Resilience and self-efficacy in a study abroad context: A case study

Abstract This descriptive study aims to examine English as a Foreign Language (EFL) students’ experiences in a study abroad context and the adaptation strategies they use to deal with academic and socio-cultural challenges. It also aims to show how the students’ experiences and resilience affect their self-efficacy. The data are collected from nine Algerian female students who were enrolled in a doctoral program at the University of Jordan at the time of data collection. Face-to-face interviews and a self-efficacy scale were used to collect data from the participants. The findings reveal that the student participants faced many academic and socio-cultural challenges in the target context but managed to overcome them using adaptation strategies such as familiarizing themselves with the new teaching context and developing their self-efficacy. The results obtained from the self-efficacy scale show that most of the students developed a sense of self-efficacy, and that their study abroad experiences positively affected their level of self-efficacy.


Introduction
Undoubtedly, English has evolved into an international language that is not solely owned by countries in which it is a native language (see Alghazo et al., 2021). This has created new avenues for learning English outside of English-speaking nations. As a result, numerous study abroad programs have emerged worldwide, catering to English as a Second Language (ESL) and English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners, equipping them with the essential language abilities to globally function as successful language users. These programs not only provide language training, but also teach intercultural communication, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills, thereby helping second language (L2) learners to develop their language and communication skills. This ABOUT THE AUTHORS Mohammar Rayyan is Associate Professor of Linguistics at the University of Jordan. His research has appeared in Heliyon, Cogent Arts and Humanities, and Jordan Journal of Modern Languages and Literatures. Siham Zidouni is a PhD candidate at the University of Jordan. Her research has appeared in Cogent Arts and Humanities. Sharif Alghazo is Associate Professor of Applied Linguistics at the University of Jordan. His research has appeared in Heliyon, Cogent Arts and Humanities, and Jordan Journal of Modern Languages and Literatures. Nimer Abusalim is Associate Professor of Linguistics at the University of Jordan. His research has appeared in System, Journal of Pragmatics, Heliyon, and Cogent Arts and Humanities. holds true for Algerian EFL students as well, who aspire to specialize in English language studies and pursue graduate studies abroad. Consequently, they travel to countries such as the United States and the United Kingdom to study, but also explore EFL contexts like Jordan for further experience.
Students participating in study abroad programs are faced with a myriad of challenges, including academic, socio-cultural, and socio-psychological difficulties. Developing resilience and selfefficacy in response to these challenges is crucial. This study aims to describe the different challenges Algerian EFL students encounter in a host country and the strategies they use to overcome them. Our objective is to assess the impact of resilience on self-efficacy, which is a critical determinant of motivation and perseverance when faced with obstacles (Bandura, 1989(Bandura, , p. 1176. In fact, self-efficacy has a significant influence on our thinking, behavior, and motivation, as well as our stress and anxiety levels, especially when encountering new experiences. To this end, we will examine the following research questions: (1) What are the academic and socio-cultural challenges that Algerian EFL students face in their studies in a host country?
(2) What are the adaptation strategies they employ to face these challenges?
( 3) To what extent do their experiences help them develop self-efficacy?

Theoretical framework and literature review
The concept of self-efficacy was introduced by Bandura (1977), who defined it as individuals' assessment of their capacity to organize and execute actions necessary to accomplish specific types of tasks (Bandura, 1986, p. 391). Self-efficacy is crucial for effective interaction, as noted by Bandura (1990, p. 397), who stated that people contribute causally to their psychosocial functioning through mechanisms of personal agency, and their beliefs about their ability to control events that impact their lives are critical. In the context of education, self-efficacy pertains to students' trust in their abilities to acquire knowledge in a given subject (Joët et al., 2011;Toyama, 2015). Consequently, self-efficacy is vital to learners' achievements and success in the learning process. Furthermore, Mamaril et al. (2016, p. 367) highlighted that self-efficacy collaborates with other motivational beliefs, such as task value, interest, and mastery goal orientation, to impact students' academic choices and behaviors.
The literature on self-efficacy and learning outcomes abounds with studies that looked into the link between learners' experiences in a host country and their self-efficacy. For example, Cubillos and Ilvento (2012) investigated the connection between study abroad programs and self-efficacy in developing foreign language skills. They conducted a survey on 39 American students before and after the program and found that study abroad experiences had a significant impact on the students' self-efficacy beliefs. Furthermore, the amount and quality of interaction with the target context positively influenced the learners' self-efficacy. Sağlamel and Doğan (2016) also explored the impact of study abroad on EFL learners' self-efficacy by distributing a questionnaire to 181 students and found that gender plays a role in measuring self-efficacy beliefs and that students showed differences in self-efficacy perceptions across various language skills. These studies demonstrate that study abroad experiences can contribute to learners' self-efficacy beliefs and have a positive influence on language learning sub-skills.
Several studies have also examined the academic and socio-cultural obstacles faced by students in host countries. One study was conducted by Novera (2004) who distributed an open-ended questionnaire to 25 Indonesian students enrolled in Australian universities. The findings indicated that language barriers posed a significant challenge to active participation in the learning process. The students also lacked the confidence to participate in classroom discussions. The study further revealed that Muslim students faced difficulties in finding facilities to practice their religion, and adapting to the cultural norms of the target society was challenging due to the cultural differences between Australia and Indonesia. Similarly, Constantine et al. (2005) conducted a study in which they interviewed 12 African students who were studying at American universities. The findings showed that these students faced various cultural challenges, including being treated unfairly by white Americans who referred to them by racial slurs. As a result, these students felt excluded and isolated. They adopted various strategies to adjust to the cultural differences, such as seeking counseling and participating in physical activities. In a different study context, Lin and Scherz (2014) conducted a study on five Asian international students at a university in America to explore their academic and cultural challenges. The data were collected through a focused group interview, and the results showed that these students had a positive attitude towards their experience, despite facing some academic and cultural challenges. They employed different adaptation strategies to cope with these challenges.
There are also studies that not only focused on exploring the academic and socio-cultural challenges but also on the adaptation strategies used to overcome the challenges. For example, Gebhard (2012) explored the challenges faced by 85 international students and their adaptation strategies through interviews, observational field notes, and written narratives. The results indicated that these students encountered academic, social, and emotional difficulties while studying abroad. Some of the strategies used by these students to cope with these challenges included reminding themselves of their home culture, socializing with peers via social media, and observing and mimicking American behavior. However, some strategies did not work well, such as expecting others to adapt, complaining continuously, and isolating oneself from the American society. Wu et al. (2015) conducted a qualitative analysis to examine the experiences of international students in America. Through interviews with ten students, the study found that students faced academic and socio-cultural challenges upon transition to a new context. Language incompetence posed a significant obstacle for students when communicating with professors. At the cultural level, students encountered barriers that hindered their ability to use adaptive strategies to cope with these challenges. Despite these difficulties, students were able to develop problem-solving skills, become autonomous, and learn to socialize with members of society.
In a more recent study, Li et al. (2018) investigated the challenges faced by 13 East Asian students studying at an American university. The study employed both face-to-face and telephone interviews and found that students struggled with English language proficiency, adapting to a new teaching style, managing a heavier workload, and socializing with locals. Despite facing feelings of stress and frustration, students used various coping mechanisms such as relying on themselves, seeking help from study teams, utilizing resources, and integrating themselves in society. Overall, these findings support the conclusion made by Alghamdi and Otte (2016) in their review of studies on the experiences of study abroad students. They found that racial discrimination, communication barriers, academic difficulties, social integration, and financial issues are among the most common challenges encountered by students who study abroad.

Sample of the study
The participants of the present study were nine Algerian female postgraduate students who were specializing in English linguistics and literature at the University of Jordan (UJ). The institution is a large public university in Jordan and hosts students from Jordan and other Arab students who come to study higher degrees in various disciplines. The institution offers MA and PhD in linguistics; the context in which the institution is located is an EFL one, but the medium of instruction in the programs mentioned is English. Their ages range between 24 to 26 years old. All of them had studied English for 14 to 15 years and got their BA and master's degree from one of the Algerian universities before they moved to Jordan to pursue their postgraduate studies in a cultural exchange program between the two countries.

Instruments of data collection
In order to collect data about the academic and socio-cultural challenges encountered by the participants and the adaptation strategies they used, the study adopted a qualitative approach. Accordingly, a face-to-face semi-structured interview was used to elicit the required data from the participants about their experiences of studying abroad in the host context of Jordan. The interview was divided into two parts: The first included questions about the demographic information of the participants, while the second included open-ended questions directed to elicit data about the students' experiences abroad. The second instrument of data collection was a self-efficacy scale developed by Schwarzer and Jerusalem (1995) and adapted from Scholz et al. (2002) and Luszczynska et al. (2005). It is a scale where the participants are asked to rate the degree in which they believe in their own abilities to succeed in accomplishing their tasks and activities as EFL learners. The data were collected by means of a face-to-face interview which was conducted with nine students who gave consent to the researchers to record their voices. The interview took part in quiet rooms. After finishing all the audio-recordings with the participants, the recordings were transcribed and analyzed qualitatively. At the end of each interview, the interviewee was given a scale of 10 statements and asked to rate from 1 to 5 to identify their degree of selfefficacy.

Results and discussion
The data from the interviews revealed that the Algerian EFL students encountered a number of academic challenges at the host institution and that the students developed coping strategies to deal with these challenges and to adapt to their new learning environment. In this section, the findings are presented and summarized into five major themes using a qualitative analysis. As for the self-efficacy scale, both qualitative and quantitative analyses were applied to provide a fuller picture of the degree of self-efficacy of the students based on their rating.

Transition to a new academic context
The majority of the participants reported that the academic situation in Jordan is different from that in Algeria, as shown the Table 1. Table 1 summarizes the main differences between the Algerian and Jordanian academic contexts. All the participants claimed that the academic context of Algeria is totally different from that of Jordan. They noted that the Algerian universities follow a European system called (LMD i.e. License (Bachelor), Master, and Doctorate "PhD") in which the BA is completed in three years (nine semesters), the MA in six semesters and the PhD in 12 semesters. This system was developed by the French higher education authority, and later adopted by all the European Union countries. On the other hand, Jordan universities follow an American system which is stricter, and more complex compared to the LMD (BMP) system as illustrated in the following statements from two students.

Table 1. A summary of the differences between the Algerian and Jordanian academic systems The Algerian Academic Context The Jordanian Academic Context
(1) European (French) teaching system (2) The academic year is divided into three semesters.
(3) Modular system (one studied in the whole year) (4) Time of study from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
(5) Assessment is based on mid and final exams and homework and classroom evaluations.
(6) The material is not heavy.
(7) Teacher-centered instruction (1) American teaching system (2) The academic year is divided into two semesters.
(5) Assessment is based on presentations, midterm, final exams, and a term paper.
(6) Material is heavy and huge.
(7) Learner-centered instruction Rayyan et al., Cogent Education (2023) (a) I would say first of all there is a very huge difference in the way the whole program is done in Algeria we use to follow the European program the LMD (BMP) one, but her in Jordan we found a very different one, it isAmerican and for example the grading in Algeria was out of twenty, but here in Jordan it is out one hundred that is collected between the midterm the final, the presentations and the term paper.
(b) The most important one and major one (difference) is the systems are different. In Algeria we have the French system, we are working on the French system, and here in Jordan University has the American one.
The second difference mentioned by the participants is related to how the academic year of the study is divided into three semesters in Algeria and two semesters in Jordan. Some students added that Algeria applies a modular system which means that classes are given daily, following an obligatory list of modules designed by the faculty, whereas for PhD studies the students only conduct research and attend conferences and seminars. In Jordan, the students could study only a limited list of obligatory modules. In Algeria, the students are restricted to the obligatory list of 12 or more modules to study for the whole year. Additionally, most of the participants pointed out the difference in the assessment methods in the two contexts. They said that the Algerian assessment system is based on homework, classroom evaluation, and exams, while the Jordanian academic context is based on presentations which are rarely found in the Algerian classroom, assignments, midterms, term papers and final exams, as stated in Excerpt 2 below.
Excerpt 2: (a) Well, for instance the first thing that came to my mind is that their (Jordan) year is divided in two semesters not like our universities (Algeria) three semesters, and in this three semester you study twelve module but her you only take two or three maximum modules in one semester and once you finish it you have done with it.
(b) The hours of study in Algeria are from eight to four PM, but in Jordan we have courses from five to eight and this is totally different. How the course is designed for example we have midterm, presentations and also in the degree scale in Algeria we don't have A A-, b. . .in Algeria we use to have a degree from ten to twenty . . . .
The third difference is related to the amount of material; most of the participants said that the Jordanian teaching style is based on a heavy and huge material. That is, each module has a specific list of readings, comprising of a number of books and articles, while in the Algerian system, the teaching is based on a limited content provided by the teacher himself to the students in the form of handouts and summaries. The content provided in the Algerian universities is not heavy, and the students do not make efforts to read alone, since all the valuable things about the specific topic are provided in the handouts made by the teacher.
Excerpt 3: (a) Of course as have mentioned, the material, in Algeria we use to relay more on the teacher and he was giving us some kind of handout like summaries about the lesson, but here in Jordan we have books to read and many books to read. Besides, to articles, theses, and everything.
(b) Concerning the main differences, I have noticed between the Algerian and Jordanian system, this lies most importantly in the methods of teaching in fact, while the Jordanian system is more learner centered through the use of more presentations in each session. The Algerian system is more teacher centered or teacher based. In fact, the students learn from handouts presented to them by their teachers.
Furthermore, four of the participants indicated that the main difference between the two systems is related to the methods of teaching as stated by one of the students: "the teacher was giving only hints. . . this is the difference between the Algerian teaching style and here (Jordan), in Algeria it is teacher-centered; however, in Jordan I think it is learner-centered, so learners have to investigate, have to do everything. . ." In sum, teaching in Algeria is more teacher-centered, and the students rely more on learning from the handouts provided by the teachers without doing any personal efforts to create or use their own ideas. In contrast, teaching in Jordan is more learner-centered, and learners are requested to read books and articles and search for materials to play the role of the teacher during the oral presentations. In short, the learners are more engaged in the Jordanian teaching system compared to that in Algeria where the role of the learner is minimal due to the teaching policy followed.
All these differences between the systems were the major reason behind the difficulties faced by the Algerian EFL students studying in Jordan. This claim was confirmed when the students interviewed were asked to cite some of the academic difficulties they encountered as students at Jordan University, and what caused these barriers. Accordingly, all the participants alluded to the fact that they came from a totally different teaching and learning context, and this was a difficulty as in the following statement: "I think what caused the difficulties, I think the first thing is that I have come from a totally different environment and I'm in totally new environment so this transition from the Algerian teaching style to the Jordanian teaching style, this is the major difficulty."

Algerian EFL students' difficulties
In addition to having difficulties in the adaptation with the Jordanian teaching style, all the participants said that to some extent they experienced a range of other pedagogical barriers in their learning. For example, at the beginning of their experiences, they were not habituated to start their courses in the afternoon. Furthermore, all the students were not accustomed to doing many readings, consulting many books and articles, doing regularly oral presentations, doing term papers, and even choosing which module to study in each semester. Moreover, all of them stated that the teaching content is too heavy, and they do not manage to finish it with the deadlines which made them anxious as they feel that they are not well-prepared. Thus, it can be said that time management, organization, and psychological and emotional barriers such as stress and lack of self-confidence for some formed another challenge to the students. The findings revealed that some of the participants experienced a problem of communicating their ideas to their teachers; some students stated that they even avoided any contact with the Jordanian students which affected their classroom interaction to some extent. In addition, some of them experienced a fear of facing the audience and avoided any eye contact with them especially their teachers. During oral presentations they fail to express themselves, even they are well-prepared and have well understood each point in the chapter they are presenting. The following is a summary of the main difficulties:

Challenges related to the teaching style, classroom interaction and time management
The majority of the participants stated that they faced difficulties in adapting with the heavy materials, content, and requirements of each course they are taking. Also, some of students said that they faced a problem with comprehending the content of some of their books, and that they need more efforts and more time to read and reread carefully so as to understand. Also, due to the shortness of time and the many things they had to prepare before each course, they found it difficult to manage time; this led to a hindrance of both their classroom interaction and their comprehension of the content. Finally, all the participants stated that time management is key to success in their studies, and that they struggled to manage time, as stated in the following excerpt taken from the students' answers to the interview.
Excerpt 4 (a) Is the amount of reading, in fact I have noticed that the Jordanian learning is mainly based on reading different references, however in Algeria we were really used to read handouts, though I had to deal with reading many books in a short period of time, as it was so, it was really challenging . . .. . .. for the teaching content I found it very difficult to familiarize with linguistics . . .
(b) In Algeria we use to even, if I would study literature, we use to take excerpt from novels, from other stories and so, but here it is very bulky and rich syllabus and for example we have sometimes to read four to five books each week including faction, plays, and drama and criticism it was very difficult at the very beginning . . .
The statements indicate that the students faced problems with the content which is different from the Algerian one. Moreover, some students claimed that they suffered in understanding new concepts and the content of the new modules they have not seen before in Algeria. Finally, time management was a problem that the students cannot solve though they are exerting great efforts.

Challenges related to assessment and coursework
The findings revealed that the majority of students encountered difficulties during oral presentations, research topic selection and finding the appropriate resources to deal with the research. Furthermore, they claimed that in some situations, they were obliged to change the whole topic and waste more time due to lack of literature, or because of their inability to collect the appropriate data required to accomplish the research paper. Others said that, with time, they started to know how to find a topic and appropriate resources. Additionally, some indicated that the major difficulty during oral presentations is psychological due to anxiety, fearfulness, and lack of selfconfidence to face the audience, as illustrated in the following statements taken from the interview.
Excerpt 5 (a) Yes, oral presentations were very difficult for me, because I'm very anxious when presenting, I couldn't breathe, and my voice was a problem too for me in oral presentations. Research topic selection was very difficult, to have a research topic take a long time. . .. . . And it was also not easy to have appropriate resources because we rely more on internet . . .
(b) The same for presentations, I wasn't used to present in Algeria, so in Jordan it was challenging to face the audience . . . . . . . . . for presentations I had to cope with my anxiety and inhibition. For the research topic selection, I didn't find how to find the appropriate resources from which I look for a topic, but with time I learned, I come across different journals . . .
(c) Yes, I found difficulties as I said anxiety and time management, but research topic selection it was very difficult thing at the very beginning, at my first semester here but then I could cope, and I could learn.
The statements summarize the difficulties faced by the students during oral presentations and research topic selection, which often caused anxiety, lack of confidence to face the audience, and inability to manage time while presenting. Finally, the participants indicated that they faced difficulties in how to find a good research topic, appropriate resources, and relevant data for the topic.

Challenges related to communication
Concerning difficulties of communicating with professors and classmates, the majority of the participants indicated that they faced difficulties in communicating with their teachers more than classmates due to many reasons: lack of confidence and language barriers or the inability to find the right words either in English or in Jordanian Arabic especially at the beginning of their studies in Jordan. Three of the students mentioned that they did not encounter any difficulty when speaking and communicating with teachers or their mates, while two of the students said that sometimes they found it easy to communicate with both professors and colleagues. Finally, one student said that she was communicating easily with her professors, but not with her classmates and even she was avoiding any contact with them, as is shown in the statements below.
Excerpt 6 (a) Honestly, the teachers here are all graduate from British and American universities so at first when you want to talk to a teacher, you ohh he is probably experienced, he has a very perfect English what if I struggle what If I make grammatical mistakes, is he gonna judge me so it's always difficult to speak to a teacher especially when you are nervous. . . your classmate no you are in the same level equal.
(b) Yes, it is a problem of self-confidence of communication, I feel inhibited and ashamed and very anxious, I avoid the eye contact with the audience, with classmates it's normal I do not have any problem, but when it comes to my teachers or when it comes to presenting to a large audience it's a problem for me.
As shown from the above statements, most of the participants found it difficult to communicate with their teachers more than with classmates. The reason for this was fear of making mistakes, inability to find the appropriate words to convey their messages either in English or Jordanian Arabic, lack of confidence and shyness, and their feeling that the teachers were higher in status from them. Some stated that they did not have problems with their classmates as they feel they were equal; only one student said that she did not have a good contact with her classmates, especially Jordanians.

Challenges related to the psychological and emotional status
The analysis of the data showed that the students experienced a range of psychological states and developed a set of emotional feelings towards the challenges they faced during their studies in the target context. These psychological states or emotions were variegated, but they are most of the times more negative as shown from the following statements by the students.
Excerpt 7 (a) I always felt anxious, I always felt said, I was not satisfied with myself, and this is a problem (b) The challenges helped me to develop some self-confidence especially in presentations, because I had really a serious problem with that, So I had acquired the necessary and adequate skills to deal with presentations and how to face the audience.
(c) The feelings and emotional challenges they are mostly, most of the times negative ones because you feel is too much, you could not handle it anymore, and even sometimes I Think to go back to Algeria. But, sometimes I see we have to overcome such things.
(d) Yes, it's a problem of self-confidence of communication, I feel inhibited and ashamed and very anxious. . .. . .. . ..
The above examples show that the participants mostly developed negative feelings towards their study abroad experience; they were most of the times under stress, anxiety, sadness, and dissatisfaction. In addition, they felt sometimes unable, and they could not handle the difficulties any more as mentioned in Example (c) even the students thought to give up and go back to Algeria. They were always afraid and anxious about facing the challenges again and again. Furthermore, one student said that she lacked self-confidence. Moreover, one student noted a feeling of homesickness.

The students' adaptation strategies
Most of the Algerian EFL students developed a range of adaptation strategies to deal with the different academic barriers they encountered so as to maximize their learning opportunities and achieve academic success. In other words, to deal with the difficulties they were facing and meet their academic goals, they resorted to a set of adaptation strategies which are as a follows: (1) Asking for assistance from their professors: Some of the students said whenever they face a difficulty they resort to their teachers to get help. Five of the participants claimed that going to the teacher is the main source or strategy they resort to.
(2) Asking for assistance from previous Algerian students and their friends: Some student also indicated that one of the ways they use to cope with the academic barriers is by seeking help from the previous Algerian students who studied at UJ, to share with them their experience and how they achieved academic success.
(3) Developing an active learning attitude through preparation and hard work: This kind of attitude is an important element in overcoming learning barriers. So, the learners work hard to prepare their lesson and presentations in advance so as to overcome the different learning problems they encounter daily.
(4) Using the library and external resources for learning: Some participants resort to the library to help and motivate them to study. Others said they resort to external resources like books, journals, and internet, and sometimes translations whenever they are faced with comprehension difficulties.
(5) Time management: One of the students said that learning how to manage time is one of the key strategies she is following to overcome the problems of time limitation compared to the large quantity of material and presentations they need to cover.
(6) Self-reliance: One of the other strategies used by the learners is relying on self-control, by taking the initiative and responsibility for their own learning. As stated by one of the participants, "I learned to control myself by myself."

(7) Taking a breath and controlling emotions during oral presentations (self-consoling):
Students reported pausing and taking a breath to better control emotions, while reminding themselves that the other students are just like them; they can commit the same mistakes. In other words, by doing so, the students are trying to reduce anxiety, to avoid hesitation and wrong decisions, ultimately leading to better performance.

The students' assessment of their learning experience abroad
Despite all of the psychological and academic challenges faced starting from their first day at the host institution, all of the participants developed a positive attitude towards their learning experience, and enjoyed their studies in Jordan. All of them stated that, regardless of all the difficulties encountered, it remains a good experience and a good thing that happened in their life. They have learnt a lot, have grown, and they have developed their skills and personalities from different angles. Some of the students commented with the following: Excerpt 8 (a) It was a very good experience and I really enjoyed studying in Jordan. First, it was very, very difficult, but then I found that I could managed it, and found it a great experience, and honestly I feel that my level in the English language, umm how to say it, I feel I'm better than some teachers in the Algerian University, some of them to some extent.
(b) I'm a new student, my experience is short little bit, I didn't build that much experience, but however I have learned that studying in Jordan is something challenging and this is a challenge, you have to face it, so you have to be prepared for anything and you have to study as hard as you can. Through my experience in Jordan, I think you have to be very strict, you can't be weak, you have to be strong, you have to fit with the environment even if you come from a different environment.
The excerpt shows that the students have faced a range of learning difficulties, especially in the very beginning, and that coming from a very different learning environment to a new one is really challenging. However, despite all the challenges, the statements also show that the students are amazed with the experience and have learned a lot; they developed self-confidence in their languages skills, "I feel that my level in the English language, umm how to say it, I feel I'm better than some teachers in the Algerian University", as well as building a stronger personality as said by one student "you can't be weak, you have to be strong", as well as learning to rely on themselves and be patient. To sum up, all these statements show that studying abroad is very beneficial for EFL learners; it contributes to building knowledge in their fields of study, and help them in developing a great personality with sense of responsibility, and more self-confidence.
Excerpt 9 (a) From my experience I learned a lot, from my experience in Jordan as I mentioned I acquired skills for giving presentations, I learned a lot in a short period of time and I learned also and most importantly how to write papers, . . ..
(b) As I said before it was very difficult at the very beginning, the courses till now need much concentration, much research . . .. but we have learned and we have enriched our knowledge about many modules, so many concepts we didn't know before, and we really encountered books we never thought to read before, we have covered so many areas we didn't know before . . .. we really enriched our knowledge and we feel much better about our ability now . . .. we really enjoyed it because it is very helpful and gave us a very deep illumination about our future. . .
With respect to academic achievement, the students indicated that through their new challenging learning experiences, they have improved their skills as EFL students and as a future Algerians professors after their graduation. According to the participants, they all grew and really reached an outcome from this experience which they assess as an excellent one. They all claimed that they have learned a lot of things, learned how to present, and how to conduct a research paper as EFL learners. As noted by the students, they really enriched their knowledge, discovered the unknown, and reached what they once thought to be impossible, as they discovered a new field of specialization "linguistics", and new areas, concepts and modules about both the English language, literature and linguistics. In short, as said by one of the participants studying in Jordan is not easy but at the same time it is not impossible.

Study Abroad and Self-Efficacy Building
As self-efficacy is an important predictor of academic success across different domains, this section provides a description of the frequencies and percentages of how the stay abroad impacted student self-efficacy. Accordingly, the items from one to three show how much the students are confident to achieve their goals and academic success as EFL students at the host institution. Items four to 10 show how much the students are confident in overcoming the different difficulties they encountered during their learning process. Table 2 above demonstrates the degree of general self-efficacy of the Algerian EFL PhD students at the host institution. From the table, it can be noted that about (55,6%) of the participants are "extremely sure" that they are able to solve and manage difficulties if they work and try hard, while (22,2%) indicated that they are "very sure" about their capability to solve problems when trying hard. This leads to the conclusion that about (77,8%) or the majority, are self-confident in their capacities to overcome their difficulties when they try again and again. However, about (22,2%) of the participants indicated that they are moderately sure, or that they have doubts about their own capacities to solve the different challenges they are facing. On the other hand, about (66,7%) of the participants indicated whenever someone opposes them, they can always find ways to get what they want and achieve their objectives, whereas (33,3%) are not totally sure that they are able to find solutions to get what they want when faced with a difficulty. Furthermore, about (33,3%) are "extremely sure" and another (33.3%) are "very sure" that they can easily stick to their objective and accomplish them. We also find that (22, 2%) said that they are intermediately sure they are able to stick and reach their goals easily and (11,1%) are less sure of their abilities to fix and accomplish their goals.
To sum up, it can be said that the mentioned students' experiences abroad as EFL learners at the host institution and the different challenges they faced, have helped most of them to build a self-efficacy and self-confidence in their ability to solve problems, and to develop strategies and means to achieve their academic goals easily. The remaining students have started to build a kind of confidence in their ability to achieve their learning goals but are still faced with some doubts and uncertainty in their capacities to accomplish and achieve their goals; such results can be explained by the fact that their self-efficacy is yet effected by the different external and psychological factors they are facing daily. Also, Table 2 clearly shows the degree of self-efficacy and confidence, or in other words the belief of the learners in their abilities to surpass and come across their difficulties. As it can be noted from Item (4) that more than half of the participants (55,6%) are moderately or just quite sure about their capacity to deal with unexpected events, and about (22,2%) showed that they are "very" or "extremely" sure that they are able to face unexpected events and situations easily. Moreover, when they are asked how sure that their resourcefulness and creativity can help them to act in difficult situations, about (77,7%) said that they are moderately sure about whether resourcefulness can help them to deal with unforeseen situations and only about (22,2%) said that they are very sure about their ability to deal with problems using their imagination and creativity. Roughly (66,7%) and (22,2%) are "very" or "extremely" sure, respectively, that if they invest the necessary effort they can solve problems.
In sum, this result shows that the learners are highly confident in their abilities to deal with problems only if they are putting in the necessary effort to deal with them. However, the results show that the learners are less confident in their ability to deal with unexpected situations using just their resourcefulness and creativity. Therefore, in short, the learner believes that the only and certain way through which they can solve problems is by working hard and putting in lot of effort, not by counting only on their resourcefulness. Furthermore, the findings indicate that about (44,4%) and (22,2%) are "very" or "extremely" sure about their capacity to control their emotions and remain calm when facing difficulties, since they have developed coping strategies on which they can rely, while (33,3%) are moderately sure, and (11,1%) are not sure about their ability to control their emotions when faced with difficulties. Also, about (55,6%) are very certain about their flexibility and ability to come up with a variety of solutions whenever they are confronted with a problem, while (33,3%) and (11,1%) are moderately or somewhat certain about their ability to create a variety of solutions to solve any unexpected situation. Similarly, for item nine in Table 2, the vast majority are confident in their cognitive abilities to think about an immediate solution if they are in trouble. Finally, (44,4%) of the participants indicated that they are "very" sure and also (44,4%) are "moderately" sure about their flexibility to handle whatever comes their way in their daily lives, and (11,1%) are extremely confident that they can handle and overcome their difficulties.
In conclusion, the general self-efficacy scale used in this study revealed that the vast majority of the participants developed a degree of confidence and belief in their own abilities to achieve their academic goals abroad and overcome their difficulties in their new learning environment.

Discussion and conclusion
The present study was designed to investigate the experiences of Algerian EFL students in a host country to find out the academic challenges they face and the adjustment strategies to which they resort to cope with these difficulties. This study is an attempt to find the extent to which this experience affected their self-efficacy building. Accordingly, the study presented both qualitative and quantitative descriptions to achieve the aims. The findings of the qualitative analysis of the interviews revealed that all the participants faced a range of academic challenges during their studies at the host institution. Furthermore, the results also revealed that each student developed a range of adaptation strategies to cope with the academic obstacles in their new learning environment. In addition, all the participants indicated a set of differences they have noticed between the Algerian and Jordanian academic contexts and teaching styles. Finally, the results of the self-efficacy scale revealed varying degrees of how the experience of study abroad affected the learners' self-efficacy and self-confidence.
First, all the participants in this study indicated that the Algerian and Jordanian academic environments and teaching styles are very different in many respects. According to them, they have noticed differences in the assessment which is stricter and more complex in Jordan as it is based on presentations, assignments, midterm exams, final exams, and a term paper to submit by the end of each semester for each module, which is not the case in Algeria. Also, the students indicated differences in the divisions of the semesters and the hours of study; more importantly, they identified some differences in the quantity of the content. According to them, the teaching and learning content is very heavy in Jordan, they are exposed to lot of material, and they have to read a lot of books and do a lot of presentations which is not the case in Algeria. Finally, from the perspective of the participants, the teaching methods used in each context are also different, they are more teacher-centered in Algeria, where the learner relies more on teachers as the source of knowledge, while in Jordan it is more learner-centered, where it is the responsibility of the learner to work hard and do most of the work, thus relying on his/her own capacities.
Accordingly, the transition from one learning environment or system to a new and completely different one is one of the major difficulties faced by the Algerian students in Jordan. Such differences in learning environments are considered the first barrier faced by the students, especially for those who found themselves obliged to change their specialization from didactics and English language teaching or syllabus design to prepare a PhD in pure linguistics without enough prior knowledge. Therefore, for all the study-abroad students mentioned, the first difficulty was to adapt to their new environment, and such transition was the source of several problems for them. In addition to the adaptation problems with the Jordanian teaching styles and methods, the Algerian EFL students have also faced a range of other pedagogical difficulties, as well as, psychological challenges for some. Another challenge the students faced is time management, either when studying alone at home or while presenting; they mentioned failing to organize and manage time. These difficulties are related to their inability to adapt to the new timings of study which always takes place in the afternoon or evening for graduate studies. Also, all the students indicated that they faced difficulties with the heavy teaching content; it is difficult for them to prepare and complete all the readings and assignments in due course. Moreover, some of them find the content of some books difficult to understand, and, according to them, this difficulty hindered their classroom interaction.
Moreover, most of the students indicated difficulties pertaining to oral presentations, finding research topics for each module, and finding appropriate resources and data to complete their research papers. On the other hand, the majority of the students indicated that they find difficulties communicating with their teachers than with their classmates, because they feel that they are in equal status with their mates, but of lower status compared to their teachers; accordingly, they always felt unable to find the appropriate method to communicate with a professor, and if they do communicate they are afraid of being judged because of their low proficiency level. Finally, the students developed a range of psychological and emotional feelings with respect to the different challenges they faced. Though some of them are positive, the vast majority are negative ranging from lack of confidence, high effective filter, anxiety and even homesickness as indicated by one of the participants. But, despite the difficulties, all the participants developed a set of coping strategies to adapt to their new learning environment.
Accordingly, among the strategies recorded by the students is seeking assistance from the teachers, previous Algerian students and their mates either the Jordanian or the Algerian ones. Other strategies included developing a positive learning attitude through intensive preparation, hardworking, and exerting much effort. Also, they always resort to external resources, using translation whenever they encounter difficulties of understanding, and resorting to the library as a place to motivate themselves. They also developed ways to organize their time and manage it, as well as use self-consoling, self-talk and breathing exercises as a way to control their emotions, especially during presentations. Finally, despite the difficulties they faced, especially at the very beginning, all of them developed a positive attitude toward their studying abroad experience in Jordan, which they assessed as an excellent one as they have learnt much academically and personally. As advice to future students who want to study abroad, all the participants said they should familiarize themselves with the program of the host country before going there. Additionally, they suggested that it is important for the authorities organizing such study abroad programs to provide the required information to the learners and assist them through training workshops.
As for the findings of the self-efficacy scale, the study revealed that most of the learners developed a sense of self-efficacy, and that their study abroad experience helped them in believing in their abilities to achieve their academic goals. In other words, the test showed that the majority of EFL learners investigated in this study developed a sense of self-confidence to achieve their goals and overcome the academic difficulties they face as foreigner students at the host institution. However, it is of a paramount importance to point out that the study is limited in some respects. Among the limitations is the number of the participants: the study is restricted to just nine Algerian females enrolled at the host institution, which is a small sample. The second is the inability to include males in this study to provide a comparative analysis of the different challenges and strategies used by both genders, the reason being that all Algerian study abroad students are females. In this regard, comparative and gender-based studies are recommended for future research. Furthermore, the results of this study need to be confirmed using a larger sample and one including other variables such as social, psychological, religious, and financial difficulties faced by the students abroad. Another recommendation is to investigate the difficulties of Algerian or Arab learners in general who are studying in different parts of the world such as Europe or America, especially in non-Muslim countries. In short, this study provided new insights about the different challenges faced by students once leaving their countries to new destinations seeking better education, as well as the adaptation strategies they follow to cope with the new environment, and how this experience of studying abroad affects their self-efficacy.