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Research on self-efficacy has been a productivefield while limited studies have explored language learners’formation of academic self-efficacy. This quantitative studydeveloped an instrument with two questionnaires forassessing English as a foreign language (EFL) learners’formation of self-efficacy and academic self-efficacy. Itfurther investigated the complex relationship among learn-ers’ sources of self-efficacy, academic self-efficacy and theirEnglish proficiency. The participants were 700 EFL learnersat a comprehensive university in China, who took a com-pulsory language course for improving their overall Englishproficiency. The results validated the two questionnaires andfurther confirmed the correlations among the three con-structs. It is very striking to see that the ‘social persuasion’played the most significant and positive role for predictinglearners’ academic self-efficacy and all aspects of Englishproficiency. Moreover, ‘physiological states’ were found asanegativepredictorfor explaining learners’ achievementsinEnglish listening and reading. The research highlights theimportance of socio-cultural factors during learners’ for-mation of academic self-efficacy in China, particularly thesignificant roles played by the influential social agents.Implications are provided for reducing EFL learners’physiological stress and sustaining their academic self-efficacy for improving their language proficiency.