important part of realizing success. In other words, learners who are more confident in themselves have a better chance at succeeding in their goals of learning the language in an Arabic course and are more likely to have an enjoyable experience learning the language, thus reaching a higher proficiency in Arabic faster than their less confident counterparts.

So how exactly does one obtain self-efficacy and the benefits that come along with it when learning the Arabic language? For starters, self-efficacy in young children can be instilled at home and in school through both teachers and parents.

Adults, too, can develop their self-efficacy over time by using a few simple techniques. First, they can boost their confidence by setting reasonable goals and achieving them. Second, they can find somebody else that has successfully reached their goals in learning to speak Arabic, for example, and model their study habits after their techniques to reach the same success. Finally, all Arabic language learners should surround themselves with the right people who fully support them in reaching their goals. There is nothing worse than a naysayer to undo all of that confidence a learner has gained, so being surrounded by a group of positive people who believe in them is a surefire confidence booster.

By following these simple techniques, those who wish to learn Arabic can be full of confidence and obtain the self-efficacy it takes to learn the language both more smartly and more efficiently.

If you would like to learn more about how to improve your Arabic language, please visit us at kaleela.com for more information on the Arabic language and the Arabic culture. While you are there, you can also download our soon-to-be-released Arabic language learning app, a great way to boost your confidence while you are on the go!