The study explored English language learning of native Arabic-speaking pre-service teachers and examined their self-efficacy on academic English proficiency. Writing samples from ten Arabic speaking female teacher education students in a university in the United Arab Emirates were analyzed using a rubric along with in-depth interviews. Overall, results revealed limited reading and writing practice in either language outside of school. Key findings from the interviews indicated that all of the participants had taken English classes since early in their elementary school years; however both Arabic and English learning consisted of skills-based language instruction with little or no practical and purposeful applications. Further, the respondents reported limited reading and writing practice in either language outside of school and cultural practices, inadequate instruction, and limited views of relevance for improving their English. All these reasons generally led to low levels of self-efficacy with regards to second language learning.