APPROACHES TO UNDERSTANDING AGENCY

Agency is a complex and multifaceted construct, so it is a daunting task to come up with

an operational definition. However, defining agency is crucial since "the particular ways in
which [scholars] conceive of agency have implications for understanding of personhood,
causality, action, and intention” (Ahearn, 2001, p. 112).
In this section we introduce various theoretical approaches to examining human agency
that have influenced SLA and language education over the last few decades. Also, there are many
constructs related to agency that have been extensively researched, such as self-efficacy,
motivation, self-regulation autonomy, and identity. These terms may appear to imply phenomena
similar to agency, and some even consider them as synonyms as Lier, 2000). The fol- lowing
discussions outline a subset of that literature.

AGENCY AND SELF-EFFICACY

American psychologist Albert Bandura conducted extensive research on human agency
particularly through the examination of self-efficacy. According to Bandura (2001), the core of
motivation is agency, the act of making choices with self-determination. Human agency has four
core features including intendonality, forethought, self-regulation, and self-reflectiveness.
Agency is manifested in human actions done intentionally. it inforins an individual's
future course of action and his or her proactive commitment to actions (Bandura, 2001).
Forethought of agency can be expressed in numerous ways. People exercise forethought, set
goals for themselves, anticipate the likely consequences of actions, and avoid detrimental effects.
Through exercise of forethought, people "motivate themselves and guide their events and
outcomes (Bandura, 1986, p. 7)
For understanding this anticipatory self-guidance of human agency, the notion of self-
efficacy is relevant. Bandura (1997) defines self-efficacy as an individual's perceptions of "one’s
capabilities to organize and execute the courses of action required to produce given attainments”
(p. 3). Individuals construct outcome expectations from observed conditional relation between
environmental events in the world around them, and the outcomes by their actions (Bandura,
1986). Self-efficacy has been investigated as a predictor of successful academic achievement
(Schunk, 1991, 1996). Higher self-efficacy correlates to individuals’ greater persistence when
facing difficulties, leading them to exert more effort and make better use of learning strategies.
On the other hand, students with low self-efficacy may choose not to participate in a learning
activity because they perceive themselves to be lacking in the ability to succeed in it (Matthews,
2010).
Agency can be exercised not only directly by an individual but also by proxy or
collectively. Bandura (2001) notes that on many occasions people do not have control over the
social conditions and institutional practices that affect their everyday lives. In these
circumstances, they seek their well-being, security, and valued outcomes through the exercise of
proxy agency, as in the cases of children to parents, marital partners to spouses, citizens to their
legislative representatives. Collective agency manifests itself when individuals pool their
resources and work together successfully through performing their roles as the members of a
group and coordinating activities with a high sense of efficacy (Bandura, 2000)