Relationships among prior learning, anxiety, self-efficacy, and science vocabulary learning of middle school students with varied English language proficiency

Vocabulary is essential for comprehension and achievement across disciplines. Understanding factors that contribute to vocabulary learning is important, especially for English learners (ELs) studying science, a linguistically and cognitively demanding topic. Our study examined structural relationships among background characteristics, science anxiety and self-efficacy, and science vocabulary learning of 252 Grade 8 students (31% current ELs; 69% former/non-ELs). Path analysis results indicated strong model fit and accounted for 47% of the variance in science vocabulary learning. Results identified academic vocabulary knowledge, initial science vocabulary knowledge, and science anxiety—variables under control of educational systems—as strong contributors to or mediators of learning and highlighted the importance of initial vocabulary knowledge in mitigating the negative relationships between anxiety and both learning and self-efficacy. Lower percentages of the variance explained in science anxiety (14%) and science and genetics self-efficacy (12% and 9%, respectively) suggest a need to include other predictors in future.