An integrated model exploring the relationship between self-efficacy, technology integration via Blackboard, English proficiency, and Saudi EFL students’ academic achievement

English proficiency is essential in global communication and is a priority in Saudi EFL contexts due to its links to educational and socioeconomic mobility. The study situates two key factors—self-efficacy (students’ belief in their capability to succeed) and technology integration (via the Blackboard LMS)—as potential drivers of language and academic outcomes. Despite their importance, their joint effects on EFL outcomes in Saudi Arabia have been underexplored. Purpose: to build and validate a structural model explaining how self-efficacy and Blackboard use relate to English proficiency and predict overall academic achievement among Saudi EFL learners. Hypotheses: (1) Correlational: academic achievement correlates significantly with self-efficacy, Blackboard use, and English proficiency. (2) Causal: self-efficacy, Blackboard use, and English proficiency have causal impacts on academic achievement. (3) Predictive: academic achievement can be predicted from self-efficacy, Blackboard use, and English proficiency.

Prior work indicates self-efficacy is a strong motivator in language learning, associated with higher motivation, persistence, and performance across skills; it shapes goals, effort, and strategy use, and relates to technology-based self-directed and self-regulated learning. However, its relationship with proficiency can be moderated by context, learner differences, and assessed skills. Blackboard and similar platforms afford multimedia, forums, assessments, feedback, and collaboration, which can enhance engagement and motivation, although adoption is challenged by digital literacy, technical constraints, and preferences for traditional methods. In Saudi EFL settings, studies report persistent weaknesses across listening, speaking, reading, and writing, with contributing factors including limited authentic exposure, anxiety, insufficient practice, and gaps between objectives and classroom practice. Positive links have been reported between self-efficacy and English proficiency, and between proficiency and academic performance. Gap: no integrated study has jointly examined self-efficacy as a motivational construct and technology integration via Blackboard on English proficiency and overall academic achievement among Saudi EFL learners. Theoretical framework: the study integrates Social Cognitive Theory (emphasizing self-efficacy within triadic reciprocal determinism) and the TPACK framework (alignment of technological, pedagogical, and content knowledge) to explain how Blackboard integration and self-efficacy interact to influence English proficiency and achievement, motivating a unified structural model.

Design: quantitative correlational design with structural equation modeling (SEM) and path analysis to test direct and indirect relationships among variables. Participants: N = 590 Arabic-speaking university EFL students (290 male, 300 female), aged 18–28, from two purposively selected Saudi universities; stratified random sampling by sex and academic level to enhance representativeness across first through fourth years. Instruments: (1) Self-efficacy subscale (6 items) from Gonzales (2006); original reliability = 0.892. (2) Blackboard use questionnaire (Ali et al., 2019) with 16 items (9 intrinsic, 7 extrinsic motivation-related); original reliability 0.75–0.82. (3) English proficiency and related factors (Makewa et al., 2013), 35 items in three sections (5 perceived proficiency, 10 student-related factors including attitudes and anxiety, 20 teacher-related factors including motivation, activities, resources, environment); original reliability 0.72–0.86. Demographics included age, sex, GPA, academic level. All items used 5-point Likert scales. Variable roles: self-efficacy and Blackboard use as independent variables; English proficiency as a mediating variable; academic achievement (self-reported GPA) as the dependent variable. Validity and reliability: Face validity via expert panel review and iterative refinement. Construct validity via pilot (n=40): item–dimension correlations—self-efficacy 0.843–0.916; Blackboard 0.663–0.895; English proficiency 0.769–0.960 (all p < 0.01). Reliability (Cronbach’s alpha) across dimensions 0.82–0.94; overall alphas for the three scales 0.93, 0.86, 0.88, surpassing 0.70 threshold. Data collection and ethics: online Google Forms survey during first semester 2022–2023; mandatory responses to avoid missing data; anonymity and informed consent ensured; institutional ethical approval obtained. Data analysis: Preliminary checks in SPSS for SEM assumptions (sample size adequacy, multicollinearity, normality, outliers); VIF values reported below 10 and tolerance > 0.05; skewness approximately 0.104–0.845, treated as normally distributed. Main analyses conducted with AMOS (SEM/path analysis) and SPSS (correlations, multiple regression, multi-way ANOVA). Model fit evaluated via χ²/df, GFI, RMSR, RMSEA, AGFI, NNFI, PNFI, CFI, IFI, RFI.

Correlations: Significant positive correlations among all study variables (r = 0.266 to 0.808, p ≤ 0.01), meeting initial conditions for causal modeling. Model fit: Path model showed strong fit—χ² = 301.84; χ²/df = 3.08; GFI = 0.953; RMSEA = 0.051; CFI = 0.973; AGFI = 0.935; NNFI = 0.965; IFI = 0.93; RFI = 0.85; PNFI = 0.58. Direct effects (unstandardized estimates): Blackboard → English proficiency = 0.076 (SE = 0.025, CR = 3.665, p = 0.001); Self-efficacy → English proficiency = 0.943 (SE = 0.124, CR = 13.701, p = 0.001); Blackboard → Achievement = 0.336 (SE = 0.032, CR = 10.466, p = 0.001); Self-efficacy → Achievement = 0.193 (SE = 0.269, CR = 2.757, p = 0.001); English proficiency → Achievement = 0.821 (SE = 0.152, CR = 4.322, p = 0.001). Mediation (bootstrapping): Self-efficacy → English proficiency → Achievement: indirect effect = 0.774 (95% CI: 0.530–1.103, p = 0.023), partial mediation. Blackboard → English proficiency → Achievement: indirect effect = 0.062 (95% CI: 0.025–0.112, p = 0.016), partial mediation. Predictive analysis: Model significant with multi-way ANOVA, F(1,588) = 1107.676, p < 0.01; R² = 0.653, indicating about 65% of variance in academic achievement explained by English proficiency, self-efficacy, and Blackboard use. Multiple regression equation: Achievement = 0.470 + 0.070(Blackboard use) + 0.699(English proficiency) + 0.066(Self-efficacy). Standardized betas: Blackboard = 0.083 (p = 0.018), English proficiency = 0.693 (p < 0.001), Self-efficacy = 0.080 (p = 0.015).

The validated structural model indicates that self-efficacy directly enhances both English proficiency and academic achievement, and Blackboard use directly improves English proficiency and achievement. English proficiency exerts a strong direct effect on achievement and partially mediates the effects of self-efficacy and Blackboard on achievement, highlighting language proficiency as a key conduit linking motivational beliefs and technology use to broader academic outcomes. These results reinforce theoretical expectations from Social Cognitive Theory (role of self-efficacy) and TPACK (effective technology integration), and align with prior evidence that technology-supported, interactive learning environments can boost engagement, skills development, and performance. The findings also acknowledge nuance from the literature: the efficacy of Blackboard depends on factors such as digital literacy, instructional design quality, and teacher engagement, and the self-efficacy–proficiency link may be moderated by context, learner characteristics, and specific language skills assessed. Practically, the results suggest that fostering self-efficacy through scaffolded, feedback-rich, collaborative, and authentic tasks, alongside purposeful integration of Blackboard for communication, collaboration, and access to diverse resources, can synergistically elevate English proficiency and academic success. The predictive analyses demonstrate that a substantial portion of achievement variance (≈65%) is captured by the triad of self-efficacy, English proficiency, and Blackboard use, underscoring their combined educational relevance.

The study proposes and validates an integrated structural model linking self-efficacy, Blackboard-mediated technology integration, English proficiency, and academic achievement among Saudi EFL students. The model evidences strong fit and reveals significant direct and indirect pathways: self-efficacy and Blackboard use both bolster English proficiency and achievement, with English proficiency serving as a partial mediator to achievement. These contributions advance understanding of how motivational and technological factors interact to drive outcomes in technology-enhanced EFL contexts. Future research should test the model across broader and more diverse samples and contexts, incorporate additional variables (e.g., instructional quality, digital literacy, learning strategies, teacher factors), and include objective proficiency and performance measures to triangulate self-reports and refine causal inferences.

Generalizability is limited by a single-country context and a sample of 590 students; future studies should use larger, more diverse samples across regions and institutions. The reliance on self-report instruments for self-efficacy, Blackboard use, and perceived English proficiency introduces potential bias; incorporating objective assessments, observations, and performance data is recommended. Contextual and cultural factors specific to Saudi Arabia may moderate relationships, warranting comparative cross-context validation.