Univerzitet u Tuzli

Filozofski fakultet

Amra Kušljugić

Drugi ciklus studija

Metodika nastave engleskog jezika

Bosnian-Herzegovinian Secondary School Students' Success and Failure

Attributions in Learning English as a Foreign Language

(Atribucije uspjeha i neuspjeha bosanskohercegovačkih srednjoškolaca u učenju

engleskog kao stranog jezika)
MAGISTARSKI RAD

Tuzla, 2017. godine

UNIVERZITET U TUZLI
FILOZOFSKI FAKULTET

Ime i prezime kandidata: Amra Kušljugić

Naziv studijskog programa: Metodika nastave engleskog jezika

Naslov rada: Bosnian-Herzegovinian Secondary School Students' Success and Failure

Attributions in Learning English as a Foreign Language
(Atribucije uspjeha i neuspjeha bosanskohercegovačkih srednjoškolaca u učenju engleskog
kao stranog jezika)

UDK broj: 811.111:371.3(043.2)

371.3:811.111(043.2)

Magistarski rad je odbranjen dana: 10.3.2017.godine

Sastav Komisije za odbranu rada:

Dr.sc. Tanja Pavlović, docent, predsjednik

Dr.sc. Alma Jahić, docent, mentor i član
Dr.sc. Tamara Efendić Spahić, vanredni profesor, član

Redni broj iz matične evidencije: 7-11-6-M/13

Broj Zapisnika: 05/3-5-44-1/17

ii
 All the praises and thanks be to Allah
(Qur’an, Al-Fatihah, 2)

And that the human being attains only what he strives for.
And that his efforts will be witnessed.
Then he will be rewarded for it the fullest reward.
(Qur’an, An-Najm, 39-41)

iii
SUMMARY

Investigating the reasons why something happened is in the human nature, as well as
attributing either the success or the failure of that activity to some causes, i.e. attributions.
The attribution theory of motivation explains the attributions - perceived causes of behaviour.
According to this theory, our own analysis of causal attributions affects our future behaviour,
and results in the emergence of different emotions. The same attributional process happens in
foreign language learning. The goal of this paper was to explore the application of attribution
theory in the Bosnian-Herzegovinian context, and to identify the causal attributions of success
and failure of Bosnian-Herzegovinian secondary school students in learning English as a
foreign language. In addition, the work explored attributions that are, according to the
students’ opinion, under their control and the emotions that the students feel while achieving
success or failure in learning English as a foreign language. Furthermore, signs of learned
helplessness showed by the unsuccessful students were examined. Questionnaires were used
in order to collect the data. The findings were in the accordance with the main points of the
attribution theory. However, the results of this research are limited because they were
obtained in a small-scale study. The pedagogical implications that mainly concern the EFL
teachers were proposed in the end.
Key words: attributions, attribution theory, learned helplessness, learning English as a
foreign language, ELT

SAŽETAK

Istraživanje razloga zašto se nešto dogodilo je u ljudskoj prirodi, kao i pripisivanje uspjeha ili
neuspjeha te aktivnosti nekim uzrocima, tj. atribucijama. Atribucijska teorija motivacije
objašnjava atribucije - percipirane uzroke ponašanja. Prema toj teoriji, naša vlastitia analiza
kauzalnih atribucija utječe na naše buduće ponašanje, a rezultira pojavom različitih emocija.
Isti atribucijski proces se događa u učenju stranih jezika. Cilj ovog rada bio je istražiti
primjenu atribucijske teorije u bosanskohercegovačkom kontekstu, te utvrditi kauzalne
atribucije uspjeha i neuspjeha bosanskohercegovačkih srednjoškolaca u učenju engleskog kao
stranog jezika. Osim toga, rad je istraživao atribucije koji su, prema mišljenju studenata, pod
njihovom kontrolom i emocije koje učenici osjećaju pri postizanju uspjeha ili neuspjeha u
učenju engleskog kao stranog jezika. Osim toga, istraživani su i znakovi naučene
bespomoćnosti kod neuspješnih učenika. Upitnici su korišteni pri prikupljanju podataka.
Rezultati su bili u skladu s glavnim tačkama atribucijske teorije. Međutim, rezultati ovog
istraživanja su ograničeni jer su dobiveni u istraživanju malih razmjera. Pedagoške
implikacije koje se uglavnom tiču nastavnika engleskog jezika su predložene na kraju.
Ključne riječi: atribucije, teorija atribucije, naučena bespomoćnost, učenje engleskog kao
stranog jezika, podučavanje engleskog jezika

iv
CONTENTS

List of Figures and Tables ...................................................................................................... 6

1. Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 8
1.1. Aim of the paper .............................................................................................................. 10
1.2. Research questions ........................................................................................................... 10

2. Motivation .......................................................................................................................... 11
2.1. Motivation and attribution theory .................................................................................... 19

3. The attribution theory ...................................................................................................... 21

3.1. Attributional approach to motivation and classroom issues ............................................ 33
3.2. Attributions and language acquisition ............................................................................ 37
3.2.1. Attributions and foreign language acquisition .............................................................. 37
3.2.2. Attributions and English as a foreign language acquisition ......................................... 43
3.2.3. Attributions and second language acquisition .............................................................. 47

4. Learned helplessness ......................................................................................................... 48

5. Attributional retraining .................................................................................................... 51

6. Methodology ...................................................................................................................... 55

7. Results and discussion ...................................................................................................... 59

7.1. Students’ own success and failure attributions ............................................................... 60
7.2. Students’ response to the suggested success and failure attributions ............................. 69
7.3. Students’ answers about controllability of attributions .................................................. 86
7.4. Students’ answers about emotions .................................................................................. 95

8. Pedagogical implications ................................................................................................ 106

9. Conclusion ....................................................................................................................... 109

10. References ..................................................................................................................... 112

11. Appendices .................................................................................................................... 116

v
List of figures and tables:
Figure 1 A process Model of L2 Motivation
Figure 2 Components of Foreign Language Learning Motivation
Figure 3 Relation between task difficulty and pride mediated by perceptions of causality
(causal locus)
Figure 4 Representation of the four main causes of behavior, their dimensional properties
(locus and stability), and linkages to affect and expectancy
Figure 5 Preliminary attribution-based theory of motivation with questions to be addressed
Figure 6 An attributional theory of motivation and emotion
Figure 7 The cognition-emotion process
Figure 8 Final attribution-based theory of intrapersonal motivation
Figure 9 The self-esteem model (so-called Internal attribution hypothesis)
Figure 10 External attribution model (so-called External attribution hypothesis)
Figure 11 An attributional theory of interpersonal motivation
Figure 12 Personal helplessness and Universal helplessness
Figure 13 Formal characteristics of attributions and some examples
Figure 14 Process variables in AR field studies (1996-2008)
Figure 15 Selected process variables from Weiner's (1985) attribution theory
Figure 16 Components of Attributional Retraining (AR)
Table 1 Students’ age, gender and grade
Table 2 Successful and unsuccessful groups of students
Table 3 Success attributions – grade I
Table 4 Success attributions – grade IV
Table 5 Failure attributions – grade I
Table 6 Failure attributions – grade IV
Table 7 Success attributions – boys
Table 8 Success attributions – girls
Table 9 Failure attributions – boys
Table 10 Failure attributions – girls
Table 11 Students' grades at the end of the first term
Table 12 Successful and unsuccessful groups of students
Table 13 Success attributions – grade I
Table 14 Success attributions – grade IV
vi
Table 15 Failure attributions – grade I
Table 16 Failure attributions – grade IV
Table 17 Success attributions – boys
Table 18 Success attributions – girls
Table 19 Failure attributions – boys
Table 20 Failure attributions – girls
Table 21 Kinds of success in English that encourage and motivate the successful students the
most
Table 22 Whether English is learned only because it is a school subject
Table 23 Kinds of failure in English that discourage, depress and deject the unsuccessful
students the most
Table 24 No willingness to make an effort to learn English since the results are almost always
bad
Table 25 I would study English more if____________
Table 26 Controllability of successful students – grade I
Table 27 Controllability of successful students – grade IV
Table 28 Controllability of unsuccessful students – grade I
Table 30 Controllability of successful students – boys
Table 31 Controllability of successful students – girls
Table 32 Controllability of unsuccessful students – boys
Table 33 Controllability of unsuccessful students – girls
Table 34 Emotions – successful students – grade I
Table 35 Emotions – successful students – grade IV
Table 36 Emotions – unsuccessful students –grade I
Table 37 Emotions – unsuccessful students – grade IV
Table 38 Emotions – successful boys
Table 39 Emotions – successful girls
Table 40 Emotions – unsuccessful boys
Table 41 Emotions – unsuccessful girls

vii
 1. Introduction
Successful people are not gifted;
they just work hard,
then succeed on purpose.

G.K. Nielson

At the foundation of all human activity are the so-called why questions, according to
Heider (1958) (as cited in Manusov & Spitzber, 2008, p. 37). It is the inherent human
curiosity as well as the search for the explanation of our behaviour that makes us investigate
the causes or reasons why something happened. Whether the activity is successful or not, we
attribute it to some causes, i.e. attributions. Additionally, apart from just finding the cause, the
expectancy of what will happen in the future is another reason for the causal or attributional
process (Griffin, 1994, p. 138).
The attribution theory explains the entire attributional process and helps with the
understanding of attributions. In language learning, the same attributional process happens,
therefore, in learning English as well, whether it is learned as a second (L2) or foreign
language. This theory is a motivational theory, and as Dörnyei (2001, p. 53) says: “The
renewed interest in L2 motivation is at the same time indicative of a more general trend in
applied linguistics whereby an increasing number of scholars combine
psychological/psycholinguistic and linguistic approaches in order to better understand the
complex mental processes involved in second language acquisition.” The attribution theory
was mostly dealt with by a social psychologist Bernard Weiner. This theory explains the
attributions, that is to say, perceived causes of behaviour, and the reasons to which we
attribute our success or failure. According to this theory, our own analysis of causal
attributions affects our future behaviour, and results in the emergence of different emotions.
The topic of attributions in learning English as a foreign language in Bosnia and Herzegovina
would provide information on Bosnian-Herzegovinian secondary school students’ success and
failure attributions. It would also suggest ideas to English teachers which they can apply in
the effort of helping students to change the negative attributions into positive ones with the
goal of guiding students in their self-motivation and independence in language learning. There
has been a number of studies exploring attributions of learning a second/foreign language,
however, the current work is important because it adds to the pool of existing research on this
topic its exploration in the Bosnian context as an integral part of the overall mosaic of
teaching English as a foreign language at the European and world level.

1
 As this paper explores the success and failure attributions of Bosnian-Herzegovinian
secondary school students learning English as a foreign language, the literature review
provides relevant information first on motivation, then the connection of motivation and the
attributional theory and then the attributional theory in the context of learning English as a
foreign and second language. For this purpose, primarily the works of the following authors
were referred to: Dörnyei (1994, 2001, 2005) and Noels, Pelletier, Clément and Vallerand
(2000) for motivation, and for attributions: Weiner (1985, 2000, 2010). Also the following
authors who have studied the application of attribution theory in various contexts were
consulted: Hashemi and Zabihi (2011) in Iran; Williams, Burden and Al-Baharna (2001) in
Bahrain, and Hsieh and Kang (2010) in Korea. The study of English as a second (not foreign)
language by Gray (2005) has also been mentioned. Moreover, apart from attributions, in the
literature review learned helplessness (when we think that the situation cannot change no
matter how hard we try) and attribution retraining (ways of changing negative causal
attributions and attributions inefficient for learning) are addressed.
Since the research of students' motivation, thus the attributions, is based on self-
assessment, the necessary data have been gathered by using two questionnaires in which
students indicated the causes they perceive as reasons for their success or failure. The first
questionnaire gave the students the opportunity to state their own reasons for their success or
failure in learning English. In the second questionnaire attributions of success and failure
were offered and the students needed to express their opinion about them on a Likert scale.
The second questionnaire also included questions to which students responded giving their
opinion about how much they believe that certain attributions are under their control. The
students also specified the emotions present in the achievement of success or failure in
learning English as a foreign language.
The methodological part of the work will provide information on the data collection
and the research participants. Furthermore, data presentation and analysis follow. At the end
of the work, activities that English teachers can use to help the students continue their
successful work and learning are suggested, as well as the ways for the unsuccessful students
to change negative causal attributions in positive and beneficial for their learning.

2
 1.1. Aim of the paper

The subject of this work is the application of attribution theory of motivation in the
Bosnian context, and identifying the causal attributions of success and failure of Bosnian-
Herzegovinian secondary school students in learning English as a foreign language. In
addition, the work explores attributions that are, according to the students’ opinion, under
their control and the emotions that the students feel while achieving success or failure in
learning English as a foreign language. In order to collect the data, two questionnaires have
been used.

1.2. Research questions

RQ1: What do students attribute their success and failure in learning English as a
foreign language to and what are the differences in attributions that the students listed
themselves and the ones that were offered to them?
RQ2: What are the differences between success and failure attributions in learning
English as a foreign language for students of different age and gender?
RQ3: What are the differences between students of different age and gender in
controllability of success and failure attributions in learning English as a foreign language?
RQ4: Which emotions are expressed while experiencing success or failure in learning
English as a foreign language of students of different age and gender?
RQ5: What signs of learned helplessness do the unsuccessful students show?

3
 2. Motivation
Believe in yourself!
Have faith in your abilities!
Without a humble but reasonable confidence
in your own powers
you cannot be successful or happy.
Norman Vincent Peale

The attribution theory is a theory of motivation. Before it is examined in detail, the

review of motivation as a wider domain follows in this section. It will show the connection of
attributions with motivation and the place of this theory in a broad perspective.
Dörnyei (2005) examined motivation as a major individual difference variable or a
characteristic of a language learner. He argues that motivation is even more significant than
learner’s abilities since learners may not achieve their goals with their abilities alone if they
are not motivated enough. On the other hand, highly motivated learners will be successful
even if their abilities are not exceptional (Dörnyei, 2005, p. 65).
Since the 1960s, the research on second language (L2) motivation has flourished and it
is classified into three periods (Dörnyei, 2005, pp. 66-67):

a) The social psychological period (1959-1990) – characterised

by the work of Gardner and his students associates in Canada.
b) The cognitive-situated period (during the 1990s) –
characterised by work drawing on cognitive theories in
educational psychology.
c) The process-oriented period (the past five years) –
characterised by interest in motivational change, initiated by the
work of Dörnyei, Ushioda, and their colleagues in Europe.1

McDonough (2008) provided a clear overview of motivation in ELT (English

language teaching). He defines motivation as a complex and dynamic property of a learner
that initiates his or her action, for example, learning English (McDonough, 2008, p. 369).
Explaining this definition he claims that motivation includes four elements:
 the reasons why we want to learn,

1
The past five years period mentioned refers to the 2000-2005 period since Dörnyei’s book which talks about it
was published in 2005.

4
  the strength of our desire to learn,
 the kind of person we are, and
 the task, and our estimation of what it requires of us.
(McDonough, 2008, p. 369)
Gardner (1985) differentiates between integrative and instrumental orientation of
motivation (as cited in McDonough, 2008, p. 369). Integrative orientation is a wish of a
learner to integrate themselves into the language community in which the language being
learned is spoken while instrumental orientation indicates that a learner has more practical
motive for learning the language, wanting to acquire something in life with it, a job for
instance. Another division of motivation occurs in Deci and Ryan’s work (1985) that involves
extrinsic and intrinsic motivation which takes the position of the source of influence as the
main point, whether it is in the person or outside (as cited in McDonough, 2008, p. 369).
McDonough (2008, p. 370) finds that the teacher has the main position in this process
of being a learner motivator. Instead of being just a provider of rewards, teacher needs to
create such a learning environment in which learners have the necessary support of the
evolvement of students’ own motivational thinking. Finally, he stresses another important and
possibly a very demanding task for teachers, which is not to de-motivate students. The
concept of demotivation will be addressed later in this section.
Dörnyei (1994) explored motivation and motivating in the foreign language
classroom. He labelled motivation as “one of the main determinants of second/foreign (L2)
learning achievement” (Dörnyei, 1994, p. 273). This statement emphasises enough the
importance of motivation in the language classroom. Gardner’s social psychological approach
to motivation, which included social attitudes, had been challenged over the years because
pragmatic and education-centred approach was required. Dörnyei (1994, pp. 273-274) said
that Gardner’s model concentrated on the social environment rather than the foreign language
classroom. Therefore, he wanted to explore the understanding of L2 motivation from an
educational perspective and offered a multilevel L2 motivational construct as well as several
practical guidelines on how to apply that in the classroom. Being rather complex as it includes
not only learning some new information and knowledge, but being a communication system
and a part of one’s identity as well, L2 learning also entails different personality traits. For
this reason, an eclectic approach to L2 motivation is needed. Gardner and MacIntyre (1993, p.
4) emphasised the dynamic feature of motivation, adding that only looking at motivation
through integrative and instrumental orientations is too static. Other orientations appeared in
5
research that had been considered as part of integrative orientation: knowledge, friendship and
travel orientations (Dörnyei, 1994, p. 275). Furthermore, when L2 is a foreign language,
which means that the learners do not have the direct contact with the L2 speech community,
one more orientation appeared: socio-cultural orientation. In the process of suggesting his
model, Dörnyei (1994, p. 275) mentions that social and pragmatic elements of L2 motivation
depend on “who learns what language and where”.
Dörnyei (1994, p. 276) acknowledges Deci and Ryan’s extrinsic/intrinsic dichotomy
of motivation adding that if they are sufficiently internalised and self-determined, external
rewards can merge with or cause intrinsic motivation. They initiated the self-determination
theory in which “self-determination (i.e., autonomy) is seen as a prerequisite for any
behaviour to be intrinsically rewarding” (as cited in Dörnyei, 1994, p. 276).
Tremblay and Gardner (1995) explored the motivation construct in language learning.
They talked about the connection and mutual influence of setting goals, effort and
performance, explaining that setting a goal has impact on effort, which they call the mediator,
and then effort influences the performance (1995, p. 506). Gardner (1985) proposed three
necessary components of language learning motivation: effort made to attain a goal, a desire
to learn a language and satisfaction experienced during the language learning task (as cited in
Tremblay & Gardner, 1995, p. 506). Tremblay and Gardner (1995) suggested the expanding
of Gardner’s Socio-Educational Model form 1985 that included integrative and instrumental
motivation. Namely, Tremblay and Gardner (1995, p. 506-507) differentiate between
motivational behaviour and motivational antecedents. Motivational behaviour is defined as a
person’s actions noticeable by an observer, while motivational antecedents are variables that
have impact on motivational behaviour, they cannot be noticed by an observer, only by the
doer of the action. Features such as effort, persistence and attention, that would probably be
included in a teacher’s description of a motivated student, well describe motivational
behaviour. Motivational behaviour is influenced by motivational antecedents in a cognitive
and affective manner.
The first period of motivation research and Gardner’s work have been mentioned
earlier in this section. The second period is characterised by Noels’s research. Noels, Pelletier,
Clément and Villerand (2003) took a self-determination approach to motivation. Self-
determination theory implies two kinds of motivation based on the aforementioned intrinsic
and extrinsic interest in the activity by Deci and Ryan (1985) (Noels et al., 2003, p. 38).
Generally speaking intrinsic motivation is related to a person’s motivation to do something
6
only because it is fulfilling and pleasant whereas extrinsic motivation refers to our motivation
to do an activity in order to attain an instrumental goal, for example to be rewarded or avoid
to be punished. Noels et al. (2003, pp. 38-40) mention Vallerand and his colleagues’
classification that separated intrinsic motivation into three segments: intrinsic motivation-
knowledge, intrinsic motivation-accomplishment and intrinsic motivation-stimulation. These
three subtypes have the same foundation in the feeling of enjoyment that one has while doing
an activity whether it is acquiring knowledge, achieving a goal or experiencing fun and
excitement. Three subtypes of extrinsic motivation are proposed as well, external regulation –
the least self-determined motivation because it comes from external sources, for example, a
reward, introjected regulation – pressure is imposed from outside but it is internalized and
identified regulation – includes personal reasons to do an activity because one values it.
Finally, there is one more type – amotivation which is a lack of either intrinsic or extrinsic
motivation.
Noels et al. (2003, p. 40) report that previous research suggests that extrinsic and
intrinsic motivation may help comprehend motivation for learning a second language (L2),
i.e. they can predict L2 learning outcome. In addition, the benefits of this theory are two
psychological mechanisms (self-determination and perceived competence) that can
demonstrate the way orientations are connected to learning outcomes (Noels et al., 2003, p.
41). Noels et al. (2003, p. 52) report the findings which show that “those who naturally enjoy
the feeling of learning an L2 may not necessarily feel personally involved in the learning
process” which means that it is necessary to show students that learning a language is not only
pleasant but also important to them so that they would be more engaged. This research also
confirmed the results of Noels and colleagues’ (1999) study which showed that if students
saw their teacher imposing control and not providing informative feedback, they were less
motivated intrinsically (Noels et al., 2003, p. 53). In addition to that, Noels (2001a pp. 135-
137) investigated teachers’ influence on intrinsic motivation of the learners, and found that if
teachers were controlling and did not give constructive feedback, the students were less
intrinsically motivated. Additionally, the teacher’s instructive style affected the sense of self-
determination (autonomy) only of those students who were intrinsically motivated whereas
the students who learned a language solely because they had to, for extrinsic reasons alone,
were not affected by this feature of teaching.
The third period of motivation research characterised by Dörnyei’s research introduces
an important aspects of motivation and those are its dynamic character and temporal
7
variation (Dörnyei, 2005, p. 83). These aspects are explained as the characteristic of the
constant change of motivation on a daily basis as well as over time in the language learning
process. Motivation for L2 learning actually fluctuates through each particular class as well as
through months or years of language learning. It is suggested that motivation goes through
different phases and temporal segments which are represented in The Dörnyei and Ottó Model
of L2 Motivation through preactional, actional and postactional stages (Dörnyei, 2005, pp.
84-85). All the details of this model can be seen in Figure 1 below. In sum, according to this
model the process of motivation starts with wishes and desires that are then converted to
goals, and they into intentions which are later enacted and this ultimately leads to
accomplishment of the goals and evaluation of the whole process. This motivational feature
of constant change contributes to better understanding of language learning motivation.

FIGURE 1 A Process Model of L2 Motivation

One motivational aspect relevant in language learning but with harmful consequences
is demotivation (Dörnyei, 2005, p. 90). Previous research emphasised that teachers contribute
to its emerging either entirely or partially by being in control of some classroom elements that
cause demotivation. Teachers’ attention should thus be drawn to this matter to raise the
awareness of this issue so that, if they do not generate their students’ motivation, at least they

8
do not demotivate them, intentionally or otherwise. Having in mind the teacher’s role in
increasing students’ motivation, Dörnyei recommended different motivational strategies
(2005, pp. 110-111). Based on The Dörnyei and Ottó Model of L2 Motivation, he designed a
framework consisting of four dimensions:
1. creating the basic motivational conditions,
2. generating initial student motivation,
3. maintaining and protecting motivation,
4. encouraging positive retrospective self-evaluation.
One of the ideas is also to make learners more responsible for their own motivation through
the application of self-motivating strategies, but first the teacher needs to guide them and
introduce a variety of the strategies that students are usually unaware of. Dörnyei classified
self-motivating strategies into five classes: commitment control, metacognitive control,
satiation control, emotion control and environment control strategies (2005, pp.112-113).
Additionally, he refers to a set of macrostrategies for the regulation of motivation by Wolters
(2003 in Dörnyei, 2005, p. 113). Wolters (2003, pp. 194-199) lists eight ways for student’s
self-motivation: self-consequating, goal-oriented self-talk, interest enhancement,
environmental structuring, self-handicapping, emotion regulation and efficacy management.
Particularly interesting is the remaining strategy: attribution control since causal attributions
can be used to explain students’ success in completing a task which results in putting them in
a positive light. Once students are introduced with a selection of these strategies, they can
apply them and become more responsible for their motivation.
Ushioda and Dörnyei (2012) revisited the topic of motivation. After reviewing the
historical development of motivation research through the three periods mentioned earlier,
Ushioda and Dörnyei underline the detailed model of L2 motivation that fully explains the
process of motivation – The Dörnyei and Ottó Model of L2 Motivation which is process-
oriented and includes motivation to engage in L2 learning, motivation during engagement and
the temporal aspect of constantly changeable motivation (2012, pp. 397-398). They mention
the phase that follows in the motivation research called socio-dynamic phase which explores
the complex interaction of motivation and internal, social and contextual factors.
Ushioda and Dörnyei (2012, pp. 404-405) refer to Ushioda’s earlier work from 2003
and 2008 which shifts focus from teacher’s motivational strategies to self-motivational
strategies. The goal is to promote students’ own responsibility for maintaining their
motivation as well as the autonomy in language learning through a particular teacher-student
9
relationship in which the teacher helps the learners through their learning process and
provides them with the help in ascribing failures to causes that are within their control. Such
approach is beneficial for the learners making them more independent in learning a language
and making them aware of their own active role in the learning process.
Dörnyei (1994, p. 277) listed motivational components that are specific to learning
situations and organised them into three sets:
1. course-specific motivational components,
2. teacher-specific motivational components and
3. group-specific motivational components.
Based on the research, the theories investigated as well as the components of complex
motivational construct, Dörnyei (1994, pp. 279-280) suggested a general framework of L2
motivation (Figure 2) that consists of three levels that concur with the three elements of the
L2 learning process: the L2, the L2 learner and the L2 learning environment as well as the
three language aspects: personal, social and the aspect of educational subject matter.
_________________________________________________________________________________________
LANGUAGE LEVEL Integrative Motivational Subsystem
Instrumental Motivational Subsystem .
LEARNER LEVEL Need for Achievement
Self-Confidence
* Language Use Anxiety
* Perceived L2 Competence
* Causal Attributions
* Self-Efficacy .
LEARNING SITUATION LEVEL

Course-Specific Motivational Interest

Components Relevance
Expectancy
Satisfaction

Teacher-Specific Motivational Affiliative Drive

Components Authority Type
Direct Socialization of Motivation
* Modelling
* Task Presentation
* Feedback

Group-Specific Motivational Goal-orientedness

Components Norm & Reward System
Group Cohesion Classroom
Goal Structure .

FIGURE 2 Components of foreign language learning motivation

Dörnyei (1994, pp. 280-282) provided strategies that can be used to motivate L2
learners saying that they are not universal but that they can be useful in different learning
10
environments. For the language level of motivational construct, strategies such as developing
learners’ cross-cultural awareness system and promoting student contact with L2 speakers are
suggested. For the learner level, the following strategies are proposed: developing students’
self-confidence, promoting the students’ self-efficacy with regard to achieving learning goals,
promoting favourable self-perceptions of competence in L2, decreasing student anxiety,
promoting motivation-enhancing attributions and encouraging students to set attainable goal.
Concerning the mentioned strategy of promoting motivation-enhancing attributions, the
recommended way to apply it is to help students realise the impact that effort has on the
outcome and to ascribe failures from the past to causes they are able to control such as lack of
effort rather than lack of ability since this could result in learned helplessness. For the
learning situation level, some of the strategies mentioned are: arousing and sustaining
curiosity and attention; increasing students’ interest and involvement in the task; trying to be
emphatic, congruent and accepting, promoting learner autonomy, using motivating feedback
and using cooperative learning techniques.
Dörnyei (2001) explored motivation further. He highlighted once more the
significance of motivation by stating that motivation is “the principal determinant of second
language acquisition” (Dörnyei, 2001, p. 43). After Gardner’s view of motivation in 1985, the
research of motivation progressed from seeing motivation as a stable trait to seeing it as
something changeable. From 2000 onwards, the new areas of motivation came into focus:
social motivation, process-oriented perspective, the neurobiological basis, L2 motivation and
self-determination theory, and task motivation (Dörnyei, 2001, pp. 44-45).
Social motivation was conceptualised by Bernard Weiner (1994) exploring the
motivational impact coming from the sociocultural setting (Dörnyei, 2001, p. 45). Explaining
the process-oriented perspective on motivation, Dörnyei (2001, pp. 45-46) examined the
temporal dimension of motivation and its fluctuation mentioning that Williams and Burden
(1997) and Ushioda (2001) explained this feature of motivation as well.
Emphasising the significance of a willingness to communicate in the foreign language,
Dörnyei said that this willingness should without a doubt be the central objective of modern
L2 pedagogy (2001, p. 52). He also highlighted the teachers’ need for motivational strategies
to be used in the foreign language classroom and conducted an empirical study in 1998 with a
co-author Csizér and made a list of so-called Ten commandments for motivating language
learners:
Ten commandments for motivating language learners: final version
11
 1. Set a personal example with your own behaviour.
2. Create a pleasant, relaxed atmosphere in the classroom.
3. Present the tasks properly.
4. Develop a good relationship with the learners.
5. Increase the learners’ linguistic self-confidence.
6. Make the language classes interesting.
7. Promote learner autonomy.
8. Personalize the learning process.
9. Increase the learners’ goal-orientedness.
10. Familiarize learners with the target language culture.
(Dörnyei & Csizér, 1998, p.215).
One more area within motivational psychology that Dörnyei mentions (2001, p. 53) is
motivational self-regulation, or self-motivation which explains different ways how learners
can be taught to motivate themselves. He suggests five main types of self-motivating
strategies: commitment control strategies, metacognitive control strategies, satiation control
strategies, emotion control strategies, and environmental control strategies.

2.1. Motivation and attribution theory

Attribution theory has its special place in motivation theories in psychology and it is
particular because it connects peoples’ past and future experiences through causal attributions
that affect the future effort they make in order to reach a goal (Dörnyei, 2005, p. 79). Dörnyei
claims that attributional process has a considerable role in language learning in view of large
amount of failure that occurs around the world. Williams and Burden’s (1999, pp. 193-199)
research of attributions in school children’s perception of learning verified that attributions
that increase motivation are relevant. Williams, Burden and Lanvers (2002, p. 522) found the
existence of a negative trend with age meaning that as learners get older their initial
enthusiasm and motivation for language learning declines. This indicated that age plays a role
in motivation.
Tremblay and Gardner (1995, p. 507-508) investigated the following concepts in the
field of motivation such as expectancy, self-efficacy, causal attributions and goal setting.
Expectancy refers to our anticipation of events which has motivational significance since we
12
predict the reward for certain behaviour. According to Bandura (1991, p. 74), our motivation
to do an activity will be greater if we expect that a certain outcome will follow that activity.
Regarding language learning, it is hypothesised that a learner would invest effort and
persistence if he or she believes that the goal can be achieved. According to Bandura (1989, p.
1175), the most central of people’s beliefs is the belief about their capabilities to control
events that have impact on their lives – self-efficacy, which is a significant determinant of
motivation, affect and action. Bandura (1991, pp. 72-73) proposed that high self-efficacy is
related to the ability attributions and therefore if success is attributed to ability it is related to
high self-efficacy whereas failure is attributed to lack of ability, which is in turn related to low
self-efficacy. Tremblay and Gardner (1995, p. 508) distinguish two types of attributions
according to their hypothesised relationship to expectancy, attributions connected with high
self-efficacy named adaptive attributions and attributions connected with low self-efficacy
named maladaptive attributions. It seems logical to mark success attributions ascribed to
effort and failure attributions to lack of effort as adaptive attributions while failure attributions
ascribed to luck as maladaptive since luck is something external. Exploring goal setting
theory (Locke & Latham, 1990) by which individuals will deliver better performance if they
set to themselves specific and difficult goals, Tremblay and Gardner (1995, p. 508) connected
it to language learning and hypothesised that learners will be more successful if they establish
specific and difficult goals that they want to achieve. They mention studies that explored
effort and persistence associated with goal setting which showed that a person with
demanding and precise goals shows more persistence in doing their tasks than a person with
easy and imprecise goals.
Dörnyei (1994, pp. 276-277) recounted theories that dealt with goal-setting, and
setting goals seems to be rather important in the language classroom, and cognitive theories of
motivation that view motivation as a function of an individual’s thinking process rather than
an instinct. Cognitive concepts of motivation among others include: attribution theory,
learned helplessness and self-efficacy theory which all include personal evaluation of what
one can or cannot do. Attribution theory deals with the causal attributions of success and
failure experienced in the past that affect one’s goal expectancy about the future. Dörnyei
argued that attributions especially important in foreign language learning are attributions
about past failures which are elements of L2 motivation. Learned helplessness is a state in
which a person feels that successful achievement of the set goal is impossible or not within
their reach. Self-efficacy is our personal belief in our own ability needed for a certain action.
13
When a person develops strong self-efficacy, a failure in the future does not necessarily have
any influence. This is where a foreign language teacher plays an important role and can, with
the appropriate support, encourage students and help them develop a strong sense of self-
efficacy.
After looking over the motivation research through history with the focus on language
learning and the position of attributions, the next section will review the attribution theory in
more detail.

3. The Attribution Theory

Failure will never overtake me
if my determination to succeed
is strong enough.
Og Mandino

The attribution theory originated in the field of psychology. Weiner (2000, p. 1)

observed the third decade of this theory being a supreme notion in motivation, social
psychology and educational psychology. The father of the attribution theory is Fritz Heider
(Griffin, 1994, p. 137) who initiated it in 1958 and the theory was later expended by Weiner
(1985; 1986; 1992) (Hashemi & Zubihi, 2011, p. 954). Manusov and Spitzberg (2008, p. 37)
define attributions as “the internal (thinking) and external (talking) process of interpreting and
understanding what is behind our own and others’ behaviors.” As Griffin (1994, p. 137) says,
Heider characterised attributions as the ways of drawing conclusions about people’s actions
and this theory actually confirms our need to judge other people. The wish to explain the
reasons or causes of their behaviour is in the human nature and we want to discover what will
happen in the future since knowing the causes of our actions has a direct influence on our
future behaviour. Heider states that two groups of conditions determine behavioural outcome:
the personal factors and the environmental ones (as cited in Weiner, 1985, p. 551). Heider
(Griffin, 1994, p. 138) explains attribution as a three-step process: the perception of the
action, the judgement of the intention and the attribution of disposition. He also gave a
definition of attribution saying that it is an effort to “predict and control the world by
assigning transient behaviour to relatively unchanging dispositions” (as cited in Griffin, 1994,
p. 141). Griffin (1994, p. 142) emphasised the key element of choice saying that we would not
ascribe people’s actions to the long-term characteristics of their personality if we knew that

14
they were forced into doing something as a result of the environment that they could not
control since Heider said that we judge a person’s freedom proportionally to the difficulty of
performing an act. However, analysing Heider’s explanation of the theory, Griffin (1994, p.
144) critiques it saying that although Heider’s idea is useful in the analysis of the way we
distribute praise or blame and it initiated many studies that researched how people interpret
the behaviour they observe, it is not perfect.
A person who truly developed the attribution theory is Bernard Weiner, a social
psychologist. He further explained people’s beliefs about the causes of events in their lives
and his model of attributions is considered to be the most complete (Hashemi & Zubihi, 2011,
p. 954). In his search, Weiner was looking for the theory of motivation, explaining that
people’s attributions are most likely going to affect their future performance (Hashemi &
Zubihi, 2011, p. 954), and with the influences of Thorndike, Heider and Rotter among others
he developed an attribution-based theory of motivation (Weiner, 2010, p. 28).
The early theories of motivation that Weiner explored were the drive theory and
expectancy/value theory (Weiner, 2010, pp. 28-29). The drive theory by Hull (1943) and
Spence (1956) explained that motivated behaviour equals the Drive or bodily needs multiplied
by Habit or patterns of behaviour. The expectancy/value theory developed by Tolman (1932),
Lewin (1938), Rotter (1954) and Atkinson (1957) included another formula: Expectancy X
Value, which means that our actions depend on the expectancy or what we are going to get
and value or “subjective likelihood of getting it” (Weiner, 2010, p. 29). Weiner’s own
attribution theory was guided by these views in a way that he included the determinants of
behaviour as in these two theories. Weiner (2000, p. 5) mentions expectancy and value as two
key determinants of motivation and as Atkinson (1964) says value is regarded as the
emotional consequence of the achievement or non-achievement (as cited in Weiner, 2000, p.
5).
Another historical influence on Weiner was Thorndike’s (1911) issue of representing
“the past so that it may influence the present and the future” (as cited in Weiner, 2010, p. 29).
Thorndike claims that the rewarded actions will be repeated and the punished ones avoided.
Using it as a basis, Weiner broadens this concept claiming that the causes of past events
determine the future behaviour. He argues that what determines the behaviour is not the fact
that it is punished or rewarded but the perceived reason why this has happened because both
rewarded or a punished action can have a positive or negative effect on motivation.

15
 Atkinson’s ideas that at first directed Weiner’s views involved the following three
principles:
1. individual differences or motives affect motivation,
2. incentive or value is seen as an affect, pride in accomplishment, and
3. incentive or value is reciprocally related to the expectancy of success.
(Weiner, 2010, p. 29)
An important term for Weiner’s attribution theory – locus of control – was coined by
Rotter (1966) and Weiner found it logical to follow this line of thought that a person who is
successful perceives the world to be something they can control and an unsuccessful person
might see luck as the cause of their failure, namely, an outside cause (Weiner, 2010, p. 30).
Weiner conducted research to put these ideas to the test and concluded that both success and
failure in an activity could have been caused by an amount of effort made. He also found that
causes of success and those of failure differ and that it is more likely that individuals will
ascribe their success to their personal effort and failure to the external causes. As Weiner
(2000, p. 4) put it briefly, locus is the location of the cause that can be in the person (ability,
for example) or in the environment (for instance, help from others).
In the next stage of his work Weiner (2010, p. 30) encountered Heider’s attribution
theory according to which the results are attributed to the following formula: Can X Try.
Weiner said that Heider’s theory was not the theory of motivation since it did not include
needs, incentives or emotions. Can from the formula being actually the ability, consequently
made Weiner discover that “Heider identified three determinants of performance: ability, task
difficulty, and effort” (Weiner, 2010, p. 30). In terms of being internal or external, ability and
effort are considered to be internal and task difficulty external cause of an action. Rotter
(1966, pp. 1-2) on the other hand identified one internal cause – skill or ability and one
external cause – luck or chance. Seeing that they both explored the perceived causes of
success and failure and their location, in 1971 Weiner (2010, p. 30) united the ideas of Heider
and Rotter and suggested four main causes of performance: ability, effort, task difficulty and
luck, finding ability and effort as internal to the actor and task difficulty and luck as external.
Weiner (1985, p. 551) also noticed that some internal causes are constant, aptitude for
instance, and some vary, such as effort or mood.
Weiner (2010, p. 31) then considered the possible implications on motivation that his
suggested ideas might have had. He noticed that if, for instance, a student who failed sees the
cause of it to be insufficient effort but would like to do better next time, his or her expectancy
16
of the future success might not necessarily decrease although effort is an internal cause, and,
in the same way, expectancy may not change if a failure is seen as a result of bad luck.
Therefore, he concluded that locus of control is not systematically related to expectancy and
its changes. Weiner further elaborated that if a perceived cause was changeable, for example
lack of effort, then failure would not cause drop of expectancy since, hope exists. Conversely,
if the cause of failure is seen as stable, aptitude for instance, then future failure is to be
expected and hopelessness is present. At this point he proposed a new property of causes that
would explain expectancy shifts: causal stability. This means that if the cause is stable, the
results are expected to be unchanged wherever its locus is and if the cause is unstable, the
results may change as well. As Weiner (2000, p. 4) clarifies it, causal stability is the duration
of a cause and some causes (aptitude, for instance) are seen as constant while others (for
example, luck) as inconstant.
Weiner (2010, p. 31) then wondered what the function of causal locus was and he
linked it to Atkinson’s incentive, the affective element. He concludes that attributions of
success which are ascribed to internal factors produce more pride than external ones. Weiner
further infers that if the task is harder, more probably success will be ascribed to oneself and
more pride one will feel. On the other hand, the success accomplished after a less difficult
task, the one that is socially expected, produces external attributions and lower pride as shown
in Figure 3 below.

Difficult task ------------------------------------------------------------- High pride

Internal causal locus for the success
Easy task --------------------------------------------------------- Low pride
External causal locus for the success

FIGURE 3 Relation between task difficulty and pride mediated by perceptions of

causality (causal locus)

In Figure 4 Weiner (2010, p. 32) included “four determinants of behavioral outcomes (ability,
effort, task difficulty, and luck), their two causal properties or dimensions (locus and
stability), and the linkages of value (incentive, affect) to causal locus and expectancy to causal
stability” saying that this structure was the basis for his theory.

17
 Causal Locus

Internal External

Stable Ability Task Difficulty

Causal Stability Expectancy
Unstable Effort Luck

Value (Pride)

FIGURE 4 Representation of the four main causes of behavior, their dimensional

properties (locus and stability), and linkages to affect and expectancy

Noticing certain shortcomings of this version, Weiner continued building his theory
finding it to be more complete only with elements that would explain what affects the causal
beliefs, exploring if there were other dimensional properties of causes as well as finding the
appropriate link among them. In Figure 5 Weiner (2010, p. 32) showed the first version of his
attribution-based theory of motivation which included motivational indicators of choice,
intensity, and persistence of behaviour.

Causal Causal Causal

Outcome Ante- Causes Dimensions Consequences Action
cedents

Ability Choice
Success Effort Locus Pride, self-esteem
? Task Diff. Stability Expectancy (hope) Intensity
Failure Luck Others? Others? Persistence
Others? Others?

FIGURE 5 Preliminary attribution-based theory of motivation with questions to be

addressed

Wishing to complete the theory with the missing elements, Weiner (2010, p. 32) firstly
adds the third causal dimension: causal control. The new causal dimension, however, brought
complications. Namely, any external cause as such is not controllable by the doer of the action

18
while certain internal causes are controllable, such as effort, and some are not, such as
aptitude. In order to have the causal dimensions independent, Weiner labels some external
causes controllable but by others, for instance, teacher bias. In contrast, luck is external but
uncontrollable by anybody. Taking all four determinants of outcome and all three causal
dimensions, this is how Weiner (2010, p. 32) labelled them: “ability (which I consider here as
equivalent to aptitude) is internal, stable, and uncontrollable; effort is internal, unstable, and
controllable; objective task difficulty is external, stable, and controllable (by the teacher); and
luck is external, unstable, and uncontrollable.”
One crucial matter that Weiner pointed out at this point was that any dimensional
assigning is determined by “how it seems to me” (Weiner, 2010, p. 32). He explains this
saying that if a person ascribes success to being lucky (and luck is generally seen as external
and unstable) then luck has the same characteristics of for example aptitude, which is
considered internal and stable. Weiner (1985, p. 555) further explains it by saying that
perceived causality is different from one individual to another but also in the same person in
different situations. The reason for creating a causal taxonomy was to facilitate comparison
and contrasting of causes (Weiner, 1985, p. 552).
Weiner also wondered if there could be causal dimensions other than locus, stability
and control. Two other causal dimensions were proposed: intentionality by Weiner (1979) and
globality by Abramson, Seligman and Teasdale (1978) (Weiner, 1985, p. 554). For the
suggested property of intentionality, Weiner (1985, p. 554) used a comparison of effort and
strategy saying that they both could be the cause of success or failure. For instance, an
individual could be successful in studying as a result of high effort or an appropriate strategy
applied. On the other hand, the individual could experience failure due to lack of effort or
ineffective strategy. Failure as a consequence of insufficient effort implies responsibility
while failure because of bad strategy does not indicate that one would not use bad strategy
intentionally. Hence the conclusion that control and intent are separate causal dimensions.
Introducing glabality, Abramson et al. (1978, pp. 56-57) argued that some attributions are
specific to a situation, while others have global or general implications. They mention an
example of a person attributing failure at math to a specific cause of low aptitude which is
specific or to low intelligence which is a general one, where intelligence is observed as
affecting performance in various different situations than math aptitude. Weiner included
these two suggested causal properties, intentionality and globality, in the version of
attributional theory from 1985 (Weiner, 1985, p. 565) presented in Figure 6, nevertheless
19
claiming that more empirical evidence is needed which might be the reason he incorporated
these two properties in his final version cautiously leaving a question mark next to them.
In his aspiration to build the attribution-based theory of motivation, Weiner (1985, p.
555) refers to goal expectancy, the term exploited in motivation research by many theorists
who found the goal achievement expectancy to be one of the behaviour determinants.
Therefore, the correlation between attributional thinking and expectancy changes needed to be
inspected. Investigating it Weiner (1985, p. 555) concludes that, although the consensus about
the antecedents of goal expectancy is non-existent, theorists agree that previous reinforcement
has a significant purpose. If ability (internal, stable) and luck (external, unstable) are
considered, the differences in the changes of expectancy could be attributed to one of the two
causal properties, the locus or the stability.
Weiner (1985, pp. 556-557) further writes that the stability of a cause determines the
expectancy shifts, meaning that if the conditions of certain behaviour are to be unchanged
than the same results are expected; to be exact, either success or failure are believed to be
repeated. Conversely, if the conditions are going to be different, than the outcome is expected
to be different as well; that is to say, either success or failure are not expected to reappear. In
brief, Weiner (1985, p. 559) summarises the practical findings that recorded the psychological
law that connects perceived causal stability and expectancy change called expectancy
principle which has three corollaries:
“Corollary 1. If the outcome of an event is ascribed to a stable cause, then that
outcome will be anticipated with increased certainty, or with an increased expectancy, in the
future.
Corollary 2. If the outcome of an event is ascribed to an unstable cause, then the
certainty or expectancy of that outcome may be unchanged or the future may be anticipated to
be different from the past.
Corollary 3. Outcomes ascribed to stable causes will be anticipated to be repeated in
the future with a greater degree of certainty than are outcomes ascribed to unstable causes.”
Another element Weiner (2010, p. 33) added to the preliminary theory was a list of
emotions. He was acquainted with discoveries related to emotions and concluded that
achievement is not only connected to pride but other feelings as well. Thus he analysed the

20
FIGURE 6 An attributional theory of motivation and emotion
21
connection between feelings and causal thinking and found the following:
1. internal causes of success (e.g. high aptitude) – pride
2. internal controllable causes of failure (e.g. lack of effort) – guilt and regret
3. internal uncontrollable causes of failure (e.g. low aptitude) – shame and humiliation
4. stable causes of failure (e.g. unfair teacher) – hopelessness
5. unstable causes of failure (e.g. bad luck) – hope
Weiner (2010, p. 33) did not include here the emotions of happiness and unhappiness
because he considered them related to outcome and not attributions, meaning that they are
related to what happened rather than to the reason why it happened. He therefore claims that
an individual is happy and proud after a success if it is perceived as due to ability or effort,
and on the other hand, after a failure ascribed to lack of aptitude one feels unhappiness, shame
– as an outcome of internal, uncontrollable cause, low expectancy of success and hopelessness
and/or helplessness which is connected with stability. Therefore, Weiner concluded that more
than one emotion is present in the process and that there are emotions that depend on
attribution and those that do not.
Weiner says that a positive or a negative reaction or ‘primitive’ emotion appears after
an outcome of an action rooted in the perceived success or failure so called ‘primary
appraisal’ (1985, p. 560). He identified those emotions such as happy for success and sad for
failure as outcome dependent-attribution independent. After this initial reaction of the
outcome evaluation and instant emotional reaction, what follows is the causal attribution. The
ascribed attribution then elicits different emotions. For instance, success seen as a result of
effort evokes calmness and success perceived as a result of luck evokes surprise. Such
emotions like calmness or surprise are identified as attribution dependent.
Furthermore, explaining this emotional process, Weiner (1985, p. 560) highlights an
essential role that causal properties have, indicating that every causal property or dimension is
connected with a group of emotions. He gives the following example: if success and failure
are attributed to ability or effort, both being internal causes, correspondingly they produce
high or low self-confidence, while external ascriptions for positive or negative results do not
affect the emotions about the self. He concludes that “self-related emotions are influenced by
the causal property of locus, rather than by a specific cause per se” (Weiner, 1985, p. 560).
Figure 7 shows this Weiner’s (1985, p. 560) approach to emotions that assumes that emotions
stem from the way an event is appraised.

22
 General positive or negative emotions

Outcome Outcome evaluation

Causal attribution and dimensions Distinct emotions

FIGURE 7 The cognition-emotion process

Talking about dimension-related emotions Weiner (1985, p. 561) explains how

different emotions are linked to different dimensions. Thus, pride and emotions of self-esteem
are connected to the dimension of locus; anger, gratitude, guilt, pity and shame to
controllability, and feelings of hopelessness (hopefulness) to stability. Weiner (1985, p. 563)
mentions the work of Hoffman (1982) and Wicker et al. (1983) which recorded that emotions
related to shame evoke withdrawal and motivational inhibition, while feelings related to guilt
arouse approach behaviour, retribution and activation of motivation. Weiner (2000, p. 5)
contends that locus and controllability have an effect on the appearance of guilt or shame after
one has not achieved a goal. Failure perceived to be a result of lack of effort that is internal
and controllable evokes guilt, while attributing it to low aptitude that is internal and
uncontrollable produces shame, embarrassment and humiliation.
Weiner (1985, p. 559) claims that it is not true that perceived cause (the reason why
the goal was attained) influences the objective value (the properties of a goal). For example,
the value of a dollar is the same however it is earned, through hard work or luck.
Alternatively, he suggests the incentive value to be regarded as the subjective value of the
goal; specifically, what effects the achievement of the goal give to the actor. One would rather
have a dollar than a nickel because the expected end results will satisfy us more. Ultimately,
causal attributions determine “emotional reactions, or the subjective consequences of goal
attainment” (Weiner, 1985, p. 559). Using the same example, a dollar received due to luck
may evoke surprise, a dollar received owing to hard work may evoke pride but a dollar
received as a gift may make us feel gratitude. Various actions might be produced by such
different feelings. Gratitude, and not surprise, may produce an action of mutual help, for
instance. Thus, Weiner (1985, p. 559) concludes that causal attributions influence feelings and
that emotional reactions are a factor of motivated activities.
Weiner (2010, p. 33) explored the work of other researches such as Kelley (1967) who
also investigated attributions and who contended that key antecedents of causal beliefs are
social norms and past personal history. Finally, Weiner developed his final version of his
attribution-based theory of personal motivation integrating the elements of other research as
23
well that can be seen in Figure 8 below (Weiner, 2010, p. 34). He (2010, p. 33) explains it
through an example of a student who fails an exam and primarily feels unhappy. Then she
explores the possible causes. For this example it is assumed that the student worked hard but
failed anyway and it leads her to conclude that it happened because of lack of aptitude. This
results in lower self-esteem, low expectation of future success, hopelessness and shame which
will all make the student decide to drop out of school. Another example is a student who
failed the same exam but had not studied for it. In this case, failure is attributed to lack of
effort. This student will feel hope, guilt and regret which are positive motivators and the
future motivation will rise. Therefore, failure can have both positive and negative future
motivational outcomes.

FIGURE 8 Final attribution-based theory of intrapersonal motivation

Weiner (1985, pp. 563-564) argues that success attributed to aptitude which is internal,
stable and uncontrollable should elicit pride and high self-esteem, and failure should produce
low self-esteem. However, if one does not achieve a goal because of this, it should not
produce guilt in oneself or anger in others. Instead, failure would probably provoke shame
and hopelessness in the actor and pity in others. Nonetheless, Weiner warns about a
possibility that this may not be the procedure. Namely, for a certain attribution the emotion

24
connected to it will not necessarily be provoked. If effort was absent in doing something
significant, one may still not feel guilty about it, for instance.
Weiner (2000, p. 5) also mentions locus as a causal property that has an effect on pride
in achievement and self-esteem saying that pride and increase of self-esteem involve internal
causality for success. It is illustrated through the following example: after getting a high grade
a person may feel happy, but pride will not be evoked if one believes that the teacher only
gives high grades. Connecting self-esteem and expectancy, Weiner (1985, p. 567) claims that
what leads to increased motivation for achievement is increase of self-esteem and not
preservation of expectancy.
Weiner (2010, p. 34) claims that this theory can be applied in various domains of
motivation and that its vital elements are causal properties and not specific causal beliefs. He
also states that this theory is fundamental to a motivational occurrence according to which
thinking process produces emotions that direct action, the emotions are experienced and they
stimulate behaviour. Weiner concludes that it is evident that what initiates causal exploration
are especially the events that are undesired and/or unanticipated, meaning that such cases
when one does not achieve an important goal will start the causal investigation. “Causal locus
relates to pride and self-esteem; causal stability in part determines expectancy shifts and the
extent of hope, hopelessness, and helplessness; and causal control is linked with affects
including shame (to uncontrollable causality), and guilt and regret (to controllable causality).
“Indeed, attributions account for a surprising extent of emotional life” is a very clear Weiner’s
(2010, p. 34) summary of the major features of his theory.
Additionally, Weiner (2010, p. 34) emphasises the most encouraging fact about the
use of this theory saying that causal beliefs change performance connected to achievement
adding that, although it has been supported by the empirical evidence by different researchers,
it still needs more practical investigation and validation. He mentions the work of Perry,
Hecher, Menec and Weinberg (1993) who obtained evidence about attribution change of
failing students from low ability to insufficient effort which improved their achievement and
the work of Wilson, Damiani and Shelton (2002) who also explored change of attributions
from stable to unstable that also resulted in the improved school performance. Hence, Weiner
concludes that, as he calls it, reattribution training produces change of behaviour. Interpreting
this, Weiner (2010, p. 34) says that if failure is attributed to self-doubt and stable beliefs,
motivation is obstructed and if it is perceived as the result of unstable causes, it produces hope
which ultimately helps motivation.
25
 In summary, the application of attribution theory starts with the determination of the
cause. Then, three causal dimensions are considered, locus, stability and controllability.
Finally, the impact of the cause on expectancy, emotions and behaviour can be analysed
(Weiner, 1985, p. 568). To conclude, Weiner (2000, p. 7) says that unlike other theories, the
attributional theory provides a system of interrelated constructs that are related to the
empirical world as well.

3.1. Attributional approach to motivation and classroom issues

Exploiting the attributional approach to motivation and classroom issues, Weiner

(2000, pp. 1-2) distinguishes between two interrelated theories and labels them as an
intrapersonal theory and interpersonal theory of motivation. He contends that the
intrapersonal theory of motivation includes the following elements: expectancy of future
success and self-directed emotions such as self-esteem, guilt or shame, whereas the other-
directed thoughts and feelings are included in the interpersonal theory of motivation. While
the intrapersonal theory consists of the elements that are within the actor, the interpersonal
theory consists of factors that come from other people who judge the person such as peers,
teachers or parents, and assistance or neglect, positive or negative feedback can arise from
such judgements.
Analysing intrapersonal motivation from an attributional perspective, Weiner (1992)
(as cited in Weiner, 2000, p. 2) uses the metaphor of scientists who try to comprehend both
themselves and their surroundings and afterwards behave according to this knowledge.
Weiner (2000, p. 2) explains that the first thing that happens in this process is a finished
event, for example, success or failure at an exam. Then the motivational process which is lead
by attributional conclusions takes place followed by a behavioural reaction. The motivational
process comes between the stimulus, the exam result in this case, and the response or the
behavioural reaction, for instance, dropping out of school. The initial emotional reaction
happens. What follows is the analysis of the possible causes of such an outcome. If the result
of the initial event is negative, unanticipated or important, then the attributional process will
take place since one does not analyse the causes for every single event in one’s life. Many
different factors will affect this causal thinking such as past history of success and failure,
social norms, but also rules about the relations between causes, hedonic biasing, and so on
26
(Weiner, 2000, pp. 2-4). The mentioned hedonic bias implies that it is more probable that a
person would attribute success to oneself rather than failure.
The results of van Laar’s research (2000, p.37-38) demonstrate the attributional
process in school performance. Namely, van Laar investigated the reasons African American
students drop out of college more frequently than Whites. She compared two attributions, one
internal and stable – lack of ability, and another one external and stable – racism and
discrimination. The first option, so-called internal attribution hypothesis, was explained
through Figure 9 below:

Internal Cause Low Self-Esteem

Lower Low Motivation Performance

Achievement Deficit

Stable Cause Low Expectancies

FIGURE 9 The self-esteem model (so-called Internal attribution hypothesis)

The other option, so-called external hypothesis, was shown in Figure 10 below:

External Cause Maintains Self-Esteem

Lower Motivation Performance

Achievement

Stable Cause Low Expectancies

Controllable System blame Anger Social Action

FIGURE 10 External attribution model (so-called External attribution hypothesis)

Weiner (2000, p. 6) says that van Laar documented much proof from similar research that
confirm external attribution explanation.
Examining interpersonal motivation from an attributional perspective, Weiner (2000,
p. 7) writes that achievement performance happens in rather rich social surroundings which
27
include peers, teachers and parents and their reactions vary from sympathy, support,
happiness or reward on one side to anger, sadness, punishment or neglect on the other. This is
what Weiner (2000, p. 7) incorporates in the so-called interpersonal theory of motivation
which he illustrates in Figure 11 below:

Responsibility Behavioral
Event Cause/Type Antecedent Reaction

Achievement Lack of Causal Reprimand

failure effort controllability

Stigmatizing Behavioral/ Causal Condemnation

condition mental controllability Responsible Anger

Need for Drinking; Causal Neglect

help Lack of effort controllability

Aggressive Intentional Retaliation

act of
another
________________________________

Achievement Lack of Causal Withhold

failure aptitude uncontrollability reprimand

Stigmatizing Somatic Causal No condemnation

condition uncontrollability Not Responsible Sympathy

Need for Illness; Causal Help

help Low ability uncontrollability

Aggressive Unintentional No retaliation

act of
another

FIGURE 11 An attributional theory of interpersonal motivation

Weiner (2000, p. 7) clarifies the diagram using an example of a failure at an exam. The
process of attribution is now not started by the actor but buy an observer, for instance, a
teacher. Controllability is the causal property of essence here. If others see failure to be
controllable, the actor is considered responsible for the outcome and this produces anger and a
reaction of punishment and reprimand in the end. However, if the cause is ability (here seen
as aptitude), it is not controllable and therefore the student is not considered responsible for
the failure since the cause is beyond his or her control. The emotion now elicited is sympathy
which results in prosocial reaction. According to the intrapersonal theory of motivation, the
28
chain of motivational process includes thinking-feeling-acting and the same situation happens
here but the suppositions about responsibility are the most important factor. In order to clarify
the reactions that observers have, Weiner (2000, p. 9) adduces a metaphor of them being a
judge in a courtroom; thus, it is a judge who decides if a person is guilty or innocent and
pronounces the sentence taking into consideration the beliefs and emotions he or she feels. He
mentions that this is particularly true in the classroom where the observer acts like not just a
judge but a god deciding on good and bad.
Weiner (2000, p. 10) explored the evaluation process and he mentions how about 30
years before he did not comprehend that ideas about fairness, justice and deservedness had
been crucial to understanding the various evaluative reactions. After undertaking research in
which moral foundation of achievement evaluation in school context was investigated, he
realised what evaluation was. Namely, Weiner (2000, p. 11) concluded that evaluation was “a
moral judgement in which perceptions of responsibility mediate between outcomes and
reactions to the individual.” Having this element of judgement in mind, this is where the
metaphor of a classroom being a courtroom blends in rather well. According to Weiner’s
study he did with co-authors in 1997 (pp. 441-443) there are two reasons why teachers punish
students, utilitarian reason and retribution. The results show that teachers mainly punish
students’ failure for the utilitarian reason with the emphasis on the change of future behaviour
when the causes were, for instance, unstable and controllable such as lack of effort on that
particular exam. However, teacher’s retribution that emphasises the element of justice taking
into account previous misconduct follows causes that are stable and controllable, such as
laziness.
Interrelations of the two theories, the intrapersonal and interpersonal theory of
motivation, Weiner (2000, p. 13) described as interactive and inseparable. For example, a
student may fail because of insufficient effort and the teacher will consider the cause to be
controllable and the student responsible for it. As a result the teacher will feel anger. If the
student accepts this emotion, then he or she will also perceive insufficient effort as the reason
for failure and it will produce guilt. In conclusion, the two theories overlap and have an
impact on thinking, emotions and behaviour of the doer of the action as well as a person
observing it. Weiner argues that the attributional approach to classroom behaviour can have
multiple application and different aspects can be explored such as expectancy of success and
failure; various emotions for example, pride, shame and guilt; evaluation and help provided.

29
 The richness of attributional approach to school performance is what Reyna (2008)
focused on in her article on attributions and stereotypes. She explored antecedents and
consequences of attributional stereotypes in the classroom. Reyna (2008, p. 452) discovers
that in an area of achievement that school is, students are observed regarding their
anticipations and performance, and causal attributions are made about their performance
which generates educators’ interventions. The causes of students’ academic performance have
numerous aspects and usually are not easily determined and all this becomes the reason why
the teachers and other professionals in charge of students’ education surrender to the impact
of prevalent cultural beliefs about students’ gender or ethnic group. Actually, stereotypes and
the attributional elements have influence on not just teachers but the students as well and they
interiorise those beliefs.

3.2. Attributions and foreign and second language acquisition

The attribution theory is applicable across a wide range of domains such as

management of organisations, health care, clinical judgement, and so on. Among other fields,
it was applied to learning environment in order to enhance learners’ knowledge and
performance. More precisely, it was also applied to foreign and second language learning and
empirical research has been conducted. Moreover, this is a growing area of study.

3.2.1. Attributions and foreign language acquisition

Williams, Burden, Poulet and Maun (2004) explored learners’ perception of their
success and failure in foreign language learning. They particularly aimed at secondary school
students examining their attributions for their success and failure and the differences in their
attributions according to their age, gender, perceived success and specific language studied
(their sample included students who studied different foreign languages: Spanish, German and
French). Williams et al. (2004, p. 19) conducted a survey among 285 secondary school
students and obtained remarkable results where the students surveyed provided over 1000
attributional statements; ultimately, 21 attributional categories for success and 16 for failure in

30
learning a foreign language. These results are seen as having significant impact on
policymakers and teachers of foreign languages in schools of the United Kingdom.
Williams et al. (2004, p. 19) based their research on Weiner’s attribution theory
according to which people attribute their success and failure to certain causes that eventually
influence their future behaviour, and infer emotions and consequent motivation. Williams and
Burden (1999) undertook a minor study among primary and secondary students which
uncovered that the central reason recognised for success in learning a foreign language was
effort along with assistance from other people, while the main reasons mentioned for failure
were work difficulty, distractions by other people and poor teaching. Williams et al. (2004,
pp. 19-20) found that other attributions appeared in Weiner’s research from 1992, such as
intrinsic motivation, teacher competence, interest and mood. Further exploring Weiner’s
development of attribution theory and its implications, Williams et al., (2004, p. 20) found
that external, unchangeable and uncontrollable causes would have a constant effect and not
internal, changeable and controllable ones; consequently, to change negative emotions, for
example, learned helplessness, attributional retraining follows. Another study by Williams,
Burden and Al-Baharna (2001) conducted in Bahrain with students learning English as a
foreign language showed that they attribute their success mainly to practice, support from
family and teachers, exposure to the language and a positive attitude, whereas their failure
they ascribe to inadequate teaching methods, lack of support from family and teachers, poor
comprehension and a negative attitude (as cited in Williams et al., 2004, p. 20). Williams et
al. (2004, p. 20) cited other studies that tackled this topic and their results, such as McQuillan
(2000) who found that students studying a foreign language in the USA find motivation, a
comfortable pace, a good teacher, ability, time and effort, and, level and atmosphere to be
reasons for success, while lack of effort, poor study strategies and atmosphere were reasons
for failure. In the same way, Tse (2000) conducted her study with similar group of students
and they perceive the teacher, the environment, the community and personal motivation as the
causes of their success, and insufficient effort, lack of motivation, the teacher and the course
were the causes they held responsible for their failure. Finally, Williams et al. (2004, p. 20)
agreed with other theorists that what was in common for all the studies they observed was that
the attributions the participants stated were not undoubtedly the ones that were real reasons
for their success or failure, and that these interpreted explanations even had more power than
the genuine causes. They further make a premise that attribution theory is an aspect of the
constructivist approach to learning and according to it these students’ perceptions are a useful
31
source of information because they are changeable, meaning that with the help of attributional
retraining students’ negative attributions may be changed into more positive ones.
Additionally, they believe that the attributions in school context are likely to become a shared
discourse among students.
In addition to the earlier mentioned aims of their research, Williams et al. (2004, p. 20)
focused on two more issues. First, attributions of students who see themselves as successful or
unsuccessful rather than being seen by somebody else, finding this perceived success and
failure important since “the basis of attribution theory itself is that of personal self-
perception” (Williams et al., 2004, p. 20). Second, they were interested in the causal
dimension of controllability wishing to explore how much students are able to control their
language learning.
Their results showed 21 attributions for success and 16 for failure, or rather the
categories were developed based on the students’ answers, for example, attributional category
termed effort included students’ answers such as: “I listen, do my homework, concentrate,
work hard, try, pay attention” (Williams et al., 2004, p. 22). The attributions for success that
were on the top of the list of 21 were the following: effort, strategy, ability, teacher, interest
and task. At the bottom of the list, with a very low percentage of students’ who suggested
them were the following attributions: (lack of) distraction, reward and luck (Williams et al.,
(2004, p. 22). Interestingly, the first three attributions for success are all internal, and all three
last ones are external in their locus. Observing the results, the researchers noticed that among
the attributions for success there was almost double the number of internal than external ones
showing that students mostly see themselves having the control over their learning (Williams
et al., (2004, p. 22). The list of attributions for failure included at the top: (lack of) effort,
(lack of) ability, (lack of) interest, behaviour and teacher, (Williams et al., 2004, p. 23). The
attributions with the lowest percentages were: circumstances, teaching materials and time.
The attribution labelled as behaviour is actually misbehaviour that involved some of the
following actions: messing about, talking, laughing and shouting out (Williams et al., 2004, p.
23). Again, the first three attributions were internal and the last three external which leads to
the conclusion that the students also take credit for their failure as well as their success.
Williams et al. (2004, pp. 23-24) analysed the difference in attributions between male
and female students. With the attributions of success, the most important difference in their
internal attributions was that more female than male students ascribed their success to using
appropriate strategies while more male than female students attributed their success to their
32
own effort. The difference between their external attributions for success showed that more
girls attributed their success to the teacher whereas slightly more boys perceived task as the
cause of their failure. As for the internal attributions of failure, more female than male
students attributed their failure to lack of effort, lack of ability and usage of inappropriate
learning strategies, while more male than female students labelled poor behaviour as the
reason for their failure. Concerning the external attributions of failure, male students, slightly
more than female students, ascribed poor teaching to their failure but a larger number of male
students found the lack of interest in the subject the reason for their failure. An observation
was made that female students, significantly more than male students attributed their failure to
internal causes, whereas male students ascribed it more to external causes.
The research involved one more parameter of distinction apart from gender and that is
age. The compared groups of students were of Year 7 and 11 (of the General Certificate of
Secondary Education system) and the results showed that general percentage of students who
ascribe success to effort lowered considerably between Year 7 and 11 (30%), students’
attribution for ability did not change while strategy and interest were considered rather
significant by Year 11 (Williams et al., 2004, pp. 24-25). With regard to attributions for
failure, students of Year 11 attributed lack of ability to failure less than younger students, but
they ascribed lack of interest to their failure more than the younger group. The older students
also perceived the influence of peers as a cause of their failure far more than the younger
students.
To sum up, Williams et al. (2004, p. 26) concluded that the most frequent attributions
mentioned by the students were effort, ability, strategy use, interest, the contribution of the
teacher and the nature of the learning task whereas luck and rewards had almost no
significance at all. After the results analysis, a serious doubt was expressed about Weiner’s
original attribution categories from 1986, at least when learning a foreign language is
concerned, and also it was highlighted that results of attribution research in one field should
not be generalised. Effort is prominent as the most frequently stated attribution for success as
well as for failure. In addition, interesting results emerged in relation to the teacher. Namely,
the teacher is seen in almost equal amount as the reason for both success and failure. Female
students more than male students see the teacher as the reason for their success, while male
students more than female students see the teacher as the cause of their failure. Even though
Williams et al. (2004, p. 27) found it in the literature on motivation and language teaching that
making a subject interesting is important, the results of their study show that the term interest
33
could be understood as “both an external attribute (e.g. this subject is interesting) or one that
is internal (e.g. I am interested in ...).” The results about interest from earlier study from 2002
by Williams, Burden and Lanvers were confirmed in a way that the current results showed
that interest (or rather lack of it) was more important as a failure attribution, especially for
boys (Williams et al., 2004, p. 27). Another term was found to be complex and that was task.
Specifically, the students differentiated between two characteristics of task, the nature of it
and its ease or difficulty and the results showed that the nature of the task was more important
as a success attribution than a failure attribution. Misbehaviour appeared as a small but
important failure attribution for boys of different age groups. Some attributions did not appear
such as rewards, feedback and parents, which could mean that these attributions do not play
major roles in foreign language learning.
Some implications that may influence foreign language learning were suggested by
Williams et al. (2004, pp. 27-28). Teachers may benefit from this study by comprehending
better their students’ understanding and find their way through the education and especially
through language learning at school. Furthermore, success and failure attributions are
concluded to be dependent on the context, meaning that different cultures may affect how
people perceive the causes of their success and failure. The differences between boys’ and
girls’ attributions seem to confirm similar findings in other fields and can be useful to the
findings on language learner motivation. One more practical implication for foreign language
teachers is concerned with learning strategies and their training to help students learn how to
efficiently organise their learning.
In their earlier study, Williams and Burden (1999) investigated students’ developing
conceptions of themselves as language learners. They found that the teacher has a very
important role in the development of students’ attributions (Williams & Burden, 1999, p.193).
Williams and Burden (1999, p. 193) based their study on the constructivist perspective
according to which learning is individual, actually they based it on social constructivism,
because language itself is an element of social interaction and language teachers could benefit
from such an approach. This means that the learning process focuses on the learners’
developing conceptions of themselves and these consequently make an impact on the way in
which each person learns. Therefore, they wanted to start their research from the learners’
perspective, which attribution theory allows (Williams & Burden, 1999, p. 194). The previous
research in different domains that was based on attribution theory showed more than Weiner’s
four main causes (effort, ability, task difficulty and luck), but the conclusion was that the
34
same attributions might not be true, for instance in sports and in language learning. Along
with attribution theory, various goals were looked at (Williams & Burden, 1999, p. 194).
Namely, learning a language involves achievement tasks and a learner can focus on a
performance goal or a learning goal. The difference between the two was described by
Dweck (1985, p. 291) as “put simply, with performance goals an individual aims to look
smart, whereas with learning goals the individual aims at becoming smarter”. Hence, what
Williams and Burden (1999, p. 195) emphasise is that in teaching a language at school,
learning goals ought to be promoted and not ego involvement in performance goals although,
especially in later stages, education seems to be oriented towards performance goals. An
interesting finding emerged regarding the role of the teacher; namely, younger students still
appeared to be dependent on the teacher’s feedback as opposed to older ones who were
developing the sense of competence (Williams & Burden, 1999, pp. 196-197).
In addition, younger students attributed success more to internal causes, such as effort
that was proposed by older students as well but they added also external causes, for instance
help and encouragement from others such as friends, parents and teachers. The older group of
students are also more conscious of their aptitude as well as circumstance, such as travelling
to the country where the language being learned is spoken as a native language. Williams and
Burden (1999, p. 198) noticed that younger learners cited mainly the same attributions for
both success and failure and they were mainly internal, but older ones cited mostly internal
attributions as well.
In the end, Williams and Burden (1999, p. 199) concluded that one significant issue
had not been addressed in earlier studies, the issue of how students individually understand
the terms ‘success’ and ‘failure’ that might be different for different age groups, different
subjects, and so on. The difference between students of different age are interpreted as
possible consequences of maturing but it is also noticed that students construct attributions
according to social factors such as relations with peers, parents and teachers. Younger
students based their criterion for success on the teacher feedback or comparing themselves to
their peers while older students consider good marks, not the development of their knowledge,
as the sign of their success. All this lead to the conclusion that the participants did not see
foreign language to be different from any other subject. Another important result was that
students did not suggest strategies as attributions which means that, since the value of learning
strategies is emphasised in literature, their training in the classroom by teachers is not present.
Williams and Burden (1999, p. 199) contend that what teachers set as a criterion of success
35
students will take as such whether it be a high grade or a good communicative competence.
On the other hand, a teacher’s actions are influenced by the entire education system and
curriculums (Williams & Burden, 1999, p. 200). For example, if a particular school’s focus is
on high achievement results, the students may not develop the most useful abilities, meaning
that they may concentrate on performance, not learning goals which ultimately might not be a
good way to promote learning a foreign language. Weiner’s ideas were criticised for not
paying attention to the environment in which attributions are made.
The greatest message teachers can take is to become aware how much influence they
have over their students’ making sense of their learning process as well as how they construct
the concepts of success and failure. Additionally, what teachers promote in their classroom to
be effective learning will be considered by the students to be the parameter against which they
will measure their development in language learning.

3.2.2. Attributions and English as a foreign language acquisition

Another author that conducted research on attributions and learning a foreign language
is Peacock (2010) who particularly concentrated on English as a foreign language (EFL).
Peacock (2010, p. 184) noticed that attributions had not been much investigated in EFL
research and he wanted to explore students’ attributions, their connections to gender,
academic discipline and EFL proficiency; the participants being university students in Hong
Kong. Along with the mentioned issues, an interesting perspective that was looked at was the
teachers’ viewpoint and to what they attribute their students’ success and failure which was
later compared with the students’ attributions.
Peacock (2010, p. 185) suggests that teachers are frequently not even aware of their
students’ attributions and they should be as they may influence the change of attributions that
badly affect students. He also emphasises teacher attributions saying that they could influence
teacher actions which is illustrated in an example by Tollefson and Chen (1988, p. 264) in
which a teacher who ascribes a student’s failure to insufficient effort might withhold help.
The student then believes that any effort is worthless because they expect to fail. In the end,
the teacher retains the initial attribution while the student’s belief even increases.
Furthermore, Peacock (2010, p.186) stresses the significance of knowing attributions for EFL
teachers as well as students, highlighting that unwanted attributions can be changed if the
36
connection between attributions and proficiency is investigated more and he makes another
suggestion for further research of gender and academic discipline.
The results of Peacock’s (2010, p. 187) research showed that even though there were
some attributions that were the same, such as paying attention in class and reading outside the
class, 15 important differences between student and teacher attributions were found. Some of
the differences were that teachers attributed student success to effort (in class: for example,
paying attention, competing with peers; outside class: extensive reading, watching television
and listening to songs) and students did not. Additionally, teachers ascribed student failure to
anxiety and a lack of confidence, whereas students did not. On the other hand, students
attributed success and failure to luck quite a lot, while teachers did not. Peacock (2010, p.
187) deduced that mostly these attributions were internal, unstable and controllable.
Exploring the differences between genders and their attributions, Peacock (2010, pp.
187-188) found that, more than male students, female students ascribed success to causes such
as teacher’s encouragement, paying attention, interest in English and effort in class and
outside of it. With regard to academic discipline, different students cited different attributions,
for instance, science students ascribed success to good luck and easy test, while humanities
students attributed it to love of English, effort and teacher praise. Looking at the link between
attributions and ELT proficiency, the results showed that more proficient students ascribed
success mainly to effort, while less proficient ascribed it to other causes, such as easy tests
(Peacock, 2010, p. 188).
Peacock (2010, p. 189) explained that the difference between his and earlier studies
lay in different contexts of research. One of the explanations he offered for the result of his
study was that students seem to have little control over their EFL learning. Interestingly,
teachers mentioned interest as a reason for success while students did not and it may be so for
the reason that students do not connect interest in subject and success or failure in
accomplishment. The connection between attribution and proficiency in results confirmed
Dörnyei’s (2001) contention that achievement is hindered if failure is ascribed to
uncontrollable causes (as cited in Peacock, 2010, p. 185).
To clarify his suggestion that some attributions facilitate better EFL learning, Peacock
(2010, p.190) used Weiner’s explanation that if outcome is ascribed to controllable causes, it
will make people feel more in control and want to invest more effort in order to succeed.
Thus, more proficient students work hard and achieve better proficiency. Peacock (2010,
p.190) further suggests that “attribution affects effort and persistence” which is supported by
37
the results according to which students who ascribe success and failure to causes such as
intelligence, aptitude or luck decrease their effort in learning English.
Due to the possibility that many students in EFL classrooms have undesirable
attributions, Peacock (2010, p. 190) strongly recommended that teachers should detect their
students’ attributions because they can be altered which would ultimately lead to change in
behaviour. Moreover, students can benefit from promotion of some attributions which may
enhance beliefs, effort and proficiency which in the end has some implications for learner
training, teacher comprehension, teacher behaviour and teacher training.
Finally, Peacock (2010, p. 192) pointed out that the results of his study have
implications not only for pre- but also for in-service teacher training. Trainee teachers should
become acquainted with the origins of student EFL attributions and the consequences that
they have on student language learning.
Hashemi and Zabihi (2011) undertook a research on the role of EFL learners’
attributions for success and failure with Iranian intermediate EFL learners studying at English
language institutes. With the intention of introducing Weiner’s theory of attribution to the
foreign language learning in Iran, Hashemi and Zabihi mentioned Dörnyei’s (2001) claim that
attribution can be applied to language learning for two reasons; first, language learners
encounter failure in learning and it can eventually influence their future achievement; second,
people often say how they do not have talent for language learning (as cited in Hashemi &
Zabihi, 2011, pp. 954-955). Hashemi and Zabihi (2011, p. 955) could not find a consensus in
the literature about the relationship between ESL (English as a second language)/EFL
learning and causal attributions.
Hashemi and Zabihi (2011, p. 955) stated that previous studies on attribution theory
and ESL/EFL learning only introduced learner attributions rather than addressed the impact
that attributions have on learners’ language learning performance. There was one study with a
goal of producing a scale for measuring foreign language learners’ attributions by Hsieh
(2004) who designed the Language Achievement Attribution Scale (LAAS) in which the
following attributions for success and failure were explored: ability, effort, luck, task
difficulty, mood and teacher. Hsieh (2004) discovered that higher achievement grades in
English are received by learners with internal, personal and stable attributions than those with
external, non-personal and unstable ones. Later on, Hsieh and Schallert (2008) did more
research and found that “that self-efficacy and ability attribution predicted students’ final
grade, with self-efficacy as the overall strongest contributor” (Hsieh & Schallert, 2008, p.
38
523). These results were confirmed by Pishghadam and Zabihi’ (2011) research which also
showed that luck and mood were negatively predictive of English language achievement
(Hashemi & Zabihi, 2011, p. 956).
Hashemi and Zabihi (2011, p. 958) wanted to provide more empirical evidence for the
connection between Weiner’s attribution theory and a foreign language learning and teaching.
Based on the results, they made a recommendation for English teachers to assist learners in
finding the reasons for their success and failure in themselves rather in external factors so that
they could have them under their control. Additionally, they strongly emphasised the
significance of effort as an attribution in English language learning as well as making learners
aware of the possibility to change future negative outcomes that happen due to lack of effort.
Naturally, it is important for teachers to know that they can influence learners’ attributions in
such a way that they can be changed. To highlight the importance of effort, Hsieh (2004)
contented that “when learners feel that they are responsible for the outcome of their grades,
they tend to become more involved and active in the learning process.”
Although effort is seen as highly important for learning a foreign language, it is
reported that other research proved that various factors, individual differences actually, have
an impact on perceived attributions such as culture, gender, self-esteem, learning strategies,
teacher feedback and so on (Hashemi & Zabihi, 2011, p. 959). In the end, a warning is given
about a flaw of attribution theory which is the likelihood of individuals ascribing success to
themselves and failure to outside factors.
Hsieh and Kang (2010) undertook research on two motivational constructs self-
efficacy and attribution in the Korean EFL context to explain academic achievement. The
term self-efficacy is clarified through Bandura’s (1986a) explanation according to which
“self-efficacy reflects beliefs about ones’ capabilities to complete a specific task successfully,
referred to as self-perceptions of competence” (as cited in Hsieh & Kang, 2010, p. 606).
Hsieh and Kang mentioned Bandura’s (1986b) connection between self-efficacy and
attributions which seems to be dual (2010, p. 610). First, the way someone explains results
may influence their self-efficacy and second, attributions can be influenced by the level of
confidence a person has for a particular task as well.
Hsieh and Kang (2010, p. 611) wanted to apply the two mentioned constructs in order
to obtain a complete representation of the Korean EFL situation of how students generate
foreign language motivation and achievement. In addition, they draw attention to the
significance of changing students’ undesired attributions because they may result in low self-
39
efficacy and low motivation (Hsieh & Kang, 2010, p. 621). The results of Hsieh and Kang’s
(2010, p. 621) study showed that there is a strong relationship between successful academic
results and feelings of control over the learning task. The findings also reveal that successful
English language learners are likely to attribute their success to internal factors more than
unsuccessful students do. Hsieh and Kang (2010, pp. 621-622) discovered that students who
had lower self-efficacy ascribed test results more to external causes and did not feel in control
over bad results while students with higher self-efficacy ascribed their bad results to
controllable factors. Another relevant factor in this issue is the role that teachers have in
observing students’ beliefs and discovering the attributions with bad effect on the students’
learning. Because of the strong connection of attributions and self-efficacy on one side and
future effort, persistence, motivation and expectancy on the other, it is suggested to teachers
of foreign languages to focus not only on their students’ performance but on their beliefs as
well because of their relation to students’ idea of their ability to learn a foreign language.
Hsieh and Kang (2010, p. 622) suggest to educators that they could help their language
learners to “develop a sense of efficacy through attributional retraining, which would involve
specific teacher feedback confirming learners’ adequate abilities and emphasizing the effort
and perseverance required to complete a given task successfully.”

3.2.3. Attributions and second language acquisition

Gray (2005) explored the application of attribution theory on second language

learning. Similarly to Williams et al. (2004) and Hashemi and Zabihi (2011) who mentioned
cultural differences in students’ attributions, Gray (2005, p. 14) finds that the way students
perceive their learning context affects their language learning. In his research conducted with
Japanese and Chinese students, Gray (2005, p. 15) obtained different results. Namely, the
success attributions that Japanese students cited included: effort (64%), high motivation
(26%), luck (5%), talent (3%) and teacher (1%), while failure attributions included: effort
(65%), lack of motivation (26%), luck (5%), talent (3%) and teacher (1%). Chinese students
cited the following attributions for success: effort (44%), high motivation (24%), talent
(21%), teacher (7%), luck (3%) and general conditions (1%), whereas for failure these
attributions appeared: lack of effort (45%), lack of talent (26%), luck (25%), poor motivation
(21%), bad luck (6%) and teacher and conditions (1%). These results show how in different
40
cultures different values are held in high regard; for instance, hard work is considered
important.
Gray (2005, p. 15) argues that the most important contribution of attribution research
in education is the fact that the way individuals realise that causes have “consequences for
responsibility, and that people can, by changing the explanations they make about their
failures and successes, create new attitudes concerning achievements results.” Implications
for language teachers include exploring students’ attributional profiles through simple
questionnaires designed according to Weiner’s model of attribution theory in which students
need to rank causes of success and failure in learning a language which can allow teachers to
give students appropriate feedback afterwards to prove to them that failure is unstable and
controllable (Gray, 2005, pp. 15-16). Furthermore, Gray (2005, p. 16) suggests that
problematic students can be motivated through praise and good marks that were earned and
that genuine effort ought to be praised as well. It is proposed that teachers give students such
tasks which would not create fear of failure in students and even divide tasks into segments so
that students see them as manageable which would give them the sense of control over their
language learning. Another recommendation for teachers is to help students find another way
of dealing with a task if they were not able to do them the first time and to praise the
classroom examples of students who succeeded through hard work during which they even
made mistakes in order to help build students’ persistence. Once again, constructive feedback
is emphasised and should be given through praise, not pity, to make it informative and useful
for students.

4. Learned Helplessness
Our greatest weakness lies in giving up.
The most certain way to succeed is
always to try just one more time.
Thomas A. Edison

In agreement with the original learned helplessness theory by Seligman (1975), who
initiated research on learned helplessness, experiencing uncontrollable situations will result in
“the expectation that no responses in one’s repertoire will control future outcomes” (as cited
in Nolen-Hoeksema, Girgus & Seligman, 1986, p. 435). Abramson, Seligman and Teasdale
(1978, p.50) challenged the older learned helplessness theory by proposing a new hypothesis.
The cornerstone of it is learning that outcomes are uncontrollable results in three deficits:
41
motivational, cognitive and emotional. The new perspective of their work is the attributional
framework they suggest. Specifically, they argue that a person who is helpless will ask the
question why and make causal attributions to establish the generality of their helplessness
deficits and their self-esteem. In reference to generality, Abramson et al. (1978, pp. 52-55)
mention universal and personal helplessness explaining that universal helplessness appears in
the situation when a person suffers from a fatal disease and there is nothing he/she or anybody
else can do about it, while personal helplessness refers to an instance when a student fails at
school and because of it feels incompetent, and they personally cannot do anything to change
it (see Figure 12).
Self .
The person expects the The person expects the
outcome is contingent outcome is not contingent
on a response in his on any response in his
Other repertoire. repertoire .
The person expects the
outcome is contingent personal helplessness
on the response in the
repertoire of a relevant (internal attribution)
other.
The person expects the
outcome is not contingent universal helplessness
repertoire of any relevant
other. (external attribution)
__________________________________________________________________________
FIGURE 12 Personal helplessness and Universal helplessness

Figure 12 shows that persons who have universal helplessness ascribe failure to external
attributions while people with personal helplessness make internal attributions. The final
difference between universal and personal helplessness is that it infers the forth deficit of
helplessness which is low self-esteem.
Other types of helplessness that Abramson et al. (1978, pp. 56-57) talk about are
global and specific helplessness. Global helplessness is the one that appears in a broad scope,
whereas specific helplessness appears in a narrow scope of situations. These two types of
helplessness with formal characteristics of attributions can be seen in Figure 13 below. It is
said that a global attribution suggests that helplessness will appear in different situations while
on the other hand specific attribution means that helplessness appears only in the original
situation.
Diener and Dweck (1978) also examined learned helplessness. They enquired about
continuous changes in performance, strategy and achievement cognitions following failure in
42
primary school children. Diener and Dweck found that most children with helplessness
showed a deterioration in their achievement in different tasks which is consequently evidence
that failure effects are increscent (1978, pp. 457-460). Such helpless children attributed their
failure to uncontrollable causes and did not make much effort finding means to prevail the
effects of failure. In the end, among others, one way that suggested that helpless children
could be helped with was attributional retraining.

FIGURE 13 Formal characteristics of attributions and some examples

Alloy, Abramson, Peterson and Seligman (1984) undertook research on attributional

style and generality of learned helplessness. Attributional styles are a specific and rather
complex issue and will not be addressed here. However, Alloy and her co-authors refer to
learned helplessness theory explored earlier by Seligman (1975), according to which persons
who participate in situations they cannot control learn that their response and outcome are
separate from each other which could result in expecting that any future responses would be
futile which may temper with future learning (as cited in Alloy et al. 1984, p. 681). Alloy et
al. (1984, p. 681) supported the reformulated model of learned helplessness suggested by
Abramson, Seligman and Teasdale (1978) which is mentioned earlier in this section. Namely,
two factors decide if helplessness one feels in one situation will transfer to another. The first
factor is causal attributions one makes about the uncontrollable events from the original
situation. The second one is the similarity between the new and the original situation.
Hsu (2011) investigated learned helplessness among EFL students. He reported
having difficulty finding studies on learned helplessness connected to EFL students (Hsu,

43
2011, p. 165). However, based on the studies that he managed to find, the hypothesis was
proposed that the intrinsic motivation of EFL students with learned helplessness decreases
when followed by failures in learning English. Consequently, their effort in learning cannot be
maintained by intrinsic motivation, but “extrinsic motivation may still function successfully
for them”, claims Stipek (1988 as cited in Hsu, 2011, p.165). Hsu’s (2011, p. 170) results
showed that a student is amotivational or he/she has learned helplessness in case when his/her
extrinsic motivation cannot be preserved. Furthermore, Hsu noticed that there was a
discrepancy between the teacher’s perspective and students’ perspective on amotivation. Four
times more often the teachers would say, based on the students’ behaviour in class, for a
student that he/she is amotivated than the students would say in self-assessment. This
different perspective is important because it results in bad teacher-student interaction in class
which may demotivate students and cause learned helplessness.
Harvey and Martinko (2009, pp. 151-152) in addressing the issue of learned
helplessness said that it appears in situations when people do not see the point of making any
effort since failure cannot be avoided. Addressing this issue, they mention it in a working
context in which due to their learned helplessness workers refrain from working harder and
changing the situation even after the manager, who took credit for success blaming them for
the failure that restricted them, was no longer there. To put it briefly, “if you expect to fail,
why bother trying?” (Harvey & Martinko, 2009, p. 151). Harvey and Martinko (2009, pp.
151-152) claim that the explanation for this is attributional process according to which
external obstacles to success promote internal and stable attributions for failure (attributing
failure to oneself) whereas at the same time external attributions for success are provoked
(ascribing the achieved success to the boss).

5. Attributional Retraining (AR)

After an occurrence of a learning failure, the process of causal attributions should be

addressed given that the situation demands attributional retraining treatment in order to boost
the motivation that has been eroded. Such motivation results in lower achievement and it
needs to be increased, especially if the perceived causes of failure are ascribed to factors
outside of one’s control.

44
 Attributional retraining (AR) “refers to a motivational treatment that helps students
reframe the way they think about success and failure by encouraging them to take
responsibility for academic outcomes” (Haynes, Perry, Stupnisky, & Daniels, 2009, p. 227).
AR was first used in 1960s (Haynes et al., 2009, pp.236-237). It was used across a range of
different fields such as athletic achievement, career decisions, and health settings among
others, but still with the stress on the field of academic achievement. In the 1970s it was
applied to elementary school children, and later to special education, then secondary school
and higher education context in the end. Although it is emphasised that AR is particularly
suited for higher education because it entails the transition of a student from one education
system to another, it can be said that a very similar transition happens for students who
change systems when they start secondary school education.
Haynes et al. (2009, pp. 237-238) report that the objective of AR in education is to
increase motivation and adapt students’ attributional thinking. AR is obtained from a
confirmed theory (Weiner’s attributional theory) and supported by sufficient research. The
advantage of AR is that it helps students in changing their causal attributions and becoming
more accountable for their academic achievement which ultimately affects their perceived
control. Haynes et al. in the end conclude that causal attributions and perceived control, which
will be defined later in this section, are crucial determinants of a student’s motivation to
achieve. Students’ motivation is high if they perceive the academic results to be something
controllable, and they will not aim for success if they think that the outcome is not under their
control.
Haynes et al. outline the three basic AR processes: causal attributions, perceived
control and motivation (2009, p. 246-248). They report that several field studies proved that
AR treatment modifies students’ attributions and expand their perceived control eventually
leading to modifications in motivation (see Figure 14). It can be seen from the results that AR
treatment is beneficial for the students in terms of the increase of their perceived control over
academic outcomes, lowering the level of uncontrollable attributions, increase of controllable
ones as well as increase of mastery motivation. Such positive results recommend the
application of AR treatment in education settings.
Haynes et al. (2009) focused their attention to AR in higher education, more
specifically the first year students, since they experience a change of scenery by transferring
from one type of education to another, that is to say from secondary school to college. This
change and different, or rather higher demands in terms of achievement, unfamiliar learning
45
tasks and new grading system among others are primary causes of students’ failure in the first
year of college (Perry 2003, p. 316). Such pressures when resulting in failure decrease
motivation and may lead to learned helplessness which have been discussed in the previous
section. Perry (2003) defined a significant factor examined in the research – perceived control
as “people’s belief about their capacity to influence and predict daily life events, with
‘perceived’ reflecting subjective rather than objective capacity” (Perry, 2003, p. 314).
Consequently, students’ perceived control has an influence on significant academic outcomes.

FIGURE 14 Process variables in AR field studies (1996-2008)

Although ineffective teaching is often seen as the cause of students’ failure, effective
teaching is not necessarily beneficial for all students. Perry (2003, pp. 317-321) claims that
the students who do not profit from effective teaching are those with low perceived control
who believe that they do not have control over their achievement and attribute failure to
factors beyond their control such as difficult tasks. In consequence, such students that are
considered ‘at risk’ need other kind of assistance beyond effective teaching, for instance AR
devised to enhance both perceived control and motivation. AR is actually most helpful to
students with low perceived control. Haynes et al. (2009, pp. 234-236) recommend AR as a
remedy for maladaptive failure attributions, AR treatment being created to change a person’s
interpretation of the causes of their failure. Based on attribution theory, the goal of AR is to

46
replace maladaptive attributions with adaptive, helpful ones consequently leading to changes
in motivation and behaviour (see Figure 15 below).

Causal Cognitive Emotional Motivational Behavioral

Dimensions Consequences Consequences Consequences Consequences

Locus of Pride
Causality Self-esteem
In the case of
poor academic
performance, Adaptive academic
motivation is behaviors such as
enhanced by attending class,
Hopelessness I/UB/C taking notes, and
Expectations
Stablilty attributions (e.g., studying for exams
of success Hopefulness
effort) and are predicated by
reduced by I/US/C attributions
I/S/UC (e.g.,
ability).
Judgements of Shame
Controllability responsibility Guilt

FIGURE 15 Selected process variables from Weiner's (1985) attribution theory

Note: I/US/C = Internal/Unstable/Controllable
I/S/UC = Internal/Stable/Uncontrollable

Based on the studies AR has been used in, Haynes et al. (2009, pp. 250-256) mention
five components that AR treatment consists of (see Figure 16) as well as the protocol for
administering AR. The purpose of Pre-AR Diagnostic Assessment is to identify failure-prone
students, whereas Causal Search Activation intends to animate students to consider their
academic performance. AR Induction is applied in order to encourage students to make
adaptive attributions. AR Consolidation aims at consolidating the AR attributional content.
Finally, Post-AR Assessment reassesses students’ attributions, perceived control and
motivation.
Hall, Hladkyj, Perry and Ruthig (2004) explored AR in college students’ context just
like Haynes et al. did. In the definition of AR they provided they said that it is “remedial
intervention” (Hall et al., 2004, p. 591). Hall et al. (2004, p. 593) report that in the efforts to
improve AR the focal point was twofold, identifying the failure-prone students and creating
the adequate intervention techniques that meet the requirements of the AR candidates the best.
For example, after the video presentation, a discussion is more beneficial for some students
while a written assignment is for others.

47
 1
Pre-AR
Diagnostic Self-report Questionnaire
Assessment

Causal Search
2 Activation First Introductory Psychology Course Exam

3 AR Induction AR Videotape / Handout

AR
4 Consolidation Discussion / Writing Exercise /Aptitude Test

Post-AR Self-report Questionnaire

5 Assessment Actual Grades / GPA / VW

FIGURE 16 Components of Attributional Retraining (AR)

In their AR research, Hall et al. (2004, pp. 595-596) explored the effect of AR on
emotions, based on Weiner’s attribution theory. Namely, their hypothesis was that AR
treatments would increase hope and guilt and decrease shame since controllable and unstable
attributions were inspired. The results of their study showed positive effects of AR on
perceived control and motivation (Hall et al., 2004, pp. 607-609). In consideration of
emotions, after the AR treatment students stated they felt more hopeful, less ashamed and
more successful. Hall et al. (2004) concluded that individualised AR techniques provide the
best AR treatment effects on college students as in that way students have an opportunity to
respond to AR in a personal manner.

6. Methodology

The changing feature of motivation is difficult to capture and measure (Ushioda &
Dörnyei, 2012, p. 401), and this is a very important characteristic of motivation research.
Similarly, attribution research can be complicated and limiting for the reason that “attributions

48
are self-report data and not directly observable” (Peacock, 2010, p. 192). Consequently, the
majority of such research is based on self-report information through which learners
communicate their own perspective expressing the extent of agreement with some statements
or rating them according to importance. Based on the aforementioned premise, the present
research was conducted through a self-report type of survey to investigate Bosnian-
Herzegovinian secondary school students’ success and failure attributions in learning English
as a foreign language.
In the survey, 98 secondary school students participated, aged 15 to 19. Out of 98
participants, 52 were male and 46 female students. At the time of conducting the survey, they
attended first grade (54 students) and fourth grade (44 students) of a secondary school in
Tuzla, Bosnia and Herzegovina. All students who were 18 or older at the time of conducting
the survey signed a consent form agreeing to participate in the research while for all underage
students their parents signed the consent form.
The survey consisted of two parts which were conducted in regular English classes
one week apart during the second term of 2014/2015 school year. For each part I designed a
specific questionnaire, namely Questionnaire 1 and Questionnaire 2 (see Appendices 1 and 2).
The questionnaires were in Bosnian so as to prevent possible misunderstanding of the
questions, especially by the weakest students whose level of English, even though they are
secondary school students, is not at a high level. Both questionnaires had three elements that
were the same. The first one was the section with general information including gender, grade
and age. In the second question the students, based on their self-evaluation, needed to rate
themselves as being successful or unsuccessful English learners, i.e. to state how well they did
in English or at which level their knowledge of English was, on the following scale: a)
excellent, b) well, c) weak and d) not at all (i.e. non-existent). The a and b options were
considered the successful group, while c and d constituted the unsuccessful group of students.
The research by Williams, Burden, Poulet and Maun (2004) served as the basic idea for such
classification since they claim that it was easier for students to understand ‘doing well’ and
‘not doing well’ then success and failure (Williams et al., 2004, p. 21). The third element
(question) that the questionnaires shared was the last one which asked the students to indicate
their final grade for English they had at the end of the first term (of the same school year).
The two questionnaires differed in content and in length. Questionnaire 1 (see
Appendix 1) had 7 questions. Apart from the ones that were in common for both
questionnaires, in Questionnaire 1 the participants were asked open-ended questions in which
49
they were required to list as many success and failure attributions that they could think of that
they attribute their success or failure, respectively. The students were not given any examples
of attributions either in the questionnaire or by myself who administered the survey. In fact,
the students were only required to list either the success or failure attributions according to the
option they had chosen (a, b, c or d) which had put them in the successful or unsuccessful
group. Examples of any attributions were not given in order to compare the participants’
responses in Questionnaire 1 to those given in Questionnaire 2 in which they were offered a
list of success and failure attributions.
Questionnaire 2 (see Appendix 2) was much more extensive and it included different
options for successful and for unsuccessful students. In addition to the elements that the two
questionnaires shared, after being assigned to one of the groups, successful or unsuccessful,
the participants moved to the group of questions that were designed only for them.
The successful group was offered a list of 39 different success attributions they might
ascribe their success to, and an opportunity for the participants to provide their own
attribution(s) that might not have been in the given list. In this section of Questionnaire 2, a
Likert-type scale was used and the participants were asked to express their agreement on a
scale from 1 to 5, where 1 stood for strongly agree, 2 for agree, 3 for neither agree nor
disagree, 4 for disagree and 5 for strongly disagree. Even though Likert-type scales can have
even or odd number of options, the odd number used in the present research provided a
middle option which is neutral and it does not pressure participants to choose agree or
disagree options. Furthermore, if a participant was hesitant or undecided, the neutral option
was available. Related attributions were grouped but the groups were not named in order not
to confuse the students, they were simply separated by lines. This section was followed by a
question about kinds of success in English that encourage and motivate the students requiring
them to provide an example(s). The participants were also asked to state if they learn English
only because it is a school subject. In the following questionnaire segment, students agreed or
disagreed whether they thought that the offered success attributions were under their control.
Next, the students were offered a list of emotions in four questions in relation to effort, ability,
task difficulty and luck. Depending on which emotions they feel in the offered contexts as they
achieve success, the participants were asked to indicate whether they agree or disagree.
The unsuccessful group of students was also given a list of 39 different attributions
with a Likert-type scale mentioned earlier, but this time failure attributions were provided.
The same question about learning English only because it is s school subject is asked again
50
along with three questions designed only for unsuccessful students. Those questions inquired
about types of failures in English that discourage, depress and deject the unsuccessful students
the most. Next, they needed to agree or disagree with the statement that they do not make an
effort to learn English since their results are almost always bad. Finally, they needed to
suggest the conditions that would inspire them to study English more. This group of students
was also asked to agree or disagree with the statement asking whether or not they have control
over the suggested list of attributions which were now failure attributions. The four questions
about emotions connected to effort, ability, task difficulty and luck were asked here as well,
and the students were required to indicate if they agree or disagree depending if those
emotions appear in the suggested situations, the difference being the context of failure for this
group of students.
The majority of success and failure attributions in Questionnaire 2 were modified, i.e.
reformulated and expanded, attributions based on the attributions from the research of the
following authors: Williams, Burden, Poulet and Maun (2004) (see Appendix 3), Peacock
(2010) (see Appendix 4), Dörnyei (2013) (see Appendix 5), Lei (2009) (see Appendix 6), and
Besimoğlu, Serdar and Yavuz (2010) (see Appendix 7). For instance, Williams et al. (2004)
mention teacher and teaching materials and these are reformulated and extended for the
present research in this manner respectively: the way my current English teacher teaches me
and we use a good textbook in English classes. The attributions added by myself are the
following ones (some of them were inspired by the context of the participants’ environment,
e.g. the Internet): the way English teachers taught me in elementary school, previous
knowledge (from elementary school), I play games in English and I learn English words while
using the Internet.
In Questionnaire 2, in the section about emotions, the emotions that the participants
needed to respond to: pride, self-esteem, anger, gratitude, guilt, pity, shame and hopelessness
were taken from Weiner’s (1985) table showing An attributional theory of motivation and
emotion.

7. Results and Discussion

The two questionnaires used in the research contained the same general questions
about age, gender and grade which are presented in Table 1. It can be seen that majority of the
51
first-graders was 15 or 16 years old and majority of the fourth-graders were 18 years old at the
time. Out of 98 participants, a little more than half are first-graders – 54, and a little less than
half are fourth-graders – 44.

male students female students TOTAL grade

I age 15 16 17 15 16
54
grade students 13 13 2 11 15
male students female students TOTAL grade
IV
age 17 18 19 18 19
grade 44
students 1 19 6 15 3
TOTAL TOTAL
gender
52 46 98

Table 1 Students’ age, gender and grade

Similarly, almost half are male students – 52, and 46 are female students. All this shows a
kind of uniformity in terms of a number of male/female and first/fourth-grade participants in
this research sample.
The participants were grouped into two groups regarding their knowledge of English,
the successful and unsuccessful students, according to their own evaluation by choosing one
of 4 options that were described earlier in Methodology section: a) excellent, b) well, c) weak,

successful boys - 18 unsuccessful boys - 8 successful girls - 23 unsuccessful girls - 5

grade a b c d a b c d
I 7 11 7 1 11 12 4 1
total 18 8 23 5
successful boys - 14 unsuccessful boys - 12 successful girls - 7 unsuccessful girls - 11

grade a b c d a b c d
IV 7 7 9 3 3 4 7 4
total 14 12 7 11

Table 2 Successful and unsuccessful groups of students

and d) not at all (i.e. non-existent). Students who chose a and b options constitute the
successful group, and those who chose c and d options constitute the unsuccessful group of
students. Table 2 shows which option the participants chose in Questionnaire 1. As it can be
seen, the first grade students, both boys and girls, self-evaluated themselves significantly
52
more as successful students, while the fourth-graders’ self-evaluation shows a smaller
difference in number of successful and unsuccessful students.

7.1. Students’ own success and failure attributions

In Questionnaire 1, in a form of an open-ended question, the successful group of

students listed the success attributions to which they attributed their success. They were
allowed to list as many attributions as they could think of. Their attributions were organised in
groups of related ones, for example, films/series, TV programmes and cartoons make one
group. None of the student suggestions was disregarded and only the ones that were

grade I – success attributions (41 students)

attribution students %
1 films/series 11 26.82
2 TV programmes in English 5 12.19
3 cartoons 3 7.31
4 Internet 5 12.19
5 English course outside of school 5 12.19
6 learning from the current secondary school teacher 4 9.75
7 good current teacher 3 7.31
8 current teacher’s good teaching 2 4.87
9 current teacher’s help 2 4.87
10 good cooperating with the current teacher 1 2.43
11 current school classes 2 4.87
12 understanding what is taught in class 2 4.87
13 good primary school teacher 4 9.75
14 knowledge from primary school 3 7.31
15 a lot of knowledge from primary school 1 2.43
16 help from father 2 4.87
17 help from friends 1 2.43
18 regular hard work 4 9.75
19 studying 2 4.87
20 studying regularly 2 4.87
21 effort 1 2.43
22 doing homework regularly 1 2.43
23 well prepared for final test 1 2.43
24 working harder since the 1st term 1 2.43
25 practicing 1 2.43
26 revising 1 2.43
27 songs/music 3 7.31
28 liking English 3 7.31
29 good grades 3 7.31
30 learning English at school 3 7.31
31 listening in class 1 2.43
32 paying attention in class 1 2.43
33 activity 1 2.43
34 reading in English 1 2.43
35 reading outside of school 1 2.43
36 communication 1 2.43
37 speaking very well 1 2.43

53
38 communicating with many English speaking friends 1 2.43
39 talking to friends outside school (in English) 1 2.43
40 talking to English speaking people 1 2.43
41 liking to speak in English with foreigners 1 2.43
42 knowing grammar rules 1 2.43
43 being good at grammar 1 2.43
44 more interesting lessons than in the 1st term 1 2.43
45 learning English is interesting 1 2.43
46 English classes are entertaining 1 2.43
47 knowing a lot of words 1 2.43
48 knowledge 1 2.43
49 video games 1 2.43
50 being good at English at elementary school as well 1 2.43
51 learning correct English 1 2.43
52 wish to understand everyday English heard 1 2.43
53 understanding English 1 2.43
54 interest in English 1 2.43
55 learning things I am interested in that we do not learn at school classes 1 2.43

Table 3 Success attributions – grade I

formulated in exactly the same way were counted as one attribution. The students’
suggestions, from both the successful and unsuccessful group, generally show a variety of
attributions. Table 3 shows success attributions for the first-graders and Table 4 success
attributions for the fourth-graders. First-grade students listed 55 success attributions. At the
top of the list, or the attributions mentioned by more than just one participant, are those
related to TV (films/series, TV programmes, cartoons) which half the participants suggested

grade IV– success attributions (21 students)

attribution students %
1 regular studying 3 14.28
2 hard work 1 4.76
3 revision 1 4.76
4 constant practicing 1 4.76
5 TV 3 14.28
6 films/series 2 9.52
7 cartoons 1 4.76
8 good English teachers 2 9.52
9 demanding primary school teacher 1 4.76
10 secondary teacher’s good teaching 1 4.76
11 teacher’s motivation 1 4.76
12 interest in English 2 9.52
13 interest in the (school) subject 1 4.76
14 interest in learning English at school 1 4.76
15 learning English in secondary school 1 4.76
16 learning English through education 1 4.76
17 learning new words through interesting lessons 1 4.76
18 learning in class 1 4.76
19 paying attention in class 2 9.52
20 listening in classes 1 4.76
21 talent 1 4.76
22 being good at it 1 4.76
23 being good at languages and grammar 1 4.76
24 Internet 2 9.52
25 speaking 2 9.52
54
26 a will to learn 1 4.76
27 wish to learn English 1 4.76
28 private English classes in primary school 1 4.76
29 online courses, seminars in English 1 4.76
30 a wish to learn English because it is necessary for a good future 1 4.76
31 reading 1 4.76
32 good knowledge of tenses 1 4.76
33 video games 1 4.76
34 being a good student 1 4.76
35 good understanding of English 1 4.76
36 knowing English from early age 1 4.76
37 attending elementary school with all classes in English 1 4.76
38 help from sister who is an English teacher 1 4.76
39 holding workshops 1 4.76
40 travelling 1 4.76
41 music 1 4.76
42 occasional games in classes 1 4.76

Table 4 Success attributions – grade IV

(19 students = 46.34%), followed by the Internet (12.19%), learning English in a language
course outside of school (12.19%), the current teacher (29.26%), current school classes
(9.75%), primary school teacher (9.75%), knowledge from primary school (9.75%), help from
others (parents or friends) (7.31%), effort (34.14%), songs (7.31%), liking English (7.31%),
good grades (7.31%), learning English at school (7.31%), paying attention and participating
in class (7.31%), speaking (14.63%), reading (4.87%) and knowledge of grammar (7.31%).
Out of 42 success attributions that the fourth-graders stated, the ones suggested by 6 students
or 28.57% are effort, then TV (28.57%), teachers (23.80%), interest (19.04%), learning
English at school (19.04%), paying attention in class (14.28%), talent (14.28%), Internet
(9.52%) and speaking (9.52%).
The causal dimensions of attributions are examined and labelled in this manner: I =
Internal, E = External, S = Stable, US = Unstable, C = Controllable and UC = Uncontrollable.
The shared success attributions of both first and fourth graders are: effort I/US/C, TV
E/US/UC, teachers (current or former) E/S/UC, learning English at school E/US/C, paying
attention in class I/US/C, Internet E/US/UC and speaking I/US/C. They are mainly unstable
but even in terms of locus and controllability. The different attributions mentioned by
different grades are for the first-graders: learning English in a language course outside of
school E/US/C, current school classes E/SU/C, knowledge from primary school I/S/UC, help

grade I – failure attributions (13 students)

attribution students %
1 not studying regularly 2 15.384
2 lack of regular practice 1 7.692
3 lack of effort 1 7.692
55
 4 not studying 1 7.692
5 not studying enough due to commute 1 7.692
6 being lazy 1 7.692
7 not revising English lessons regularly 1 7.692
8 did not learn in time 1 7.692
9 not practicing much 1 7.692
10 having difficulties with pronunciation 1 7.692
11 having difficulties with memorising English words 1 7.692
12 having great difficulty understanding English 1 7.692
13 having great difficulty understanding tenses we do in class 1 7.692
14 not being good at foreign languages 1 7.692
15 not being so good at it 1 7.692
16 insufficient knowledge from primary school 1 7.692
17 not having English as a school subject in primary school 1 7.692
18 lack of vocabulary knowledge 1 7.692
19 lack of interest 1 7.692
20 in spite of understanding difficulty with speaking 1 7.692
21 (as an underachiever) being neglected by the primary school teacher 1 7.692

Table 5 Failure attributions – grade I

from others (parents or friends) E/US/UC, songs E/US/UC, liking English I/US/UC, good
grades E/US/UC, reading I/US/C and knowledge of grammar I/S/C. These are even in locus,
mostly uncontrollable, while almost all are unstable. Finally, the fourth-graders’ different
attributions are: interest I/US/UC and talent I/S/UC which are both internal but different in
terms of stability and controllability.
Similarly, the unsuccessful group of students listed failure attributions that were
organised in the same way in terms of grouping, and they are presented in Table 5 and Table
6. Table 5 shows failure attributions for the first-graders and Table 6 for the fourth-graders.
Among 21 failure attributions suggested, the first grade students attribute their failure to lack

grade IV – failure attributions (23 students)

attribution students %
1 insufficient effort 4 17.391
2 lack of effort 2 8.695
3 insufficient studying 2 8.695
4 lack of effort to learn the necessary basics 1 4.347
5 lack of studying 1 4.347
6 not learning enough for English tests 1 4.347
7 lack of sufficient dedication to the (school) subject 1 4.347
8 not studying it regularly 1 4.347
9 studying only for tests or oral exams 1 4.347
10 insufficient studying due to many obligations 1 4.347
11 due to a lot of obligations in senior year there is insufficient time to study English 1 4.347
12 due to not understanding translation often making mistakes in tests 1 4.347
13 not studying English in time 1 4.347
14 not paying attention in class 3 13.043
15 insufficient knowledge from primary school 3 13.043
16 limited understanding 1 4.347
17 lack of understanding of English 1 4.347
56
18 not understanding something in English that is not clarified 1 4.347
19 not understanding translation 1 4.347
20 not liking English 2 8.695
21 hating English 1 4.347
22 not being good at learning foreign languages 1 4.347
23 not being good at it 1 4.347
24 lack of interest since primary school 1 4.347
25 lack of interest in the (school) subject 1 4.347
26 lack of will 1 4.347
27 not feeling like learning 1 4.347
28 skipping lessons that are needed now 1 4.347
29 not being aware earlier that I would need English later 1 4.347
30 only liking some units 1 4.347
31 inability to pronounce words 1 4.347
32 preference for practical work (over studying) 1 4.347
33 lack of motivation for learning English 1 4.347

Table 6 Failure attributions – grade IV

of effort (76.92%), different difficulties with English (30.76%), not being good at it (15.38%)
and lack of prior knowledge (15.38%). The fourth grade students wrote 33 failure attributions.
The ones that more students suggested were lack of effort (78.26%), not paying attention in
class (13.04%), insufficient knowledge from primary school (13.04%), not understanding
English (17.29%) and not liking English (13.04%). The failure attributions that both grades
have in common are: lack of effort I/US/C and insufficient prior knowledge I/S/UC, which are
both internal, but different in stability and controllability. First-grade students attribute their
failure also to different difficulties with English I/US/UC and not being good at it I/S/UC, and
they are internal, but different in stability and controllability. Whereas the fourth-graders
attribute it also to: not paying attention in class I/US/C, not understanding English I/US/UC
and not liking English I/US/UC which are internal, unstable and mostly uncontrollable. In the
end, it can also be seen that the first grade students suggested more success attributions while
the fourth-graders suggested more failure attributions.
With the intention of examining if there is a difference in attributions between students
of different gender, the success and failure attributions that were presented in tables 3, 4, 5
and 6 were reorganised according to gender in tables 7, 8, 9 and 10 below.

boys – success attributions (32 students)

attribution students %
1 Internet 5 15.62
2 films/series 5 15.62
3 TV programmes in English 4 12.50
4 cartoons 3 9.37
5 learning from the current secondary school teacher 4 12.50
6 current teacher’s help 1 3.12
57
 7 secondary teacher’s good teaching 1 3.12
8 help from father 2 6.25
9 good grades 2 6.25
10 video games 2 6.25
11 speaking 2 6.25
12 listening in class 3 9.37
13 paying attention in class 1 3.12
14 regular studying 2 6.25
15 studying 1 3.12
16 doing homework regularly 1 3.12
17 working harder since the 1st term 1 3.12
18 school classes 1 3.12
19 more interesting lessons than in the 1st term 1 3.12
20 learning English in secondary school 1 3.12
21 learning English through education 1 3.12
22 learning new words through interesting lessons 1 3.12
23 reading in English 1 3.12
24 reading outside of school 1 3.12
25 knowledge from primary school 1 3.12
26 demanding primary school teacher 1 3.12
27 well prepared for final test 1 3.12
28 revision 1 3.12
29 being good at it 1 3.12
30 talent 1 3.12
31 liking English 1 3.12
32 wish to understand everyday English heard 1 3.12
33 activity 1 3.12
34 knowledge 1 3.12
35 songs 1 3.12
36 talking to English speaking people 1 3.12
37 learning correct English 1 3.12
38 a will to learn 1 3.12
39 knowing English from early age 1 3.12
40 interest in the (school) subject 1 3.12
41 a wish to learn English because it is necessary for a good future 1 3.12
42 good knowledge of tenses 1 3.12
43 being a good student 1 3.12
44 good understanding of English 1 3.12

Table 7 Success attributions – boys

girls – success attributions (30 students)

attribution students %
1 films/series 8 26.66
2 TV 4 13.33
3 cartoons 1 3.33
4 English course outside of school 5 16.66
5 online courses, seminars in English 1 3.33
6 private English classes in elementary school 1 3.33
7 good primary school teacher 4 13.33
8 much knowledge from primary school 3 10.00
9 attending primary school with all classes in English 1 3.33
10 good English teachers 2 6.66
11 current teacher’s good teaching 2 6.66
12 current school classes 2 6.66
13 good current teacher 3 10.00
14 good cooperating with the current teacher 1 3.33
15 help from current teacher 1 3.33
16 teacher’s motivation 1 3.33

58
17 regular hard work 4 13.33
18 hard work 1 3.33
19 studying regularly 3 10.00
20 studying 1 3.33
21 effort 1 3.33
22 constant practicing 1 3.33
23 practicing 1 3.33
24 revising 1 3.33
25 interest in English 3 10.00
26 learning English is interesting 1 3.333
27 interest in learning English at school 1 3.33
28 wish to learn English 1 3.33
29 learning things I am interested in that we do not learn at school classes 1 3.33
30 understanding what is taught in class 2 6.66
31 understanding English 1 3.33
32 music 3 10.00
33 liking English 2 6.66
34 Internet 2 6.66
35 learning English at school 2 6.66
36 paying attention in class 2 6.66
37 communication 1 3.33
38 communicating with many English speaking friends 1 3.33
39 being good at languages and grammar 1 3.33
40 being good at English at elementary school as well 1 3.33
41 speaking very well 1 3.33
42 knowing a lot of words 1 3.33
43 knowing grammar rules 1 3.33
44 being good at grammar 1 3.33
45 help from friends 1 3.33
46 talking to friends outside school (in English) 1 3.33
47 liking to speak in English with foreigners 1 3.33
48 English classes are entertaining 1 3.33
49 occasional games in classes 1 3.33
50 help from sister who is an English teacher 1 3.33
51 good grade 1 3.33
52 reading 1 3.33
53 holding workshops 1 3.33
54 travelling 1 3.33

Table 8 Success attributions – girls

Male students of both grades suggested 44 success attributions with the following ones
being suggested by more students: Internet (15.62%), TV (37.50%), current teacher (18.75%),
help from others (6.25%), good grades (6.25%), video games (6.25%), speaking (6.25%),
paying attention in class (12.50%), effort (15.62%) and classes in secondary school (15.62%).
Female students listed 54 success attributions: TV (43.33%), English classes outside of school
(23.33%), primary school teacher (26.66%), current teacher (40.00%), effort (43.33%),
interest (23.33%), understanding (10.00%), music (10.00%), liking English (6.66%), Internet
(6.66%), learning English at school (6.66%), paying attention in class (6.66%),
communication (6.66%) and grammar (6.66%).

59
 When success attributions of male and female students are compared, it can be seen
that they all suggested TV E/US/UC, current teacher E/S/UC, Internet E/US/UC, effort
I/US/C, speaking (communication) I/US/C and paying attention in class I/US/C. They are
equally internal/external, and (un)controllable while they are all unstable. Other notable
suggestions by the boys were: classes in secondary school E/S/UC, help from others
E/US/UC, good grades E/US/UC and video games E/US/UC, and they are all external and
uncontrollable and mostly unstable. On the other hand, the girls attribute success also to:
English classes outside of school E/S/UC, primary school teacher E/S/UC, interest I/US/UC,
understanding I/US/UC, music E/US/UC, liking English I/US/UC, learning it at school
E/S/UC and grammar I/S/UC. These attributions are equal in locus and in stability and they
are all uncontrollable.

boys – failure attributions (20 students)

attribution students %
1 lack of effort 3 15
2 insufficient effort 3 15
3 not studying 2 10
4 lack of effort to learn the necessary basics 1 5
5 not studying enough due to commute 1 5
6 not learning enough for English tests 1 5
7 did not learn in time 1 5
8 not paying attention in class 2 10
9 not being good at foreign languages 2 10
10 not being good at it 1 5
11 not practicing much 1 5
12 lack of regular practice 1 5
13 lack of interest 1 5
14 lack of interest since primary school 1 5
15 lack of motivation for learning English 1 5
16 lack of will 1 5
17 limited understanding 1 5
18 not understanding something in English that is not clarified 1 5
19 being neglected by the primary school teacher 1 5
20 insufficient knowledge from primary school 1 5
21 in spite of understanding difficulty with speaking 1 5
22 lack of vocabulary knowledge 1 5
23 not being aware earlier that I would need English later 1 5
24 inability to pronounce words 1 5
25 hating English 1 5
26 not feeling like learning 1 5
27 preference for practical work (over studying) 1 5

Table 9 Failure attributions – boys

In regards to failure attributions by boys and girls, in Table 9 are failure attributions by
boys and in Table 10 are failure attributions by girls. Male students proposed 27 failure

60
 girls – failure attributions (16 students)
attribution students %
1 not studying regularly 3 18.75
2 insufficient studying 2 12.5
3 insufficient studying due to many obligations 1 6.25
4 insufficient effort 1 6.25
5 being lazy 1 6.25
6 not revising English lessons regularly 1 6.25
7 studying only for tests or oral exams 1 6.25
8 insufficient knowledge from primary school 3 18.75
9 not liking English 2 12.5
10 only liking some units 1 6.25
11 having difficulties with pronunciation 1 6.25
12 having difficulties with memorising English words 1 6.25
13 having great difficulty understanding English 1 6.25
14 having great difficulty understanding tenses we do in class 1 6.25
15 lack of understanding of English 1 6.25
16 not understanding translation 1 6.25
17 due to not understanding translation often making mistakes in tests 1 6.25
18 due to a lot of obligations in senior year there is insufficient time to study English 1 6.25
19 not studying English in time 1 6.25
20 not having English as a school subject in primary school 1 6.25
21 lack of interest in the (school) subject 1 6.25
22 lack of sufficient dedication to the (school) subject 1 6.25
23 not paying attention in class 1 6.25
24 skipping lessons that are needed now 1 6.25
25 not being so good at it 1 6.25

Table 10 Failure attributions – girls

attributions altogether and on the top of the list are: lack of effort (60.00%), not paying
attention in class (10.00%), not being good at English (15.00%), lack of practice (10.00%),
lack of interest (10.00%), lack of will (10.00%) and limited understanding (10.00%). Female
students suggested 25 failure attributions, the ones suggested by more students are: lack of
effort (62.50%), insufficient knowledge from primary school (18.75%), not liking English
(18.75%) and different difficulties with English (43.75%).
More than half of both boys and girls attribute their failure to lack of effort I/US/C.
They both also ascribe it to different difficulties with English such as problems with
understanding I/US/UC. The mentioned attributions are internal, unstable but different in
controllability. Furthermore, male students mention not paying attention in class I/US/C, not
being good at English I/S/UC, lack of practice I/US/C, lack of interest I/US/UC and lack of
will I/US/UC and these attributions are internal, almost all unstable and equally
(un)controllable in quantity. Female students also listed insufficient knowledge from primary
school I/S/UC and not liking English I/US/UC which are internal, uncontrollable but equally
(un)stable in quantity. Finally, female students proposed more success attributions while male
students suggested more failure attributions.

61
 The participants were also asked to indicate their final grade for English at the end of
the first term of 2014/2015 school year, grades being on a numerical scale from 1 to 5
according to the Bosnian educational system, where 1 is the failing grade and grades 2 to 5
are the passing ones. Even though the grade is not necessarily the sign of success or failure,
this was required in order to see whether the students equalize the grade and success or
failure. In Table 11 the students’ grade can be seen as well as the option labelled as X which
means that the participants did not indicate their grade at all. What can be noticed is that, as
expected, the successful students gravitate towards higher while unsuccessful students
gravitate towards lower passing grades or the failing grade. However, it is not a clear-cut
situation in which the unsuccessful students only have the failing grade and the successful
ones only the highest grades. Actually, it is a commendable fact that shows that the majority
of participants do not equalize their grades and their success or failure in learning English
since it can be seen that their grades in relation to success or failure are dispersed across the
scale 1 to 5. There are students who self-evaluated themselves as being successful and yet
their grade is rather low (or even the failing one). On the other hand, there are unsuccessful
students whose grades are rather high, 3 or even 4. It can be concluded that the students do
not necessarily connect their grades and their knowledge of English, meaning that their grades
are a sign of their effort at a particular time and not necessarily their competence.

successful boys - 18 unsuccessful boys - 8 successful girls - 23 unsuccessful girls - 5

grade 1 2 3 4 5 X 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5
I 1 3 5 1 5 3 3 4 1 2 4 6 11 3 2
successful boys - 14 unsuccessful boys - 12 successful girls - 7 unsuccessful girls - 11

grade 1 2 3 4 5 X 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5
IV 1 4 2 5 2 2 8 1 1 1 3 3 2 6 3

Table 11 Students' grades at the end of the first term

7.2. Students’ response to the suggested success and failure attributions

The presentation of Questionnaire 2 results follows. As previously said, the question

by which the students were put into groups, successful and unsuccessful, was repeated in
Questionnaire 2 because each group needed to proceed to a different part of the questionnaire.
62
However, there is a slight change in the students’ answers when compared to the same results
from Questionnaire 1. The change is slight because, out of 98 participants, only 2 changed
their self-evaluation. Namely, one unsuccessful first grade girl and one unsuccessful fourth
grade boy changed their status to successful (see Table 12), and the results of Questionnaire 2
are presented accordingly. The reason for this change could be that these students forgot what
they chose in Questionnaire 1 or they changed their mind about their status.

successful boys - 18 unsuccessful boys - 8 successful girls - 24 unsuccessful girls - 4

grade a b c d a b c d
I 7 11 7 1 11 13 3 1
total 18 8 24 4
successful boys - 15 unsuccessful boys - 11 successful girls - 7 unsuccessful girls - 11

grade a b c d a b c d
IV 7 8 8 3 3 4 7 4
total 15 11 7 11

Table 12 Successful and unsuccessful groups of students

Firstly, the difference between attributions that the students listed by themselves in
Questionnaire 1 and the ones that were proposed in Questionnaire 2 will be examined. When
the attributions are compared, it can be observed that actually the majority of attributions the
students listed are the same as the ones in Questionnaire 2, formulated in the same or a very
similar way, such as the following attributions: effort, teacher (current or former), help from
others, interest, talent, learning English at school, paying attention in class, Internet, music
(songs), reading, TV, video games. The successful students of both genders and grades in
Questionnaire 1 mentioned the following attributions they ascribe their success to that were
not offered in Questionnaire 2: private lessons, English courses outside of school, good
grades, liking English, communication/speaking, interest in the (school) subject, talking to
English speaking people or foreigners in English, travelling, and knowing different aspects of
the language such as: good knowledge of tenses, grammar rules, or a lot of words, then,
having good understanding of English and learning correct English. Majority of these
attributions were suggested by individual students, a few were suggested by two students,
only taking English courses was mentioned by six different students. At times, the students’
attribution was not really an attribution, a cause of their success, but rather the knowledge, a
63
segment of it or a result of their learning, such as good knowledge of tenses. On the other
hand, in this particular example, they possibly consider knowing tenses as a basis for further
successful learning of the language. Nevertheless, none of participants’ attributions or
answers to any questions was discarded; even those that were not completely clear were
retained as well. Furthermore, the unsuccessful students of both genders and grades in
Questionnaire 1 listed the following attributions they ascribe their failure to that were not
proposed in Questionnaire 2: lack of motivation, limited understanding, not liking/hating
English, being neglected by the primary school teacher, not feeling like learning, preferring
practical work (over studying), not having English in primary school, lack of sufficient
dedication to the (school) subject, lack of vocabulary knowledge, skipping lessons that are
needed now and a variety of difficulties with English such as: understanding tenses done in
class, translation or generally English, then, difficulties with pronunciation and memorising
English. Apart from understanding English mentioned by two, all other attributions were
suggested by more than two individual students, which leads to the conclusion that the vast
majority of all participants listed both success and failure attributions that were the same as
later offered to them in Questionnaire 2. In addition to this, one feature that could be noticed
is that some students make no distinction between English as a language and as a school
subject but there was only an insignificant number of such participants.
The successful group of students were offered a list of attributions for which they
needed to express their agreement from 1 (strongly agree) to 5 (strongly disagree) (see
Methodology section) in terms of whether those attributions were the causes of their success.
The attributions proposed were grouped according to relatedness followed by several separate
ones at the end of the list. There are eight groups: effort, testing, teacher/teaching, class
attendance and behaviour, sources of learning outside of (current) school, interest, talent,
organisation of learning, content of what is learned and the ninth group is miscellaneous
including help form others, luck and reward, among others. Table 13 shows the students’
answers in percentages where 42 successful first-graders are counted as 100%. Even though
the question asked the students to choose one option for each attribution, some of them did
not indicate their answer for some attributions and the number of such students was written
next to each attribution (for example: -1 which means that one student did not indicate his/her
answer) and the final percentage was calculated counting the remaining answers as 100%.
(This was applied throughout Questionnaire 2).

64
 From the presented results, each student answer (1 – 5) can be seen in percentages,
which means that the participants’ answers were presented as they were given. However, due
to its clarity and simplicity Peacock’s (2010, p. 186) idea about data analysis is applied in the
analysis of the results, i.e. percentages of agreement/disagreement are looked at as being only
three categories, strongly agree/agree and strongly disagree/disagree options are combined
and the third option is the neutral one: neither agree nor disagree.
The last attribution was actually an opportunity for the students to suggest some
attributions they had thought of, that were relevant to them and that had not been mentioned
in the list. Sometimes the students did not suggest anything while occasionally they repeated
an attribution already listed, perhaps due to lack of concentration while replying to
Questionnaire 2 (which was considerably longer and more detailed than Questionnaire 1). All
students’ propositions were included in the tables and the repeated attributions were labelled
as: (already above).

success attributions – grade I (42 students)

attributions 1 2 3 4 5
I put effort in learning and work -1 43.90 39.02 12.19 4.87
in English classes I pay attention to what the teacher says and
65.85 26.82 4.87 2.43
explains -1
in English classes I do activities and do my best -1 60.97 31.70 4.87 2.43
I do my homework -2 47.50 35.00 12.50 5.00
I revise before English tests or oral exams 42.85 30.95 14.28 4.76 7.14
I read carefully each question/task in the test -1 78.04 19.51 2.43
task difficulty/easiness in tests or oral exams -1 4.87 26.82 43.90 7.31 17.07
the way English teachers taught me in primary school -1 29.26 26.82 12.19 21.95 9.75
the way my current English teacher teaches me -1 70.73 21.95 2.43 2.43 2.43
my English teacher’s attitude towards me 54.76 28.57 9.52 4.76 2.38
my English teacher encourages and praises me -1 34.14 36.58 14.63 14.63
I ask my teacher for help -2 50.00 22.50 17.50 7.50 2.50
our teacher revises with us the material that will be included in
92.68 4.87 2.43
the test -1
English classroom atmosphere -1 39.02 36.58 19.51 4.87
class attendance -1 75.60 12.19 7.31 2.43 2.43
behaviour in classes 69.04 21.42 4.76 2.38 2.38
previous knowledge (from primary school) 35.71 26.19 19.04 16.66 2.38
I read in English 50.00 26.19 21.42 2.38
I listen to English music 47.61 9.52 4.76 7.14 30.95
I play games in English -1 39.02 14.63 4.87 7.31 34.14
I learn English words while using the Internet 52.38 33.33 7.14 2.38 4.76
I watch films and/or series in English 66.66 14.28 9.52 4.76 4.76
general knowledge (from other subjects and life) 23.80 50.00 19.04 4.76 2.38
I am interested in learning English 64.28 28.57 4.76 2.38
I want to learn English 64.28 23.80 4.76 2.38 4.76
talent for learning English 35.71 26.19 28.57 9.52
I do well in English -1 48.78 34.14 14.63 2.43
English language learning strategies (i.e. taking notes, underlining
in books and notebooks, organising new words, guessing the meaning 23.80 38.09 28.57 4.76 4.76
from context, etc.)
organising duties and planning time for studying 14.28 42.85 23.80 19.04
we use a good textbook in English classes 57.14 28.57 9.52 4.76
65
English classes content is useful and related to life 59.52 28.57 4.76 7.14
family relations 42.85 23.80 21.42 4.76 7.14
parental incentive 50.00 21.42 19.04 4.76 4.76
help from the class peers and other friends -1 24.39 34.14 24.39 9.75 7.31
difficulty/easiness of learning English -2 25.00 42.50 30.00 2.50
I am lucky in tests or oral exams 9.52 11.90 35.71 16.66 26.19
reward form parents 21.42 14.28 19.04 19.04 26.19
previous results 35.71 42.85 19.04 2.38
the need to know English, i.e. the importance of knowing
71.42 21.42 4.76 2.38
English today
something else (not mentioned above) – specify:
the classroom we have our classes in 2.38
(learning through) TV 2.38
learning English through video games (already above) 2.38
English makes life easier 2.38
knowledge acquired in the childhood 2.38
English is interesting 2.38

Table 13 Success attributions – grade I

What can be seen is that the successful first-graders agree that the cause of their
success is effort, general and in class, since more than 70% of them chose options 1 or 2.
Most of their answers also belong to the (strongly) agree category with around 70% of
students’ answers for each attribution. The most conspicuous results may be for the following
attributions: the task difficulty/easiness in tests or oral exams, I am lucky in tests or oral
exams and reward from parents for which the students’ answers are dispersed across the
scale, which imply that this particular group of participants do not necessarily think that task
difficulty, luck and reward are causes of their success. In addition to this, individual students
suggested attributions at the bottom of the list. Some of them are a reformulation of an
attribution offered on the list, for example, TV. An interesting one suggested is the classroom
we have our classes in but the student who proposed it chose a neutral option next to it.
Another interesting one is English makes life easier which shows that some students are
motivated by the practical use of English.
Table 14 shows the answers of 22 successful fourth-graders. Similar to the successful
first-graders, their older colleagues also mainly agree that the offered attributions are reasons
for their success (more than 50% for each attribution) with particular examples: I read
carefully each question/task in the test (72.72%), our teacher revises with us the material that
will be included in the test (90.90%), I watch films and/or series in English (72.72%) and the
need to know English, i.e. the importance of knowing English today (68.18%). They do not
find these attributions particularly the reason for their success: reward from parents and I play
games in English, while the students’ answers for help from the class peers and other friends
66
are almost evenly distributed from 1 to 5. The attribution employment was suggested but with
a neutral answer, and different handbooks for learning English, and they both show the
fourth-grade students’ mature thinking.
success attributions – grade IV (22 students)
attributions 1 2 3 4 5
I put effort in learning and work 31.81 40.90 18.18 9.09
in English classes I pay attention to what the teacher says and
explains
68.18 18.18 4.54 4.54 4.54
in English classes I do activities and do my best 27.27 45.45 18.18 4.54 4.54
I do my homework 9.09 22.72 36.36 22.72 9.09
I revise before English tests or oral exams 45.45 18.18 13.63 22.72
I read carefully each question/task in the test 72.72 9.09 9.09 9.09
task difficulty/easiness in tests or oral exams 9.09 36.36 31.81 22.72
the way English teachers taught me in primary school -1 42.85 23.80 4.76 23.80 4.76
the way my current English teacher teaches me 68.18 18.18 4.54 4.54 4.54
my English teacher’s attitude towards me 63.63 22.72 4.54 9.09
my English teacher encourages and praises me 27.27 27.27 27.27 4.54 13.63
I ask my teacher for help 40.90 18.18 22.72 13.63 4.54
our teacher revises with us the material that will be included in
the test
90.90 4.54 4.54
English classroom atmosphere 31.81 31.81 27.27 4.54 4.54
class attendance 63.63 9.09 18.18 9.09
behaviour in classes 50.00 31.81 9.09 9.09
previous knowledge (from primary school) 45.45 9.09 27.27 13.63 4.54
I read in English 45.45 18.18 18.18 9.09 9.09
I listen to English music 54.54 22.72 13.63 9.09
I play games in English 59.09 4.54 9.09 4.54 22.72
I learn English words while using the Internet 59.09 27.27 4.54 4.54 4.54
I watch films and/or series in English 72.72 13.63 4.54 9.09
general knowledge (from other subjects and life) 18.18 36.36 36.36 9.09
I am interested in learning English 36.36 27.27 18.18 13.63 4.54
I want to learn English 36.36 18.18 31.81 9.09 4.54
talent for learning English 27.27 22.72 22.72 18.18 9.09
I do well in English 50.00 18.18 22.72 4.54 4.54
English language learning strategies (i.e. taking notes, underlining
in books and notebooks, organising new words, guessing the meaning 36.36 31.81 13.63 13.63
from context, etc.)
organising duties and planning time for studying 9.09 31.81 13.63 13.63 4.54
we use a good textbook in English classes 27.27 36.36 13.63 13.63 9.09
English classes content is useful and related to life 45.45 31.81 13.63 4.54 4.54
family relations 31.81 18.18 27.27 9.09 18.18
parental incentive 31.81 18.18 22.72 9.09 18.18
help from the class peers and other friends 27.27 18.18 22.72 13.63 18.18
difficulty/easiness of learning English 9.09 45.45 27.27 9.09 9.09
I am lucky in tests or oral exams 13.63 18.18 31.81 18.18 18.18
reward form parents 4.54 22.72 27.27 45.45
previous results 18.18 31.81 22.72 18.18 9.09
the need to know English, i.e. the importance of knowing
English today
68.18 13.63 4.54 4.54 9.09
something else (not mentioned above) – specify:
employment 4.54
different handbooks for learning English 4.54

Table 14 Success attributions – grade IV

67
 When the results from Table 13 and Table 14 are compared, the similarity lies in the
tendency of successful students to agree that the majority of the proposed attributions are
causes of their success. Another similarity is that in both groups of students reward and task
difficulty are not considered to be the cause of success by many students while the difference
is that the fourth-graders do not think playing games is the cause either which is a sign of their
maturity along with the suggestions they made in the last option of this section.
The same list of attributions was offered to the unsuccessful group of students but they
were asked to express the degree of their agreement about whether those attributions cause
their failure. The reason for giving the same list is that the possible negative implication that
the negatively formulated attributions might have had on the unsuccessful students, for
instance proposing the attribution lack of effort instead of just effort might imply that this
group of students does not work hard. Table 15 shows failure attributions for 12 first grade
students. For the majority of attributions, around 50% of the students agree that the listed
attributions are the causes of their failure. Nevertheless, it is noticeable that for half of the
attributions there are at least 25% of neutral answers, and exactly 50% for the following
attributions: I read carefully each question/task in the test, organising duties and planning
time for studying, difficulty/easiness of learning English and previous results. This is a
significant number and it could be the indication of either indecisiveness or their genuine
opinion that many of the suggested attributions do not help nor hinder their failure. This is a
sign where the failure-prone students need to be convinced that some of these attributions are
I/US/C such as I read carefully each question/task in the test, organising duties and planning
time for studying and therefore helpful for succeeding in learning and can be changed, perhaps
through AR treatment. Next, more than 40% of this group of students do not think that the
reason for their failure is the way their current English teacher teaches them. About 40% think
that the external attributions of reward or luck are not the cause of failure.

failure attributions – grade I (12 students)

attributions 1 2 3 4 5
I put effort in learning and work 16.66 33.33 33.33 16.66
in English classes I pay attention to what the teacher says and
63.63 18.18 9.09 9.09
explains -1
in English classes I do activities and do my best -1 18.18 45.45 27.27 9.09
I do my homework -1 18.18 27.27 45.45 9.09
I revise before English tests or oral exams 41.66 16.66 8.33 33.33
I read carefully each question/task in the test 25.00 8.33 50.00 16.66
task difficulty/easiness in tests or oral exams 25.00 41.66 25.00 8.33
the way English teachers taught me in primary school 25.00 25.00 25.00 25.00
the way my current English teacher teaches me 41.66 16.66 8.33 33.33
my English teacher’s attitude towards me 33.33 25.00 8.33 8.33 25.00
68
my English teacher encourages and praises me 33.33 25.00 16.66 8.33 16.66
I ask my teacher for help 41.66 8.33 8.33 16.66 25.00
our teacher revises with us the material that will be included in
75.00 25.00
the test
English classroom atmosphere 50.00 8.33 16.66 16.66 8.33
class attendance 41.66 8.33 16.66 16.66 16.66
behaviour in classes 41.66 25.00 8.33 25.00
previous knowledge (from primary school) 25.00 8.33 33.33 16.66 16.66
I read in English 50.00 25.00 16.66 8.33
I listen to English music 25.00 16.66 25.00 33.33
I play games in English 58.33 25.00 16.66
I learn English words while using the Internet 41.66 16.66 16.66 16.66 8.33
I watch films and/or series in English 50.00 8.33 16.66 8.33 16.66
general knowledge (from other subjects and life) 16.66 41.66 25.00 16.66
I am interested in learning English 25.00 25.00 25.00 25.00
I want to learn English -1 27.27 18.18 36.36 18.18
talent for learning English 8.33 25.00 33.33 33.33
I do well in English 8.33 16.66 41.66 8.33 25.00
English language learning strategies (i.e. taking notes, underlining
in books and notebooks, organising new words, guessing the meaning 16.66 25.00 33.33 25.00
from context, etc.)
organising duties and planning time for studying 50.00 50.00
we use a good textbook in English classes 33.33 25.00 16.66 25.00
English classes content is useful and related to life 50.00 8.33 8.33 25.00 8.33
family relations 25.00 16.66 25.00 16.66 16.66
parental incentive 16.66 16.66 25.00 8.33 16.66
help from the class peers and other friends 25.00 16.66 25.00 16.66 16.66
difficulty/easiness of learning English 16.66 16.66 50.00 8.33 8.33
I am lucky in tests or oral exams 8.33 33.33 16.66 25.00 16.66
reward form parents 16.66 25.00 16.66 25.00 16.66
previous results 8.33 16.66 50.00 16.66 8.33
the need to know English, i.e. the importance of knowing
50.00 8.33 8.33 8.33 25.00
English today
something else (not mentioned above) – specify:
I will need it in the future (already above)
needed in the future (already above)

Table 15 Failure attributions – grade I

Failure for 22 fourth-graders is shown in Table 16 in percentages. Unlike their

younger colleagues these students, being more mature, probably understood better the way
they were supposed to express their answers so they, for the great majority of attributions
expressed their disagreement by choosing answers 4 and 5, saying that the listed attributions
are not the causes of their failure since they were not negatively formulated. This is
particularly noticeable in the attributions labelled as sources of learning outside of (current)
school, such as music, games and TV and the last group, for example, parental incentive or
help from friends. Further, for at least a third of the listed attributions, students’ answers are
almost equally spread on the 5 point scale. There are two suggestions at the end, the teacher
lowers requirements for passing grades but with the neutral option next to it, and I have
difficulties memorising and pronouncing.

69
 Looking at the students’ agreement from the point of view of different gender, Table
17 shows response of 33 male students to success attributions. More than three quarters of
attributions have over 50% of students’ agreement, which is a vast majority of the given
attributions. One attribution for instance, got over 90% of strong agreement and that is our
teacher revises with us the material that will be included in the test which shows that the
revision with the teacher is for the majority a reason they do well in tests. On the other hand,
there are several attributions for which the answers were spread across the scale such as task
difficulty, general knowledge and organising their studying while there are three attributions

failure attributions – grade IV (22 students)

attributions 1 2 3 4 5
I put effort in learning and work 4.54 31.81 31.81 18.18 13.63
in English classes I pay attention to what the teacher says and
27.27 27.27 13.63 31.81
explains
in English classes I do activities and do my best 13.63 22.72 18.18 31.81 13.63
I do my homework 18.18 9.09 13.63 18.18 40.90
I revise before English tests or oral exams 36.36 31.81 13.63 13.63 4.54
I read carefully each question/task in the test 40.90 31.81 9.09 13.63 4.54
task difficulty/easiness in tests or oral exams -1 23.80 14.28 38.09 9.52 14.28
the way English teachers taught me in primary school 36.36 27.27 4.54 4.54 27.27
the way my current English teacher teaches me 9.09 9.09 13.63 40.90 27.27
my English teacher’s attitude towards me 36.36 27.27 36.36
my English teacher encourages and praises me 18.18 9.09 31.81 18.18 18.18
I ask my teacher for help 18.18 18.18 27.27 18.18 18.18
our teacher revises with us the material that will be included in
61.90 14.28 23.80
the test -1
English classroom atmosphere 18.18 13.63 22.72 18.18 27.27
class attendance 4.54 22.72 31.81 4.54 36.36
behaviour in classes 18.18 9.09 18.18 18.18 36.36
previous knowledge (from primary school) -1 38.09 9.52 19.04 14.28 19.04
I read in English 9.09 18.18 22.72 50.00
I listen to English music 4.54 27.27 9.09 59.09
I play games in English 18.18 4.54 4.54 9.09 63.63
I learn English words while using the Internet 13.63 13.63 40.90 18.18 13.63
I watch films and/or series in English 13.63 13.63 4.54 13.63 54.54
general knowledge (from other subjects and life) 18.18 9.09 31.81 13.63 27.27
I am interested in learning English 13.63 9.09 18.18 13.63 45.45
I want to learn English 31.81 9.09 9.09 4.54 45.45
talent for learning English 9.09 18.18 22.72 50.00
I do well in English 22.72 18.18 59.09
English language learning strategies (i.e. taking notes, underlining
in books and notebooks, organising new words, guessing the meaning 14.28 38.09 9.52 38.09
from context, etc.) -1
organising duties and planning time for studying 9.09 13.63 31.81 18.18 27.27
we use a good textbook in English classes -1 47.61 14.28 14.28 4.76 19.04
English classes content is useful and related to life 31.81 13.63 31.81 22.72
family relations 13.63 4.54 22.72 9.09 50.00
parental incentive 9.09 13.63 31.81 4.54 40.90
help from the class peers and other friends 9.09 13.63 22.72 9.09 45.45
difficulty/easiness of learning English -1 19.04 14.28 28.57 14.28 23.80
I am lucky in tests or oral exams 9.09 4.54 27.27 13.63 45.45
reward form parents 9.09 18.18 9.09 63.63
previous results 4.54 13.63 31.81 27.27 22.72
the need to know English, i.e. the importance of knowing 40.90 13.63 13.63 9.09 22.72

70
English today
something else (not mentioned above) – specify:
the teacher lowers requirements for passing grades 4.54
I have difficulties memorising and pronouncing 4.54

Table 16 Failure attributions – grade IV

for which over 40% of the students disagree that they are the reasons for their success,
English music, luck and reward from parents. The added attributions include some similar to
the ones listed, but they also include employment and their current English classroom.

success attributions - boys (33 students)

attributions 1 2 3 4 5
I put effort in learning and work -1 25.00 43.75 21.87 9.37
in English classes I pay attention to what the teacher says and
54.54 30.30 9.09 3.03 3.03
explains
in English classes I do activities and do my best 33.33 42.42 18.18 3.03 3.03
I do my homework -1 28.12 25.00 25.00 15.62 6.25
I revise before English tests or oral exams 36.36 27.27 18.18 15.15 3.03
I read carefully each question/task in the test 66.66 21.21 6.06 6.06
task difficulty/easiness in tests or oral exams 9.09 33.33 39.39 12.12 6.06
the way English teachers taught me in primary school -1 28.12 34.37 3.12 28.12 6.25
the way my current English teacher teaches me 63.63 24.24 3.03 6.06 3.03
my English teacher’s attitude towards me 54.54 21.21 12.12 6.06 6.06
my English teacher encourages and praises me 24.24 39.39 18.18 9.09 9.09
I ask my teacher for help 51.51 12.12 21.21 12.12 3.03
our teacher revises with us the material that will be included in
90.90 3.03 3.03 3.03
the test
English classroom atmosphere 33.33 39.39 18.18 6.06 3.03
class attendance 69.69 6.06 15.15 9.09
behaviour in classes 54.54 30.30 9.09 6.06
previous knowledge (from primary school) 30.30 27.27 27.27 12.12 3.03
I read in English 51.51 21.21 15.15 9.09 3.03
I listen to English music 36.36 21.21 3.03 15.15 24.24
I play games in English 48.48 15.15 3.03 3.03 10.00
I learn English words while using the Internet 57.57 27.27 6.06 6.06 3.03
I watch films and/or series in English 66.66 15.15 3.03 6.06 9.09
general knowledge (from other subjects and life) 18.18 39.39 33.33 9.09
I am interested in learning English 42.42 33.33 9.09 12.12 3.03
I want to learn English 45.45 24.24 18.18 6.06 6.06
talent for learning English 30.30 21.21 27.27 15.15 6.06
I do well in English -1 46.87 28.12 18.75 3.12 3.12
English language learning strategies (i.e. taking notes, underlining
in books and notebooks, organising new words, guessing the meaning 21.21 33.33 30.30 15.15
from context, etc.)
organising duties and planning time for studying 3.03 33.33 42.42 18.18 3.03
we use a good textbook in English classes 48.48 33.33 9.09 6.06 3.03
English classes content is useful and related to life 51.51 30.30 9.09 6.06 3.03
family relations 45.45 12.12 24.24 6.06 12.12
parental incentive 45.45 27.27 12.12 6.06 9.09
help from the class peers and other friends -1 37.50 15.62 18.75 9.37 18.75
difficulty/easiness of learning English 18.18 51.51 18.18 6.06 6.06
I am lucky in tests or oral exams 12.12 18.18 30.30 15.15 24.24
reward form parents 15.15 12.12 15.15 30.30 27.27
previous results 30.30 36.36 12.12 15.15 6.06
the need to know English, i.e. the importance of knowing
72.72 12.12 6.06 3.03 6.06
English today
something else (not mentioned above) – specify:

71
the classroom we have our classes in 3.03
(learning through) TV 3.03
learning English through video games (already above) 3.03
English makes life easier 3.03
employment 3.03

Table 17 Success attributions – boys

Table 18 shows 33 female students’ answers and similarly to the boys’ answers, for
almost all attributions there is around 50% of agreement, which means that the offered
attributions are to a great extent something they attribute their success to. This can be noticed
distinctly in the following attributions for which the girls expressed strong agreement,

success attributions – girls (31 student)

attributions 1 2 3 4 5
I put effort in learning and work - 48.38 32.25 16.12 3.22
in English classes I pay attention to what the teacher says and
80.00 16.66 3.33
explains -1
in English classes I do activities and do my best -1 66.66 30.00 3.33
I do my homework -1 40.00 36.66 16.66 6.66
I revise before English tests or oral exams 51.61 25.80 9.67 6.45 6.45
I read carefully each question/task in the test -1 86.66 10.00 3.33
task difficulty/easiness in tests or oral exams -1 3.33 26.66 40.00 13.33 16.66
the way English teachers taught me in primary school -1 40.00 16.66 16.66 16.66 10.00
the way my current English teacher teaches me -1 76.66 16.66 3.33 3.33
my English teacher’s attitude towards me 61.29 16.12 16.12 3.22 3.22
my English teacher encourages and praises me -1 40.00 26.66 20.00 13.33
I ask my teacher for help -2 41.37 31.03 17.24 6.89 3.44
our teacher revises with us the material that will be included in
93.33 3.33 3.33
the test -1
English classroom atmosphere -1 40.00 30.00 26.66 3.33
class attendance -1 73.33 10.00 13.33 3.33
behaviour in classes 70.96 19.35 3.22 3.22 3.22
previous knowledge (from primary school) 48.38 12.90 16.12 19.35 3.22
I read in English 45.16 25.80 25.80 3.22
I listen to English music 64.51 6.45 3.22 3.22 22.58
I play games in English -1 43.33 6.66 10.00 10.00 30.00
I learn English words while using the Internet 51.61 35.48 6.45 6.45
I watch films and/or series in English 70.96 12.90 12.90 3.22
general knowledge (from other subjects and life) 25.80 51.61 16.12 3.22 3.22
I am interested in learning English 67.74 22.58 9.67
I want to learn English 64.51 19.35 9.67 3.22 3.22
talent for learning English 35.48 29.03 25.80 9.67
I do well in English 51.61 29.03 16.12 3.22
English language learning strategies (i.e. taking notes, underlining
in books and notebooks, organising new words, guessing the meaning 35.48 38.70 19.35 6.45
from context, etc.)
organising duties and planning time for studying 22.58 45.16 16.12 16.12
we use a good textbook in English classes 45.16 29.03 12.90 3.22 9.67
English classes content is useful and related to life 58.06 29.03 6.45 6.45
family relations 32.25 29.03 22.58 6.45 9.67
parental incentive 41.93 12.90 29.03 6.45 9.67
help from the class peers and other friends 12.90 41.93 29.03 12.90 3.22
difficulty/easiness of learning English -2 20.68 34.48 41.37 3.44
I am lucky in tests or oral exams 9.67 9.67 38.70 19.35 22.58
72
reward form parents 16.12 6.45 25.80 12.90 38.70
previous results 29.03 48.38 22.58
the need to know English, i.e. the importance of knowing
67.74 25.80 3.22 3.22
English today
something else (not mentioned above) – specify:
knowledge acquired in the childhood (already above) 3.22
English is interesting 3.22
different handbooks for learning English 3.22

Table 18 Success attributions – girls

failure attributions – boys (19 students)
attributions 1 2 3 4 5
I put effort in learning and work 5.26 36.84 31.57 15.78 10.52
in English classes I pay attention to what the teacher says and
36.84 21.05 5.26 36.84
explains
in English classes I do activities and do my best 5.26 42.10 21.05 21.05 10.52
I do my homework 10.52 15.78 26.31 10.52 36.84
I revise before English tests or oral exams 36.84 26.31 15.78 15.78 5.26
I read carefully each question/task in the test 21.05 26.31 26.31 21.05 5.26
task difficulty/easiness in tests or oral exams -1 11.11 22.22 44.44 16.66 5.55
the way English teachers taught me in primary school 10.52 26.31 15.78 5.26 42.10
the way my current English teacher teaches me 31.57 5.26 15.78 26.31 21.05
my English teacher’s attitude towards me 15.78 15.78 21.05 26.31 21.05
my English teacher encourages and praises me 26.31 21.05 31.57 5.26 15.78
I ask my teacher for help 31.57 21.05 21.05 10.52 15.78
our teacher revises with us the material that will be included in
68.42 10.52 21.05
the test
English classroom atmosphere 31.57 10.52 21.05 15.78 21.05
class attendance 26.31 21.05 26.31 5.26 21.05
behaviour in classes 42.10 21.05 10.52 5.26 21.05
previous knowledge (from primary school) 5.26 15.78 36.84 21.05 21.05
I read in English 15.78 26.31 26.31 31.57
I listen to English music 5.26 10.52 31.57 5.26 47.36
I play games in English 36.84 5.26 10.52 10.52 36.84
I learn English words while using the Internet 21.05 15.78 42.10 10.52 10.52
I watch films and/or series in English 26.31 5.26 10.52 10.52 47.36
general knowledge (from other subjects and life) 15.78 36.84 21.05 10.52 15.78
I am interested in learning English 10.52 21.05 21.05 21.05 26.31
I want to learn English -1 33.33 11.11 16.66 11.11 27.77
talent for learning English 15.78 26.31 31.57 26.31
I do well in English/ 5.26 31.57 10.52 52.63
English language learning strategies (i.e. taking notes, underlining
in books and notebooks, organising new words, guessing the meaning 10.52 5.26 42.10 26.31 15.78
from context, etc.)
organising duties and planning time for studying 15.78 36.84 31.57 15.78
we use a good textbook in English classes 36.84 26.31 21.05 5.26 10.52
English classes content is useful and related to life 47.36 10.52 21.05 5.26 15.78
family relations 26.31 5.26 26.31 10.52 31.57
parental incentive 21.05 21.05 21.05 5.26 31.57
help from the class peers and other friends 26.31 10.52 21.05 5.26 36.84
difficulty/easiness of learning English 10.52 15.78 36.84 15.78 21.05
I am lucky in tests or oral exams 10.52 15.78 15.78 21.05 36.84
reward form parents 15.78 15.78 5.26 15.78 47.36
previous results 5.26 15.78 42.10 21.05 15.78
the need to know English, i.e. the importance of knowing
52.63 10.52 10.52 10.52 15.78
English today
something else (not mentioned above) – specify:
the teacher lowers requirements for passing grades 5.26
I have difficulties memorising and pronouncing 5.26

Table 19 Failure attributions – boys

73
between over 70% to over 90%: in English classes I pay attention to what the teacher says
and explains, I read carefully each question/task in the test, the way my current English
teacher teaches me, our teacher revises with us the material that will be included in the test,
class attendance, behaviour in class and I watch films and/or series in English. Most of these
attributions are connected to what happens in class, i.e. to either teaching or their
participation. There is 40% of neutral answers for task difficulty and between 40% and 50%
disagreement with these success attributions: reward and luck. Finally, they added attributions
English is interesting and different handbooks for learning English as something they
attribute their success to.
The significant similarity between male and female answers exists. They all tend to
agree that the offered attributions are the cause of their success to a great extent, especially
with the following one: our teacher revises with us the material that will be included in the
test. They also said that luck or reward is not their success attribution.
Considering different gender, Table 19 and Table 20 show the responses of male and
female students about failure attributions. Namely, for over 60% of offered attributions male
students’ answers belong to (strongly)disagree category due to positively formulated
attributions, meaning that they do not agree that effort or paying attention is the reason for
their failure. However, for about half of the attributions their answers belong to agree
category probably for the same reason – the formulation of attributions, if they interpreted the
question like this: I agree that I ask for help not that I ask my teacher for help is the cause of
their failure. This can be the consequence of concentration during their responding to the
questionnaire and losing focus from what they were asked to do in this section.
The girls responded in the similar way to boys in terms of failure. Two thirds of their
answers are around 30% in the (strongly)disagree group. In the same manner, about one third
of total girls’ responses are in the agree category, most probably because of the same
attribution formulation and task interpretation reasons as it was said for the boys earlier. Such
interpretation of the students’ answers can be justified by the fact that it is highly unlikely
that, even though they are failure-prone students, more than 70% of them would say that the
teacher revising with them for a test is the cause of their failure. In the end, from Tables 19
and 20 only a great similarity in students’ answers can be seen regardless of their gender.
The section of Questionnaire 2 intended only for the successful students is looked at
again at this point. After the question in which the students needed to express their agreement
on whether the offered attributions are the cause of their success or not, the successful group
74
of students were asked two questions in order to see the level of their motivation. The first
question required from the participants to indicate kinds of success in learning English that
encourage and motivate them the most (see Table 21). The male students, regardless of age,

failure attributions – girls (15 students)

attributions 1 2 3 4 5
I put effort in learning and work 13.33 26.66 33.33 20.00 6.66
in English classes I pay attention to what the teacher says and
42.85 28.57 14.28 7.14 7.14
explains -1
in English classes I do activities and do my best -1 28.57 14.28 21.42 28.57 7.14
I do my homework -1 28.57 14.28 21.42 21.42 14.28
I revise before English tests or oral exams 40.00 26.66 6.66 26.66
I read carefully each question/task in the test 53.33 20.00 20.00 6.66
task difficulty/easiness in tests or oral exams 20.00 13.33 33.33 13.33 20.00
the way English teachers taught me in primary school 60.00 26.66 6.66 6.66
the way my current English teacher teaches me 6.66 6.66 13.33 33.33 40.00
my English teacher’s attitude towards me 6.66 33.33 13.33 46.66
my English teacher encourages and praises me 20.00 6.66 20.00 33.33 20.00
I ask my teacher for help 20.00 6.66 20.00 26.66 26.66
our teacher revises with us the material that will be included in
64.28 7.14 28.57
the test -1
English classroom atmosphere 26.66 13.33 20.00 20.00 20.00
class attendance 6.66 13.33 26.66 13.33 40.00
behaviour in classes 6.66 6.66 20.00 20.00 46.66
previous knowledge (from primary school) -1 71.42 7.14 7.14 14.28
I read in English 33.33 13.33 13.33 40.00
I listen to English music 20.00 20.00 6.66 53.33
I play games in English 26.66 6.66 6.66 60.00
I learn English words while using the Internet 26.66 13.33 20.00 26.66 13.33
I watch films and/or series in English 26.66 20.00 6.66 13.33 33.33
general knowledge (from other subjects and life) 20.00 40.00 20.00 20.00
I am interested in learning English 26.66 6.66 20.00 13.33 33.33
I want to learn English 26.66 13.33 20.00 6.66 33.33
talent for learning English 6.66 13.33 20.00 20.00 40.00
I do well in English 6.66 6.66 26.66 20.00 40.00
English language learning strategies (i.e. taking notes,
underlining in books and notebooks, organising new words, 21.42 14.28 28.57 35.71
guessing the meaning from context, etc.) -1
organising duties and planning time for studying 13.33 40.00 26.66 20.00
we use a good textbook in English classes -1 50.00 7.14 7.14 35.71
English classes content is useful and related to life 26.66 13.33 26.66 13.33 20.00
family relations 6.66 13.33 20.00 13.33 46.66
parental incentive 20.00 40.00 6.66 33.33
help from the class peers and other friends 20.00 26.66 20.00 33.33
difficulty/easiness of learning English -1 28.57 14.28 35.71 7.14 14.28
I am lucky in tests or oral exams 6.66 13.33 33.33 13.33 33.33
reward form parents 6.66 33.33 13.33 46.66
previous results 6.66 13.33 33.33 26.66 20.00
the need to know English, i.e. the importance of knowing
33.33 13.33 13.33 6.66 33.33
English today
something else (not mentioned above) – specify:
I will need it in the future (already above)
needed in the future (already above)

Table 20 Failure attributions – girls

75
 kinds of success in learning English that encourage and motivate the successful students the most
successful boys
- A good grade, conversing in English.
- 5(1) in the final test.
- 5(1) in a test or oral exam.
- When I get a good grade.
- When I get a good grade in a difficult test.
- Good test or pop quiz results, etc.
- To do a test without making mistakes.
- The teacher’s praise. (2x)
grade
-Conversing in English with foreigners, correcting
I others' use of English.
-A successful conversation in English with a
foreigner.
- When I do something right and when I translate
well.
-The highest grade in the final test.
-It helps me receive guests from all over the world
(travel agency).
successful girls
- When I pass a new level in the English language course
and get a certificate.
- A good ranking in a competition, talking to foreigners...
- Good grades. Using English without any problems.
- Good grades for written assignments.
- A good grade in a test...
- Doing well a test in English.
- Test, oral exam, communication.
- A good grade, praise from the teacher.
- When I watch a programme in English and understand it.
- When I correctly do the given task.
- Communication with the teacher.
- Travelling abroad where I make new friends.
- Reading books in English, reading articles online.
- Talking in English with somebody.
- A well done homework, a good grade,... Helping a
foreigner.
- Ability to speak to foreigners.
- Knowing English and giving directions outside of school,
foreign acquaintances, knowing (English) after school in
the future (job, occupation,...)
- Watching films in English.
- When I watch series without the translation.
- The Internet and friends (talking to them).
- Frankly, I am not really motivated; I am good at English
so I do not need motivation.

- Good grades such as 4(2).

- Grade.
- The modular (3) test.
- When I do a test without mistakes.
- A successful communication with others, thinking in
- When I know that I am 100% prepared for a test.
English.
- A good grade and the teacher’s praise.
- My results and interests.
- Praise and a good grade – with work and effort.
grade - The final grade.
- When the teacher praises the pronunciation of a
- My success and my knowledge motivate me to do more.
IV sentences in a task we do in class.
- When I catch myself thinking in English without the need
- When I get a bad grade, I learn from my mistake
for translation while watching film/series.
and do not repeat it.
- Knowing English very well so that I can have a great and
- Learning new words.
normal conversation, and thinking and working in English.
- Recognising some words we learned at school
online, TV, etc.
- Nowadays, English is becoming necessary.
- Knowing English socially and abroad.

(1) – 5 is the highest grade in Bosnian education system.

(2) – 4 is the second highest grade in Bosnian education system.
(3) – The school of the surveyed students applies the EU VET (European Union Vocational Education and Training) modular
curriculum in which modules are separate units, usually one module per term.

Table 21 Kinds of success in English that encourage and motivate the successful students the
most

mostly mention grades, test results and teacher’s praise. On the other hand, the female
students, especially the successful ones, list other things such as communication with
foreigners, using English successfully outside of school, for instance, while watching TV or
76
doing something on the Internet, travelling and reading. It appears that girls are more
motivated by the practical use of English than boys are, and less by grades or test results.
The second question in this part of Questionnaire 2 was about whether the students
learn English only because it is a school subject. The unsuccessful group of students was
asked this question as well, so the answers for all participants are presented in Table 22. The
students’ answers to this question vary. It does not seem that all successful students said no
and the unsuccessful said yes. The successful girls all said no and the majority of successful
boys, with around one third that said yes while the unsuccessful girls mostly said yes, the
fourth-graders significantly more than first-graders. Finally, the unsuccessful boys almost
completely divided their answers between yes and no.

Whether English is learned only because it is a school subject

successful boys successful girls unsuccessful boys unsuccessful girls
yes no - yes no - yes no - yes no -
grade
3 13 2 23 1 2 6 2 2
I
grade
4 11 7 8 3 9 2
IV
NOTE: the option (-) means that students choose neither yes nor no

Table 22 Whether English is learned only because it is a school subject

Similarly, the unsuccessful students were also asked questions in this part of the
questionnaire. Four questions were asked to investigate if there were any traces of
demotivation and learned helplessness in failure-prone students. The students were asked to
indicate what kinds of failure in learning English discourage and depress them (see Table 23).
The boys provided more options than girls. In the male students’ answers dominate the things
related to bad grades and tests, but the other half of their answers revolves around the effort
they seem to make in vain since they do not get the expected results. The girls also mention
grades, tests and futile effort, but they, mostly the fourth-graders, mention other options such
as lack of (basic) knowledge and teachers from primary school, and difficulties of the English
language. The great majority of these things are internal and controllable by the students
themselves, because they rarely mention others like peers or teachers.
In the next question, the participants needed to indicate if they agree or not with the
statement that they are not willing to make an effort to learn English since the results are
almost always bad. The majority of boys said no which is encouraging while the girls’

77
answers are almost equally divided between yes (8 students, almost all of them fourth-
graders) and no (7 students). This is not so hopeful if this many female students are
demotivated by the bad results.

Kinds of failure in learning English that discourage, depress and deject the students the most
unsuccessful boys unsuccessful girls
- A failing grade in a test.
- When I study and get a bad grade.
grade - When I study a lot, and nothing happens.
- When I failed English last term.
- When I study and get 1(1).
I - When we fail a module(2) and do not get a passing
- English grammar.
- An oral exam.
grade when we retake it.
- Oral and written exams.
- When I make an effort and nobody notices that.
- My classmates’ laughter, mistakes.
- Not having a good basics form primary school. - Lack of knowledge form primary school.
- The fact that I will need the language and I did not (2x)
grade learn it. - Difficulty of English, previous results, the way
IV - In case I get a bad grade I have to wait a long time teachers taught in primary school.
to retake the test which makes me anxious. - There are many reasons.
- When I fail a test. - A bad grade. (2x)
- When I get 1 and the teacher tells me that I will - When I am prepared and I get a bad grade.
have to retake it in August.

Table 23 Kinds of failure in English that discourage, depress and deject the unsuccessful
students the most

No willingness to make an effort to learn English

since the results are almost always bad
unsuccessful boys unsuccessful girls
yes no - yes no -
grade
1 7 1 3
I
grade
4 6 1 7 4
IV

NOTE: the option (-) means that students did not choose neither yes nor no

Table 24 No willingness to make an effort to learn English since the results are almost always
bad

The last question of this section that the unsuccessful group needed to answer was: I
would study English more if_____. Table 25 shows what they said. The girls listed more
options than boys. The boys mostly listed conditions that are external such as the obligations
they have, insufficient number of English lessons per week, the lack of other people’s

78
expectations or the lack of the encouragement from the teacher. The girls, on the other hand,
listed more internal reasons, for example, not paying enough attention in class, lack of interest
or a bad organisation of their learning or work habits. The boys seem to blame their failure on
others, while the girls blame themselves.

I would study English more if ________________

unsuccessful boys unsuccessful girls
- I was closer to town.
- I was better at English. - had better work habits so the success would be better.
grade I - had fewer obligations for other subjects. - knew more English words in order to communicate with others.
- sang. - saw some progress I would make more effort to be better, I hope.
- had more time.
- had a better foundation and if I was interested in foreign languages.
- there were more English classes weekly. - had a better foundation of English.
- others expected more from me. - knew the basics form primary school, e.g. tenses.
grade - I listened carefully in class and if I did - had more time.
IV homework. - if I paid more attention to it.
- the teacher encouraged me somehow. - my grade from English was better, although it all depends on me.
- I was more interested in English. - was more willing to study.
- I was interested in it.

Table 25 I would study English more if____________

7.3. Students’ responses about controllability of attributions

This section will now continue with the next part of Questionnaire 2 which contained a
list of attributions for which the participants were asked to say if they think are under their
control. In fact, the list of attributions contained the same attributions from the previous
section with the exception of the following five attributions that are considered not to be
under their control and it was, therefore, unnecessary to ask students to express their opinions
about them: we use a good textbook in English classes, English classes content is useful and
related to life, previous results, the need to know English, i.e. the importance of knowing
English today and I do well in English. Table 26 shows the answers of 42 successful first-
graders.

success attributions – grade I (42 students)

attributions yes no
effort in learning and work 95.23 4.76
paying attention to what the teacher says and explains in English classes 92.85 7.14
doing activities and do my best in English classes 92.85 7.14
doing homework 88.09 11.90
revising before English tests or oral exams 92.85 7.14

79
 reading carefully each question/task in the test 95.23 4.76
task difficulty/easiness in tests or oral exams 33.33 66.66
the way English teachers taught me in primary school 33.33 66.66
the way my current English teacher teaches me 61.90 38.09
my English teacher’s attitude towards me 66.66 33.33
my English teacher’s encouragement and praises -1 63.41 36.58
asking my teacher for help 76.19 14.28
revising the material that will be included in the test with the teacher 78.57 21.42
English classroom atmosphere 59.52 40.47
class attendance 95.23 4.76
behaviour in classes 97.61 2.38
previous knowledge (from primary school) 73.80 26.19
reading in English 88.09 11.90
listening to English music 57.14 42.85
playing games in English 59.52 40.47
learning English words while using the Internet 95.23 4.76
watching films and/or series in English -1 100.00
general knowledge (from other subjects and life) -2 77.50 22.50
interest in learning English -1 92.68 7.31
wish to learn English -1 87.80 12.19
talent for learning English -1 53.65 46.34
English language learning strategies (i.e. taking notes, underlining in books and notebooks,
83.33 16.66
organising new words, guessing the meaning from context, etc.)
organising duties and planning time for studying 80.95 19.04
family relations 54.76 45.23
parental incentive 52.38 47.61
help from the class peers and other friends 59.52 40.47
difficulty/easiness of learning English -1 56.09 43.90
luck in tests or oral exams -1 21.95 78.04
reward form parents -4 28.94 71.05
something else (not mentioned above) – specify:
not to rush through a test 2.38

Table 26 Controllability of successful students – grade I

The students mostly gave the expected answers, saying they can control, for example,
effort, paying attention in class or class attendance. However, for almost one third of the
suggested attributions, more than 50% of the students said that they can control them even
though that is questionable, since among these attributions are, for instance, teacher’s attitude
towards them. This may mean that they based their answers on how they interpreted what is
meant, for example, they may have thought about the attribution stability. To illustrate, over
90% of them said that they can control their interest in learning English, while they might
have thought of its stability, meaning that it is changeable. This interpretation may be true
because of the way the question about controllability in this section was formulated since an
explanation was offered in the brackets: you can affect them or change them. One student
suggested that not rushing through the test is under his/her control, which is a different way of
saying what was already offered as reading carefully each question/task in the test but it is an
indication of the student knowing what he/she is doing wrong and that it can be mended.

80
 In Table 27 are the successful fourth-graders’ answers. The fourth-graders seem to
think that they can control a majority of the offered attributions with 100% answers for
reading carefully questions in the test, learning through the Internet and watching films. For
around 40% of the attributions the participants said that they can control them, for example,
interest, talent or wish to learn, and it remains unclear why they said so. A possible
explanation may be the same as the one offered for the first-graders. They have divided

success attributions - grade IV (22 students)

attributions yes no
effort in learning and work 81.81 18.18
paying attention to what the teacher says and explains in English classes 95.45 4.54
doing activities and do my best in English classes 86.36 13.63
doing homework 68.18 31.81
revising before English tests or oral exams 90.90 9.09
reading carefully each question/task in the test 100.00
task difficulty/easiness in tests or oral exams 50.00 50.00
the way English teachers taught me in primary school 40.90 59.09
the way my current English teacher teaches me 54.54 45.45
my English teacher’s attitude towards me 63.63 36.36
my English teacher’s encouragement and praises 50.00 50.00
asking my teacher for help 90.90 9.09
revising the material that will be included in the test with the teacher 86.36 13.63
English classroom atmosphere 54.54 45.45
class attendance 86.36 13.63
behaviour in classes 90.90 9.09
previous knowledge (from primary school) 77.27 22.72
reading in English 90.90 9.09
listening to English music 86.36 13.63
playing games in English 81.81 18.18
learning English words while using the Internet 100.00
watching films and/or series in English 100.00
general knowledge (from other subjects and life) -1 71.42 28.57
interest in learning English 77.27 22.72
wish to learn English 86.36 13.63
talent for learning English 59.09 40.90
English language learning strategies (i.e. taking notes, underlining in books and notebooks,
77.27 22.72
organising new words, guessing the meaning from context, etc.)
organising duties and planning time for studying 72.72 27.27
family relations 45.45 54.54
parental incentive 50.00 50.00
help from the class peers and other friends 31.81 68.18
difficulty/easiness of learning English 40.90 59.09
luck in tests or oral exams 27.27 72.72
reward form parents -2 20.00 80.00
something else (not mentioned above) – specify:

Table 27 Controllability of successful students – grade IV

answers 50-50 for task difficulty and it is unclear what they meant since they cannot influence
the test format. However, they are divided in their response to parental incentive which can be

81
interpreted that they feel they may influence with their behaviour how their parents might
react.
To conclude, the majority of successful students regardless of their age say they can
control most of the attributions that were in the list such as effort, behaviour or organisation of
learning, as expected. They also say they can control some things when, in fact, they cannot,
for example, their interest. But, as said earlier, it may be due to their own understanding of the
attributions. The fourth-graders definitely expressed more control over the attributions than
the first-graders, possibly owing to their more mature thinking and interpretation of their
behaviour.
The controllability of the unsuccessful first-graders is shown in Table 28. They
expressed 100% control over these attributions: paying attention in class, revising before tests
alone or with the teacher, class atmosphere and behaviour in class. It is surprising that they
expressed control in substantial percentage, more than 70%, for the following attributions: the
way the current teacher teaches, the teacher’s attitude towards them and his/her
encouragement and praises, general knowledge, parental incentive, difficulty of learning
English and rewards from parents. It would be interesting to know the reason for such
answers and if the fact that they are the unsuccessful group of students affected their choices,
since over 70% is a high percentage of students saying they can control the way the teacher
teaches, for example.

failure attributions – grade I (12 students)

attributions yes no
effort in learning and work 91.66 8.33
paying attention to what the teacher says and explains in English classes 100.00
doing activities and do my best in English classes 91.66 8.33
doing homework 75.00 25.00
revising before English tests or oral exams 100.00
reading carefully each question/task in the test 91.66 8.33
task difficulty/easiness in tests or oral exams 66.66 33.33
the way English teachers taught me in primary school 50.00 50.00
the way my current English teacher teaches me 83.33 16.66
my English teacher’s attitude towards me 83.33 16.66
my English teacher’s encouragement and praises 83.33 16.66
asking my teacher for help 91.66 8.33
revising the material that will be included in the test with the teacher 100.00
English classroom atmosphere 100.00
class attendance 83.33 16.66
behaviour in classes 100.00
previous knowledge (from primary school) 41.66 58.33
reading in English 83.33 16.66
listening to English music 58.33 41.66
playing games in English 66.66 33.33
learning English words while using the Internet 91.66 8.33
watching films and/or series in English 91.66 8.33

82
 general knowledge (from other subjects and life) 91.66 8.33
interest in learning English 66.66 33.33
wish to learn English 66.66 33.33
talent for learning English -2 30.00 70.00
English language learning strategies (i.e. taking notes, underlining in books and notebooks,
90.90 9.09
organising new words, guessing the meaning from context, etc. -1
organising duties and planning time for studying -1 81.81 18.18
family relations 83.33 16.66
parental incentive 91.66 8.33
help from the class peers and other friends 83.33 16.66
difficulty/easiness of learning English -1 72.72 27.27
luck in tests or oral exams -1 72.72 27.27
reward form parents -4 87.50 12.50
something else (not mentioned above) – specify:

Table 28 Controllability of unsuccessful students – grade I

In Table 29 are the answers of unsuccessful fourth-graders. For more than half the
options, the students expressed the expected controllability saying that effort or class
attendance are something they can control. On the other hand, for about one third of options
that are expected not to be something they can control, the students say they can, such as: the
way they were taught in primary school (59.09%), the way the current teacher teaches
(68.18%) or help from peers (61.90%). Most of them are the same as the ones their younger
colleagues suggested, which seems to be a similarity between unsuccessful students
regardless of their age. This is certainly something that should be investigated and, to avoid
any ambiguity or misunderstanding, an interview as a research method would be advisable.

failure attributions – grade IV (22 students)

attributions yes no
effort in learning and work 63.63 36.36
paying attention to what the teacher says and explains in English classes -1 85.71 14.28
doing activities and do my best in English classes 72.72 27.27
doing homework 54.54 45.45
revising before English tests or oral exams 90.90 9.09
reading carefully each question/task in the test 86.36 13.63
task difficulty/easiness in tests or oral exams -2 45.00 55.00
the way English teachers taught me in primary school 59.09 40.90
the way my current English teacher teaches me 68.18 31.81
my English teacher’s attitude towards me 63.63 36.36
my English teacher’s encouragement and praises 45.45 54.54
asking my teacher for help 54.54 45.45
revising the material that will be included in the test with the teacher 68.18 31.81
English classroom atmosphere -1 57.14 42.85
class attendance -1 80.95 19.04
behaviour in classes -1 76.19 23.80
previous knowledge (from primary school) -1 52.38 47.61
reading in English -1 38.09 61.90
listening to English music 36.36 63.63
playing games in English 50.00 50.00
learning English words while using the Internet 63.63 36.36

83
 watching films and/or series in English 54.54 45.45
general knowledge (from other subjects and life) 45.45 54.54
interest in learning English 63.63 36.36
wish to learn English -1 52.38 47.61
talent for learning English -1 28.57 71.42
English language learning strategies (i.e. taking notes, underlining in books and notebooks,
47.61 52.38
organising new words, guessing the meaning from context, etc.) -1
organising duties and planning time for studying -1 52.38 47.61
family relations 50.00 50.00
parental incentive 40.90 59.09
help from the class peers and other friends -1 61.90 38.09
difficulty/easiness of learning English -2 55.00 45.00
luck in tests or oral exams 31.81 68.18
reward form parents -2 35.00 65.00
something else (not mentioned above) – specify:

Table 29 Controllability of unsuccessful students – grade IV

The controllability will be examined again, this time taking into consideration the
students’ gender. In Tables 30 and 31 the successful male and female students’ responses are
presented. When it comes to the boys, the same expected and unexpected responses appear as
the ones mentioned earlier. As an illustration, over 90% of students say that they control
paying attention in class, behaviour in class or revising before a test, but also more than 70%
of students say they control: interest, the way the current teacher teaches them or the teacher’s
attitude towards them. They do all agree that reading carefully tasks in the test and watching
films are under their control.
The girls’ agree on their controllability of effort, behaviour in class, learning strategies
or revising. They all agree that watching films is under their control. Nevertheless, more than
50% of them think that interest or help from friends is also something they can control. When
compared, the answers of boys and girls are rather similar in terms of what is logically under
their control, such as effort, and what they said is, for example, interest.

success attributions – boys (33 students)

attributions yes no
effort in learning and work 87.87 12.12
paying attention to what the teacher says and explains in English classes 90.90 9.09
doing activities and do my best in English classes 84.84 15.15
doing homework 75.75 24.24
revising before English tests or oral exams 90.90 9.09
reading carefully each question/task in the test 100.00
task difficulty/easiness in tests or oral exams 45.45 54.54
the way English teachers taught me in primary school 42.42 57.57
the way my current English teacher teaches me 75.75 24.24
my English teacher’s attitude towards me 75.75 24.24
my English teacher’s encouragement and praises -1 62.50 37.50
asking my teacher for help 87.87 12.12
revising the material that will be included in the test with the teacher 81.81 18.18
84
English classroom atmosphere 57.57 42.42
class attendance 87.87 12.12
behaviour in classes 93.93 6.06
previous knowledge (from primary school) 81.81 18.18
reading in English 87.87 12.12
listening to English music 66.66 33.33
playing games in English 75.75 24.24
learning English words while using the Internet 96.96 3.03
watching films and/or series in English 100.00
general knowledge (from other subjects and life) -2 70.96 29.03
interest in learning English 87.87 12.12
wish to learn English 87.87 12.12
talent for learning English 63.63 36.36
English language learning strategies (i.e. taking notes, underlining in books and notebooks,
72.72 27.27
organising new words, guessing the meaning from context, etc.)
organising duties and planning time for studying 72.72 27.27
family relations 60.60 39.39
parental incentive 60.60 39.39
help from the class peers and other friends 48.48 51.51
difficulty/easiness of learning English 60.60 39.39
luck in tests or oral exams 30.30 69.69
reward form parents -6 29.62 70.37
something else (not mentioned above) – specify:
not to rush through a test 3.03

Table 30 Controllability of successful students – boys

success attributions – girls (31 student)

attributions yes no
effort in learning and work 93.54 6.45
paying attention to what the teacher says and explains in English classes 96.77 3.22
doing activities and do my best in English classes 96.77 3.22
doing homework 87.09 12.90
revising before English tests or oral exams 93.54 6.45
reading carefully each question/task in the test 93.54 6.45
task difficulty/easiness in tests or oral exams 32.25 67.74
the way English teachers taught me in primary school 29.03 70.96
the way my current English teacher teaches me 41.93 58.06
my English teacher’s attitude towards me 54.83 45.16
my English teacher’s encouragement and praises 54.83 45.16
asking my teacher for help 87.09 12.90
revising the material that will be included in the test with the teacher 80.64 19.35
English classroom atmosphere 58.06 41.93
class attendance 96.77 3.22
behaviour in classes 96.77 3.22
previous knowledge (from primary school) 67.74 32.25
reading in English 90.32 9.67
listening to English music 67.74 32.25
playing games in English 58.06 41.93
learning English words while using the Internet 96.77 3.22
watching films and/or series in English -1 100.00
general knowledge (from other subjects and life) -1 80.00 20.00
interest in learning English -1 86.66 13.33
wish to learn English -1 86.66 13.33
talent for learning English -1 46.66 53.33
English language learning strategies (i.e. taking notes, underlining in books and notebooks,
90.32 9.67
organising new words, guessing the meaning from context, etc.)
organising duties and planning time for studying 83.87 16.12
family relations 41.93 58.06
parental incentive 41.93 58.06
85
 help from the class peers and other friends 51.61 48.38
difficulty/easiness of learning English -1 40.00 60.00
luck in tests or oral exams -1 16.66 83.33
reward form parents 22.58 77.41
something else (not mentioned above) – specify:

Table 31 Controllability of successful students – girls

Finally, the unsuccessful male and female students’ answers are shown in Tables 32
and 33. The unsuccessful boys did not have any attributions for which they all agreed about
their controllability. For about half of the options they provided the logically anticipated
answers saying they control revising for a test or their participation in class, while for many
others they said that they control them even though they are not likely in control, for instance,
the way the teacher in primary school taught them, luck or help from others. On the other
hand, 100% of the unsuccessful girls agreed that participation in class, revision for a test and
reading carefully tasks in a test is something under their control. More than 50% of them also
think that under their control is the way their teacher teachers and encourages them as well as
help from others. It can be seen that unsuccessful students regardless of their gender think
alike, having very similar answers for the majority of attributions.

failure attributions – boys (19 students)

attributions yes no
effort in learning and work 68.42 31.57
paying attention to what the teacher says and explains in English classes 84.21 15.78
doing activities and do my best in English classes 78.94 21.05
doing homework 57.89 42.10
revising before English tests or oral exams 89.47 10.52
reading carefully each question/task in the test 78.94 21.05
task difficulty/easiness in tests or oral exams -1 50.00 50.00
the way English teachers taught me in primary school 63.15 36.84
the way my current English teacher teaches me 84.21 15.78
my English teacher’s attitude towards me 78.94 21.05
my English teacher’s encouragement and praises 52.63 47.36
asking my teacher for help 68.42 31.57
revising the material that will be included in the test with the teacher 73.68 26.31
English classroom atmosphere -1 77.77 22.22
class attendance -1 88.88 11.11
behaviour in classes -1 88.88 11.11
previous knowledge (from primary school) -1 72.22 27.77
reading in English -1 77.77 22.22
listening to English music 52.63 47.36
playing games in English 63.15 36.84
learning English words while using the Internet 68.42 31.57
watching films and/or series in English 68.42 31.57
general knowledge (from other subjects and life) 68.42 31.57
interest in learning English 68.42 31.57
wish to learn English 57.89 42.10
talent for learning English -2 41.17 58.82

86
 English language learning strategies (i.e. taking notes, underlining in books and notebooks,
52.63 47.36
organising new words, guessing the meaning from context, etc.)
organising duties and planning time for studying -2 64.70 35.29
family relations 63.15 36.84
parental incentive 63.15 36.84
help from the class peers and other friends -1 66.66 33.33
difficulty/easiness of learning English -3 56.25 43.75
luck in tests or oral exams 52.63 47.36
reward form parents -3 50.00 50.00
something else (not mentioned above) – specify:

Table 32 Controllability of unsuccessful students – boys

failure attributions – girls (15 students)

attributions yes no
effort in learning and work 80.00 20.00
paying attention to what the teacher says and explains in English classes
100.00
-1
doing activities and do my best in English classes 80.00 20.00
doing homework 66.66 33.33
revising before English tests or oral exams 100.00
reading carefully each question/task in the test 100.00
task difficulty/easiness in tests or oral exams -1 57.14 42.85
the way English teachers taught me in primary school 46.66 53.33
the way my current English teacher teaches me 66.66 33.33
my English teacher’s attitude towards me 60.00 40.00
my English teacher’s encouragement and praises 66.66 33.33
asking my teacher for help 66.66 33.33
revising the material that will be included in the test with the teacher 86.66 13.33
English classroom atmosphere 66.66 33.33
class attendance 73.33 26.66
behaviour in classes 80.00 20.00
previous knowledge (from primary school) 26.66 73.33
reading in English 46.66 53.33
listening to English music 33.33 66.66
playing games in English 46.66 53.33
learning English words while using the Internet 80.00 20.00
watching films and/or series in English 66.66 33.33
general knowledge (from other subjects and life) 53.33 46.66
interest in learning English 60.00 40.00
wish to learn English -1 57.14 42.85
talent for learning English -1 14.28 85.71
English language learning strategies (i.e. taking notes, underlining in books and notebooks,
76.92 23.07
organising new words, guessing the meaning from context, etc.) -2
organising duties and planning time for studying 60.00 40.00
family relations 60.00 40.00
parental incentive 60.00 40.00
help from the class peers and other friends 73.33 26.66
difficulty/easiness of learning English 66.66 33.33
luck in tests or oral exams -1 35.71 64.28
reward form parents -3 50.00 50.00
something else (not mentioned above) – specify:

Table 33 Controllability of unsuccessful students – girls

To sum up, the controllability differences between the students of different age and
gender are not very pronounced. On the contrary, the students’ responses are rather similar.
87
For more than half of the offered attributions, the students stated that they have personal
controllability over effort, paying attention in class or revising for tests, as expected. A
surprising finding was that, for about one third of the attributions, each group of participants
said that those were something they could control, for instance, the current teacher’s teaching.
A possible reason is that they thought that they could influence those attributions and
therefore control them. Nevertheless, more clear interpretation could be obtained if this matter
was investigated more deeply by possibly using an interview as a method for collecting data
in order to record the participants’ understanding and explanation of their answers.

7.4. Students’ responses about emotions

In the end, the results of the Questionnaire 2 section about emotions will be presented.
In this section four questions about emotions were asked in relation to four determinants of
behaviour: effort, ability, task difficulty and luck (see Figure 2). In fact, there was a fifth
question as well that was asked before the one about ability, which was a self-evaluation
question about students’ ability asking them to say if they think they are talented for learning
English. This question was included to avoid implying that successful students are successful
because they are talented and the unsuccessful ones fail because of lack of talent, since this
does not have to be the case. Even without an exceptional talent, learners can be successful in
learning a language if they are motivated to work hard and vice versa, talented learners are not
necessarily successful if the sufficient amount of effort is not invested. The ability in this case
is considered to be equivalent to aptitude, in the same way as Weiner considered it in his work
from 2000 (p. 7) and 2010 (p. 32). In the same manner, Dörnyei (2005, p. 32) says that
language aptitude is equivalent to language ability, commonly used to refer to language
learning ability. In this section the students’ emotions are explored, the emotions they feel in
relation to effort, ability, task difficulty and luck when they experience success or failure. The
emotions were listed and the participants were asked to indicate if each of the emotion
appears or not in a given context. Eight emotions were offered: pride, self-esteem, anger,
gratitude, guilt, pity, shame and hopelessness (see Methodology) with the option for students
to suggest an emotion that had not been proposed in the questionnaire. Similarly to other
occasions in Questionnaire 2, the participants were asked to choose one of the options, yes or

88
no, for each emotion. However, some students did not choose either and in the following
tables that is represented as neither.
Table 34 shows the emotions of 42 successful first-grade students. When they succeed
after making effort, over 90% feels pride and (high) self-esteem (they feel self-confident), and
about 60% feels gratitude, which is expected, according to Weiner’s theory. The results are
the same for talent, with slightly higher percentage for gratitude, 78.12%. There is about one
fourth of this group of students that think they are not talented for learning English, and at the
same time they think they are successful. The same emotions are felt by the majority in terms

When I make a lot of effort in learning English and succeed, I feel:

self- other (specify)
pride anger gratitude guilt pity shame hopelessness
esteem
 relaxing
yes 97.61 92.85 14.28 66.66 4.76 4.76 7.14 4.76  happiness
 I am willing

no 2.38 4.76 83.33 30.95 92.85 92.85 88.09 88.09

neither 2.38 2.38 2.38 2.38 2.38 4.76 7.14

I have a talent for English:

yes no
32 10
% 76.19 23.80

(If they chose YES, the students answered the next question, as it was indicated in the questionnaire).
When I succeed because of my talent for English, I feel:
self- hopelessn other (specify)
pride anger gratitude guilt pity shame
esteem ess
yes 93.75 96.87 78.12 - in a good mood

no 90.62 18.75 90.62 90.62 90.62 90.62

neither 6.25 3.12 9.37 3.12 9.37 9.37 9.37 9.37

When I succeed in a test/oral exam because of good luck, I feel:

self- other
pride anger gratitude guilt pity shame hopelessness
esteem (specify)
yes 45.23 47.61 9.52 66.66 23.80 9.52 26.19 9.52 - good
no 40.47 38.09 76.19 921.42 61.90 76.19 59.52 73.80
neither 14.28 14.28 14.28 11.90 14.28 14.28 14.28 16.66

When I succeed in a test/oral exam because of the task difficulty/easiness, I feel:

self- other
pride anger gratitude guilt pity shame hopelessness
esteem (specify)
yes 73.80 78.57 9.52 69.04 7.14 2.38 11.90 7.14 - good
no 21.42 16.66 85.71 28.57 88.09 92.85 83.33 88.09
neither 4.76 4.76 4.76 2.38 4.76 4.76 4.76 4.76

Table 34 Emotions – successful students – grade I

89
of task difficulty, pride 73.82%, self-esteem 78.57% and gratitude with 69.04%, which is
rather high but expected, knowing that task difficulty is not something under their control and
this emotion is expected to appear here which is consistent with Weiner’s theory. When they
are successful because of luck, 66.66% feel gratitude, while at the same time almost half of
them feel pride (45.23%) and self-esteem (47.61%), which is interesting, knowing that the
reason for their success is not their own work. The students’ suggestions added are rather
similar, saying they feel good. This is a general emotion (feeling good or bad) that results in a
distinct emotion, for example, pride or shame (see Figure 5). They also added the emotion of
happiness, but that is related to outcome and not attributions (Weiner, 2010, p. 33). The
suggestion: I am willing, which is the (exact) translation of what the student wrote, is
probably the short version of I am willing to learn (more) or I am willing to continue learning.

When I make a lot of effort in learning English and succeed, I feel:

self- hopelessn other (specify)
pride anger gratitude guilt pity shame
esteem ess
 happiness
yes 81.81 86.36 50.00  the whole day is better
no 13.63 4.54 81.81 31.81 81.81 81.81 81.81 81.81
neither 4.54 9.09 18.18 18.18 18.18 18.18 18.18 18.18

I have a talent for English:

yes no
16 3
% 72.72 13.63

(If they chose YES, the students answered the next question, as it was indicated in the questionnaire).
When I succeed because of my talent for English, I feel:
pride self- anger gratitude guilt pity shame hopelessness other
esteem (specify)
yes 93.75 87.50 43.75 6.25
no 6.25 6.25 87.50 50.00 87.50 87.50 81.25 87.50
neither 6.25 12.50 6.250 12.50 12.50 12.50 12.50

When I succeed in a test/oral exam because of good luck, I feel:

self- hopelessn other (specify)
pride anger gratitude guilt pity shame
esteem ess
-there’s no luck there,
yes 22.72 36.36 45.45 13.63 9.09 13.63 who knows knows
no 36.36 27.27 59.09 22.72 45.45 50.00 45.45 59.09
neither 40.90 36.36 40.90 31.81 40.90 40.90 40.90 40.90

When I succeed in a test/oral exam because of the task difficulty/easiness, I feel:

self- other
pride anger gratitude guilt pity shame hopelessness
esteem (specify)
yes 63.63 81.81 40.90 4.54 happiness
no 9.09 4.54 72.72 31.81 72.72 72.72 68.18 72.72
neither 27.27 13.63 27.27 27.27 27.27 27.27 27.27 27.27

Table 35 Emotions – successful students – grade IV

90
 In Table 35 the emotions of 22 successful fourth-grade students are presented. The
results of this group are rather similar to those of the first-graders. For the success achieved
owing to effort, ability and task difficulty, the emotions of pride, self-esteem and gratitude are
mostly experienced. The difference is lower percentages, especially for task difficulty for
which they feel pride 63.63%, self-esteem 81.81% and gratitude 40.90%. This means that the
confidence boosts for the majority of successful fourth-graders if they are successful while

When I make a lot of effort in learning English and fail, I feel:

self- other
pride anger gratitude guilt pity shame hopelessness
esteem (specify)
yes 16.66 41.66 83.33 25.00 75.00 66.66 83.33 41.66 helplessness
no 75.00 50.00 16.66 66.66 16.66 25.00 16.66 33.33
neither 8.33 8.33 8.33 8.33 8.33 25.00

I have a talent for English:

yes no
1 11
% 8.33 91.66

(If they chose NO, the students answered the next question, as it was indicated in the questionnaire).
When I fail because of the lack of talent for English, I feel:
self- other
pride anger gratitude guilt pity shame hopelessness
esteem (specify)
yes 18.18 18.18 90.90 18.18 90.90 72.72 81.81 54.54
no 72.72 72.72 9.09 72.72 9.09 18.18 18.18 27.27
neither 9.09 9.09 9.09 9.09 18.18

When I fail in a test/oral exam because of bad luck, I feel:

self- other
pride anger gratitude guilt pity shame hopelessness
esteem (specify)
yes 8.33 33.33 66.66 8.33 75.00 66.66 75.00 66.66
no 66.66 41.66 16.66 66.66 16.66 16.66 16.66 16.66
neither 25.00 25.00 16.66 25.00 16.66 16.66 16.66 16.66

When I fail in a test/oral exam because of the task difficulty/easiness, I feel:

self- other
pride anger gratitude guilt pity shame hopelessness
esteem (specify)
yes 16.66 33.33 66.66 16.66 91.66 75.0 100.00 50.00
no 75.00 58.33 25.00 75.00 8.33 16.66 41.66
neither 8.33 8.33 8.33 8.33 8.33 8.33

Table 36 Emotions – unsuccessful students –grade I

dealing with difficult tasks. Once again, in terms of luck, 45.45% of participants feel gratitude
while 22.72% feel pride and 36.36% self-esteem, even though luck is an external attribution.
These students added the emotion of happiness which was already discussed.
91
 According to the attribution theory (Weiner, 1985, p. 566), failure-prone students are
supposed to feel self-directed emotions of guilt for controllable attributions (lack of effort, for
example), and shame for the uncontrollable ones (for instance, lack of aptitude), as well as the
emotions directed to others such as anger for the attributions controlled by others and pity for
the uncontrollable ones. Hopelessness is connected to expectancy regarding future success
and failure while expectancy of achieving a goal is under the influence of causal stability
(Weiner, 1985, p. 563). Hopelessness appears when it is expected that the future will be
equally bad as the past.

When I make a lot of effort in learning English and fail, I feel:

self- other
pride anger gratitude guilt pity shame hopelessness
esteem (specify)
yes 4.54 81.81 9.09 72.72 81.81 59.09 36.36
no 90.90 86.36 13.63 77.27 13.63 4.54 22.72 40.90
neither 9.09 9.09 4.54 13.63 13.63 13.63 18.18 22.72

I have a talent for English:

yes no neither
2 19 1
% 9.09 86.36 4.54

(If they chose NO, the students answered the next question, as it was indicated in the questionnaire).
When I fail because of the lack of talent for English, I feel:
self- other
pride anger gratitude guilt pity shame hopelessness
esteem (specify)
yes 5.26 78.94 84.21 89.47 52.63 42.10
no 89.47 84.21 10.52 89.47 5.26 5.26 31.57 42.10
neither 10.52 10.52 10.52 10.52 10.52 5.26 15.78 15.78

When I fail in a test/oral exam because of bad luck, I feel:

self- other
pride anger gratitude guilt pity shame hopelessness
esteem (specify)
yes 4.54 59.09 59.09 59.09 54.54 27.27
no 68.18 63.63 13.63 68.18 9.09 9.09 13.63 31.81
neither 31.81 31.81 27.27 31.81 31.81 31.81 31.81 40.90

When I fail in a test/oral exam because of the task difficulty/easiness, I feel:

self- other
pride anger gratitude guilt pity shame hopelessness
esteem (specify)
yes 9.09 59.09 4.54 54.54 63.63 59.09 36.36
no 86.36 77.27 31.81 81.81 31.81 22.72 27.27 45.45
neither 13.63 13.63 9.09 13.63 13.63 13.63 13.63 18.18

Table 37 Emotions – unsuccessful students – grade IV

92
 The emotions for 12 unsuccessful first-grade students are shown in Table 36. With
regard to making a lot of effort and still failing, the students feel anger and shame, both
83.33%, as well as guilt 75% and pity 66.66%. A significant number of students, namely
41.66% feel hopelessness which is signal for a necessary AR treatment. When they fail
because of lack of talent for English, bad luck or task difficulty, the students experience the
same emotions with a different ratio. The emotions with the highest percentage will be looked
at. That is, 90.90% of students feel anger and guilt because of lack of talent. For bad luck, the

When I make a lot of effort in learning English and succeed, I feel:

pride self- anger gratitude guilt pity shame hopeles other (specify)
esteem sness
 love
 relaxing
yes 90.90 90.90 12.12 63.63 3.03 3.03 3.03 3.03
 the whole day is
better
no 6.06 3.03 78.78 27.27 87.87 87.87 87.87 87.87
neither 3.03 6.06 9.09 9.09 9.09 9.09 9.09 9.09

I have a talent for English:

yes no
24 9
% 72.72 27.27

(If they chose YES, the students answered the next question, as it was indicated in the questionnaire).
When I succeed because of my talent for English, I feel:
pride self- anger gratitude guilt pity shame hopelessness other
esteem (specify)
yes 91.66 91.66 66.66
no 4.16 4.16 91.66 25.00 91.66 91.66 91.66 91.66
neither 4.16 4.16 8.33 8.33 8.33 8.33 8.33 8.33

When I succeed in a test/oral exam because of good luck, I feel:

pride self- anger gratitude guilt pity shame hopelessne other (specify)
esteem ss

yes 42.42 54.54 6.06 63.63 18.18 6.06 12.12 6.06

- there’s no luck
there, who knows
knows
no 39.39 27.27 75.75 27.27 63.63 75.75 69.69 72.72
neither 18.18 18.18 18.18 9.09 18.18 18.18 18.18 21.21

When I succeed in a test/oral exam because of the task difficulty/easiness, I feel:

pride self- anger gratitude guilt pity shame hopelessness other
esteem (specify)
yes 75.75 84.84 6.06 57.57 6.06 3.03
no 9.09 6.06 78.78 27.27 84.84 84.84 78.78 81.81
neither 15.15 9.09 15.15 15.15 15.15 15.15 15.15 15.15

Table 38 Emotions – successful boys

93
students feel75% guilt and shame, while for task difficulty 100% feel shame, and 91.66% feel
guilt. One student added that (s)he also feels helplessness if after the effort is made the failure
follows, and this is again a sign that AR is needed. If compared to what the attribution theory
said, anger and shame felt for effort is surprising because anger is felt for something
controlled by others, while shame is felt for something uncontrollable. For lack of talent, the
high percentage of 90.90% for anger and guilt is also surprising, since talent is not under their
control. Guilt for luck is surprising since luck is uncontrollable as well as 100% of shame for
task difficulty, since, again, task difficulty is not something controllable.

When I make a lot of effort in learning English and succeed, I feel:

self- hopelessn
pride anger gratitude guilt pity shame other (specify)
esteem ess
- happiness x2
yes 93.54 90.32 6.45 58.06 3.22 3.22 6.45 3.22 - I am willing
no 6.45 6.45 87.09 35.48 90.32 90.32 83.87 83.87
neither 3.22 6.45 6.45 6.45 6.45 9.67 12.90

I have a talent for English:

yes no
24 7
% 77.419 22.580

(If they chose YES, the students answered the next question, as it was indicated in the questionnaire).
When I succeed because of my talent for English, I feel:
self- hopelessn other (specify)
pride anger gratitude guilt pity shame
esteem ess
yes 95.83 95.83 66.66 4.16 - in a good mood
no 87.50 33.33 87.50 87.50 20.00 87.50
neither 4.16 4.16 12.50 12.50 12.50 12.50 12.50

When I succeed in a test/oral exam because of good luck, I feel:

self- other
pride anger gratitude guilt pity shame hopelessness
esteem (specify)
yes 32.25 32.25 6.45 54.83 22.58 12.90 29.03 6.45 - good
no 38.70 41.93 64.51 16.12 48.38 58.06 41.93 64.51
neither 29.03 25.80 29.03 29.03 29.03 29.03 29.03 29.03

When I succeed in a test/oral exam because of the task difficulty/easiness, I feel:

self- other (specify)
pride anger gratitude guilt pity shame hopelessness
esteem
yes 64.51 74.19 6.45 61.29 9.67 3.22 12.90 3.22 - happiness
no 25.80 19.35 83.87 32.25 80.64 87.09 77.41 87.09
neither 9.67 6.45 9.67 6.45 9.67 9.67 9.67 9.67

Table 39 Emotions – successful girls

94
 In Table 37 are the emotions for 22 unsuccessful fourth-grade students. The emotions
that majority of these students feel while experiencing failure are anger, pity, guilt, shame and
hopelessness. When they make a lot of effort and fail 81.81% feel anger and pity, a little less
feel guilt – 72.72% while 59.09% feel shame and 36.36% feel hopelessness. Regarding failing
because of lack of talent, quite close in percentages are pity (89.47%), guilt (84.21%) and
anger (78.94%) while 42.10% of students feel hopelessness. For luck and task difficulty the
students’ answers are almost equally distributed among anger, guilt, pity and shame, for bad
luck it is 59.09% for anger, guilt and pity, with slightly less for shame – 54.54%. Concerning
task difficulty, it is 63.63% for pity, 59.09% for shame and anger and a little less for guilt –
54.54%. For bad luck and task difficulty, the feeling of hopelessness is a bit less present,
namely 36.36% for task difficulty and only 27.27% for luck. This group did not add any
emotion for any question. There is a similarity between the responses of the two unsuccessful
groups in terms of feeling anger for failing after making effort, guilt for lack of talent or
shame for task difficulty, and all of these in high percentages.
Examining emotions of students of different genders will be presented now. Table 38
shows the emotions of 33 successful male students. Looking at the results, three emotions
stand out: pride, self-esteem and gratitude. The students gave almost the same answers for
success due to effort and talent, more specifically, for effort 90.90% of the students feel pride
and self-esteem, and 63.63% gratitude, while for talent they feel 91.66% pride and self-
esteem, and 66.66% gratitude. Considering luck, percentages are 42.42% for pride, 54.54%
for self-esteem and 63.63% for gratitude, while for task difficulty self-esteem is more
dominant with 84.84%, compared to 75.75% for pride and 57.57% for gratitude. Weiner
(1985, p. 561) reasoned that people feel pride and positive self-esteem when they ascribe a
positive outcome to their own merits. This means that the successful boys’ responses confirm
the attribution theory when it comes to effort. However, talent, luck and task difficulty are not
something they can take credit for. On the other hand, feeling gratitude is expected and it
confirms the theory as well. An interesting finding is the fact that about one third of this group
of students do not consider themselves talented for learning English but they consider
themselves successful which means that a significant number of successful boys does not
connect their talent with the success. The students also added descriptions of their mood after
succeeding because of effort and luck, saying they feel relaxed and it brightens their day.
In Table 39 are the answers of 31 successful girls. The successful female students feel
pride and self-esteem in great proportions, over 90% of pride and self-esteem for both effort
95
and talent with around 60% gratitude for both. More gratitude is felt for luck – 54.83%,
compared to 32.25% for pride and self-esteem. With regard to task difficulty, self-esteem with
74.19% is felt more than pride (64.51%) and gratitude (61.29%). The results of female
students are very similar to those of male students in terms of emotions expressed, the number
of the students who think they are not talented but still successful (around one third of the

When I make a lot of effort in learning English and fail, I feel:

self- other
pride anger gratitude guilt pity shame hopelessness
esteem (specify)
yes 5.26 15.78 68.42 15.78 63.15 73.68 63.15 31.57 helplessness
no 84.21 73.68 26.31 73.68 26.31 15.78 31.57 42.10
neither 10.52 10.52 5.26 10.52 10.52 10.52 5.26 26.31

I have a talent for English:

yes no
3 16
% 15.78 84.21

(If they chose NO, the students answered the next question, as it was indicated in the questionnaire).
When I fail because of the lack of talent for English, I feel:
pride self- anger gratitude guilt pity shame hopelessness other
esteem (specify)
yes 6.25 12.50 75.00 6.25 81.25 75.00 62.50 37.50
no 81.25 75.00 18.75 81.25 12.50 12.50 31.25 43.75
neither 12.50 12.50 6.25 12.50 6.25 12.50 6.25 18.75

When I fail in a test/oral exam because of bad luck, I feel:

self- other
pride anger gratitude guilt pity shame hopelessness
esteem (specify)
yes 10.52 57.89 63.15 63.15 57.89 42.10
no 73.68 63.15 21.05 73.68 21.05 21.05 21.05 31.57
neither 26.31 26.31 21.05 26.31 21.05 21.05 21.05 26.31

When I fail in a test/oral exam because of the task difficulty/easiness, I feel:

self- other
pride anger gratitude guilt pity shame hopelessness
esteem (specify)
yes 5.26 10.52 57.89 5.26 63.15 63.15 68.42 36.84
no 84.21 78.94 31.57 84.21 31.57 26.31 26.31 47.36
neither 10.52 10.52 10.52 10.52 5.26 10.52 5.26 15.78

Table 40 Emotions – unsuccessful boys

girls said they are not talented) and the added suggestions with the difference that the girls
added general emotions of feeling good and happy while the boys described their mood.
96
 In the end, the emotions responses of unsuccessful boys and girls are seen in Tables 40
and 41. Table 40 shows the answers of 19 unsuccessful male students. Once again, the most
dominant emotions are anger, guilt, pity, shame and helplessness and the percentage is almost
equally distributed. When they fail in spite of making effort, the boys feel pity 73.68%, anger
68.42%, guilt and shame 63.15%, and hopelessness 31.57%. Regarding lack of talent, there is
somewhat higher percentage of 81.25% for guilt than 75% for pity and anger, and 37.50% for
hopelessness. For bad luck and task difficulty the responses are pretty uniform, with 63.15%

When I make a lot of effort in learning English and fail, I feel:

self- other
pride anger gratitude guilt pity shame hopelessness
esteem (specify)
yes 6.66 20.00 100.00 13.33 86.66 80.00 73.33 46.66
no 86.66 73.33 73.33 6.66 6.66 33.33
neither 6.66 6.66 13.33 13.33 13.33 20.00 20.00

I have a talent for English:

yes no neither
14 1
% 93.33 6.66

(If they chose NO, the students answered the next question, as it was indicated in the questionnaire).
When I fail because of the lack of talent for English, I feel:
self- other
pride anger gratitude guilt pity shame hopelessness
esteem (specify)
yes 7.14 7.14 92.85 7.14 92.85 92.85 64.28 57.14
no 85.71 85.71 85.71 7.14 21.42 28.57
neither 7.14 7.14 7.14 7.14 7.14 14.28 14.28

When I fail in a test/oral exam because of bad luck, I feel:

self- other
pride anger gratitude guilt pity shame hopelessness
esteem (specify)
yes 6.66 20.00 66.66 6.66 66.66 60.00 66.66 46.66
no 60.00 46.66 6.66 60.00 6.66 20.00
neither 33.33 33.33 26.66 33.33 33.33 33.33 33.33 33.33

When I fail in a test/oral exam because of the task difficulty/easiness, I feel:

self- other
pride anger gratitude guilt pity shame hopelessness
esteem (specify)
yes 6.66 26.66 66.66 13.33 73.33 73.33 80.00 46.66
no 80.00 60.00 26.66 73.33 13.33 13.33 6.66 40.00
neither 13.33 13.33 6.66 13.33 13.33 13.33 13.33 13.33

Table 41 Emotions – unsuccessful girls

97
for guilt and pity, 57.89% for anger and shame, and 42.10% hopelessness. The results are
almost the same for task difficulty with lower percentage for hopelessness (36.84%) and
higher for shame of 68.42%.
In Table 41 are the answers of 15 unsuccessful female students. They feel 100% anger,
86.66% guilt, 80% pity, 73.33% shame and 46.66% hopelessness for failing despite effort.
When lack of talent is considered they feel anger, guilt and pity equally (92.85%), while
64.28% feel shame and 57.14% feel hopelessness. Bad luck evokes four different emotions
(anger, guilt, pity and shame) completely equally (66.66%), in addition to hopelessness
(46.66%). For task difficulty, shame has the highest percentage of 80%, followed by 73.33%
for guilt and pity, and 66.66% for anger and 46.66% for hopelessness. They all claim not to
be talented for learning English and they did not add any other emotions.
Comparing the two unsuccessful groups of students, it is noticeable that the same
emotions are experienced but in different ratios. For failing in spite of effort, the boys feel
pity and anger, while girls feel anger and guilt the most. Both groups feel guilt in high
percentage for lack of talent and they feel shame the most when failing because of task
difficulty. The girls expressed hopelessness in higher percentages than boys did, especially for
lack of talent.
In summary, a surprising finding is that they all feel anger when they fail after making
effort, since according to the theory anger should be felt for the attributions controlled by
others. Another surprising result is the feeling of guilt for lack of talent since that is not under
their control, and guilt is expected to be felt for controllable attributions. In addition, shame is
supposed to appear for uncontrollable attributions, and failure-prone students said they felt it
for task difficulty, therefore, this is in accordance with the theory. All this is deduced from the
participants’ results that were expressed by a significant number of students. In conclusion,
the responses of successful students, regardless of their age and gender, that confirm the
attribution theory, are those that show that they feel pride and self-esteem for controllable
attribution of effort. Feeling gratitude was expected as well and the successful students did
say they felt it. On the other hand, the surprising data are that they felt pride and self-esteem
when succeeding because of their talent or luck, which are not things for which they can take
credit. At the same time, the unsuccessful students’ answers, again regardless of their age and
gender, provided some expected results as well as others that did not support the theory, as
elaborated earlier.

98
 8. Pedagogical implications

After obtaining a useful insight into the responses that the secondary students of
different age and gender provided according to their opinions, feelings as well as their
understanding of the issues they were asked about, the pedagogical implications will be
proposed that mainly concern the EFL teachers. In the first place, the EFL teachers would
want to help their students through the learning process but rather as their guide so that
eventually the students would be more independent learners and more responsible for their
own learning. The EFL teachers may especially benefit from being aware of the attribution
process that the students go through or rather make the students themselves aware of different
attributions, and, when and if it becomes necessary, provide help for the students in order to
boost their motivation.
Some students, whether successful or not, may not even be aware of the initial
incentive that made them act in a certain way. For this reason, both groups of students, the
successful and the unsuccessful, need to explore their attributions so that the successful ones
could repeat their success as well as share their useful experiences with their less successful
peers. Positive and constructive feedback would be helpful here for that matter. The failure-
prone students would benefit from the attributional process through the investigation of their
attributions in general, especially those that are internal, controllable and unstable in order to
change them to their benefit.
The teachers need to be aware of what kind of assistance is most beneficial for their
students. After they have introduced the attributions to the students, they may conduct
research to identify their students’ success and failure attributions specific to their cultural
context so that they could act accordingly. Once they know what kind of problems their
students encounter in their learning, they may choose to apply the one of the following
suggestions.
Some ideas were mentioned in the section on motivation, such as Ten Commandments
for Motivating Language Learners by Dörnyei and Csizér (1998), which, among others,
recommend creating positive classroom atmosphere and developing a good relationship with
the learners. Dörnyei (2001) also mentions self-motivation which explains different ways how
learners can be taught to motivate themselves. This could lead to learners’ autonomy in
language learning. In addition, Dörnyei (2005) mentioned Noels’ investigating teachers’
impact on intrinsic motivation according to which the teachers’ constructive feedback and not
99
being controlling is something that helps students’ intrinsic motivation. Gray (2005) also
talked about the teacher’s appropriate feedback and praise as a form of increasing students’
motivation. He recommends praising students and their effort as well as students’ successful
work during which mistakes were made, to emphasise the importance of effort.
Peacock (2010, pp. 191-192) provided an extensive list of practical recommendations
for EFL teachers to be applied in their teaching. In order to help teachers understand
attributions, Peacock suggests that teachers should be informed about the following:
- student attributions for success and failure may differ from their own,
- students might value more the effects of luck and not value enough the effects of
effort,
- female and male students may not have the same attributions,
- the attributional messages they promote in their teaching should be well observed,
- not being able to control the origins of student attributions, teachers should indicate to
students that they can overcome the effects of such origins.
A list of suggestions for potential ways to alter students’ attributions includes the following
proposals as well:
- emphasise the link between effort and EFL learning through paying attention in class,
competing with themselves or working hard in class using real examples of student
behaviour from the classroom,
- minimize the importance of intelligence, aptitude and luck as attributions in EFL
learning (as these are uncontrollable),
- highlight attributions that are internal, unstable and controllable,
- encourage student self-confidence and enjoyment of English,
- aid students in discovering what they are good at,
- support students individually and encourage them.
Apart from these, there are several other ways that require teachers to be more
engaged so as to help students, such as encouraging them to learn English because it is used
around the world for a variety of activities, employment as well as entertainment. This would
be especially beneficial for the half of the unsuccessful boys who say they only learn English
because it is a school subject. Additionally, another especially important thing is teaching
students how to learn, more precisely, teaching them language learning strategies. Through
different sections of Questionnaire 2, the failure-oriented participants attributed their failure to
test, grades, teachers, but also they listed different difficulties they have with learning English
100
as a foreign language which meant that they definitely struggle with different segments of
English and such students would most certainly benefit from being introduced with a range of
language learning strategies so that they could apply those that would work best for them.
Certainly, there is also attributional retraining or AR treatment. The results obtained in
the research show the need for AR for at least some failure-oriented students. The goal of it is
clear, making learners aware that internal, unstable and controllable attributions, such as
effort, can be influenced and changed, and that is the reason why the majority of attributions
offered in Questionnaire 2 were such. The AR treatment explained earlier (see Section 5:
Attributional Retraining) to some teachers may seem unattainable. Nevertheless, making a
simple video with some successful students, possibly with the former successful students as
well, explaining what makes them successful learners, followed by a discussion during which
the students can ask questions and share their thoughts, is something that almost any teacher
can do. The results obtained showed that the failure-oriented students are not always aware
that internal, unstable and controllable attributions, for example, organising learning, are
causes of their failure that they can change to their advantage. Next, the unsuccessful students
showed the signs of learned helplessness in their answers to the question about what kinds of
failure in learning English discourage and depress them. Among others, the students
mentioned bad grades, tests, futile effort, and difficulties of the English language. Those
students who study and still fail or get bad results are most certainly the candidates for
language learning strategies retraining, because they may not even be aware of what they are
doing wrong. A positive finding is that a great majority of these students did not blame their
failure on others, and as long as they attribute their failure to internal and controllable causes,
at least some form of AR would be helpful. Another question revealed signs of demotivation,
for which the male students listed mostly external, while the female students more internal
causes, listing conditions that would make them study English more. An AR treatment for this
group of students might help the boys to change their attributions to internal. The results also
showed that the unsuccessful students feel hopelessness especially for futile effort which is a
signal for a needed AR. In addition to this, as Weiner (1985, p. 563) said, shame results in
motivational inhibition while guilt results in activation of motivation, according to the results,
whenever guilt is felt for controllable attributions, there is room for teachers’ intervention in
increasing the students’ motivation.
In conclusion, all of the mentioned ways of increasing students’ motivation involve a
lot of will, persistence and commitment of the teacher. Nevertheless, the goal is to motivate
101
students to invest hard work and to be more accountable for their learning, which eventually
leads to the learner autonomy, and it should motivate teachers to at least make an attempt
because it is very useful for the unsuccessful learners.

9. Conclusion

The main goal of this research was to identify the causal attributions of success and
failure of Bosnian-Herzegovinian secondary school students in learning English as a foreign
language, to explore the students’ opinion about the controllability of attributions and finally
to investigate the emotions that they feel while succeeding or failing. For this purpose, the
attribution theory was presented along with the wider spectrum of motivation. One more
element of the learning process was looked at – learned helplessness, which was introduced as
well. Among different pedagogical implications and suggestions for the teachers, the
attributional retraining (AR) was introduced.
The findings obtained generally display a kind of uniformity and consistency without
much discrepancy from what was expected based on the attribution theory. The participants
had an opportunity to list their own success and failure attributions in an open-ended question
as well as to respond to the attributions that were provided for them. They were largely the
same. Namely, the successful students attribute their success particularly to effort, teachers,
TV and paying attention in class, while the unsuccessful ones attribute their failure mostly to
lack of effort, different difficulties with English, lack of prior knowledge and not liking
English. Some of their attributions are internal and some are external. There are more stable
and less stable ones. This means that there is room for detecting those that are unstable and
controllable and change them into positive ones. When different age is concerned, the
students’ answers were rather similar. For instance, the success-oriented students, both first
and fourth grade, attribute their success mainly to effort, and not to reward. However, the
maturity of the fourth-graders is definitely seen in their suggestions such as employment,
different handbooks for learning English or the importance of English in today’s world. This
maturity is also seen in the way the failure-oriented fourth-graders responded to the type of
the task in the questionnaire expressing their agreement and disagreement to the offered
attributions. In consideration of different gender, the successful boys and girl have as the top
two attributions TV and effort, as opposed to luck and reward which they do not see as the
102
causes of their success. The unsuccessful boys’ and girls’ answers exhibit a great similarity
ascribing their failure to lack of effort and lack of interest among others, and the resemblance
of answers is especially seen in the ways they responded to the neutral attributions. On the
other hand, the gender difference does appear in the students’ responses about what motivates
them, whereby the girls are more motivated by the practical use of English, while the boys are
more motivated by grades and test results.
Taking into account the controllability of attributions, the students regardless of their
age and gender provided fairly similar answers, meaning that they stated that they can control
attributions such as effort, paying attention in class or revising for tests, as expected.
However, contrary to expectations were their answers for about one third of the listed
attributions for which they said that they were under their control, for example, the teacher’s
way of teaching, which actually is not. A possible reason for this is their own interpretation of
the attributions and probably the influence they have on them, but this should be investigated
more through an interview which would be more helpful in clarifying the students’ responses.
With reference to emotions the students feel while succeeding or failing, in accordance
with the attribution theory are the emotions of pride and self-esteem for effort the successful
students say they feel, as well as feeling gratitude. Although unexpected, anger is felt when
failing after making effort because anger should be felt for the attributions controlled by
others. Furthermore, guilt is felt for the lack of talent, which is surprising, as lack of talent is
not under students’ control. Additionally, feeling pride and self-esteem when succeeding due
to their talent or luck, is not supported by the theory, since talent and luck are not a result of
their own exertion.
In regards to the traces of learned helplessness, they appear in the following: bad
grades, ineffective effort and difficulties with English that the students mentioned while
listing what demotivates them. Regarding the futile effort they seem to make that produces
almost always the same (negative) results, the male students do not seem to be discouraged as
much as the female students are. Being demotivated like this means that for these students
some kind of intervention is necessary, possibly AR.
It can be concluded that the participants did not attribute all the success to their own
merits and their failure to external causes. The answers they provided were actually fairly
objective and they were in accordance with a crucial matter pointed out by Weiner (2010,
p.32), the feature that determines the attributional process, which is “how it seems to me”.
Therefore, the attributions explored in this paper are based on the students’ own perspective
103
which is on the one hand self-reported data and not something directly observed, but on the
other hand, it is the reality - their reality as such.
The results obtained in this research are limited, since the students from only one
Bosnian-Herzegovinian secondary school participated, which makes it a small-scale study. A
broader-scale research would be recommended in order to gain a deeper insight into the
students’ success and failure attributions and to have a better comprehension of a foreign
language learning process. It is absolutely recommendable that a similar future research offers
a questionnaire with negative attributions to failure-prone students instead of neutral ones, i.e.
suggest lack of effort instead of effort to avoid any participants’ misunderstanding of what
they need to express their opinion on or agreement and disagreement about. In the present
research, the neutral attributions were offered to the unsuccessful students as a precaution, i.e.
in order not to lead the students in their answers or to imply why they are unsuccessful.
However, this precaution appears to have been unnecessary, because in Questionnaire 1 the
unsuccessful group of students listed negatively formulated attributions (see Table 5 or 6).
Another suggestion for further research is exploring students’ attributions from the teachers’
point of view, as Peacock (2010) did, and then compare the results to see whether there is any
difference and what it is, once again with the goal of broadening the understanding of the
language learning process. As it was mentioned earlier (see Motivation section), the
fluctuation of motivation and its change over time makes it an interesting subject of future
research along with attributions that are changeable as well. A possible research variable
could be the age difference in motivation and attributions which might show this changing
feature in more detail. Weiner (2000, p. 13) himself predicts that the attributional research
will grow more in the future, while Dörnyei (2005, p. 88) suggests that “examining the
temporal progression of L2 motivation is a potentially fruitful research direction that can
significantly enrich our understanding of the attitudinal/motivational basis of language
learning.”
In the end, the exploration of attributions serves as a guide for the language learners on
their path of becoming more self-reliant. Their independence in learning is useful because the
teachers are not always going to be by their side. Ultimately, the learners need to self-
motivate themselves, become more responsible for their own learning, and, finally, change the
causal attributions that are unstable and under their control so that they are more successful in
the future.

104
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 10. Appendices
Appendix 1 Questionnaire 1
UPITNIK 1
(upitnik za istraživanje atribucija uspjeha i neuspjeha u učenju engleskog kao stranog jezika)

Ovaj upitnik sadrži pitanja vezana za vaše atribucije uspjeha i neuspjeha u učenju engleskog kao
stranog jezika. Ne postoje netačni odgovori, pa je stoga potrebno da odgovorite na pitanja iskreno i
što je moguće preciznije.
___________________________________________________________________________

1. Zaokruži pol: a) muški b) ženski

2. Zaokruži koliko imaš godina: 14 15 16 17 18 19
3. Zaokruži u koji ideš razred: I razred IV razred

4. Zaokruži jednu od ponuđenih opcija:

Engleski mi ide:
a) odlično
b) dobro
c) slabo
d) nikako

5. Ako si u pitanju 4. zaokružio/la a) ili b) navedi razloge svog uspjeha:

6. Ako si u pitanju 4. zaokružio/la c) ili d) navedi razloge svog neuspjeha:

7. Zaokruži zaključnu ocjenu iz engleskog jezika na I polugodištu 2014/2015. godine:

1 2 3 4 5
HVALA na učešću!
109
Appendix 2 Questionnaire 2
UPITNIK 2
(upitnik za istraživanje atribucija uspjeha i neuspjeha u učenju engleskog kao stranog jezika)

Ovaj upitnik sadrži pitanja vezana za vaše atribucije uspjeha i neuspjeha u učenju engleskog kao
stranog jezika. Iznimno je važno da sva pitanja i ponuđene opcije pročitate pažljivo. Ne postoje
netačni odgovori, pa je stoga potrebno da odgovorite na pitanja iskreno i što je moguće preciznije.

___________________________________________________________________________

1. Zaokruži pol: a) muški b) ženski

2. Zaokruži koliko imaš godina: 14 15 16 17 18 19
3. Zaokruži u koji ideš razred: I razred IV razred

___________________________________________________________________________

4. Zaokruži jednu od ponuđenih opcija:

Engleski mi ide:
a) odlično
b) dobro
c) slabo
d) nikako

 Ako si zaokružio/la a) ili b) odgovori jedino na pitanja na stranama 2, 3, 4 i 5!

 Ako si zaokružio/la c) ili d) odgovori jedino na pitanja na stranama 6, 7, 8 i 9!

110
Za svako pitanje zaokruži jednu od pet ponuđenih opcija tj. broj, a brojevi znače sljedeće:
1 - potpuno se slažem
2 - djelimično se slažem
3 - niti se slažem, niti se ne slažem
4 - djelimično se ne slažem
5 - nikako se ne slažem

5. Razlog mog uspjeha u učenju engleskog jezika je:

 trudim se u učenju i radu

1 2 3 4 5
 na časovima engleskog jezika pratim šta profesorica priča i objašnjava
1 2 3 4 5
 na časovima engleskog jezika radim zadate zadatke i trudim se
1 2 3 4 5
 radim domaće zadatke
1 2 3 4 5
___________________________________________________________________________
 prije testa ili usmenog ispitivanja iz engleskog jezika ponovim gradivo
1 2 3 4 5
 na testu pažljivo pročitam svako pitanje/zadatak
1 2 3 4 5
 težina/lahkoća zadataka na testu ili usmenom ispitivanju
1 2 3 4 5
___________________________________________________________________________
 način kako su mi predavali nastavnici engleskog jezika u osnovnoj školi
1 2 3 4 5
 način na koji mi predaje sadašnja profesorica engleskog jezika
1 2 3 4 5
 stav profesorice engleskog jezika prema meni
1 2 3 4 5
 profesorica engleskog me ohrabruje i pohvaljuje
1 2 3 4 5
 pitam profesoricu za pomoć
1 2 3 4 5
 profesorica s nama ponovi ono što će biti na testu
1 2 3 4 5
 atmosfera na časovima engleskog jezika
1 2 3 4 5
___________________________________________________________________________
 prisustvo nastavi
1 2 3 4 5
 ponašanje na času
1 2 3 4 5
___________________________________________________________________________
 prethodno znanje engleskog (iz osnovne škole)
1 2 3 4 5
 čitam na engleskom jeziku
1 2 3 4 5
 slušam muziku na engleskom jeziku
1 2 3 4 5 2
111
  igram igrice na engleskom jeziku
1 2 3 4 5
 naučim engleske riječi dok koristim internet
1 2 3 4 5
 gledam filmove i/ili serije na engleskom jeziku
1 2 3 4 5
 opće znanje (iz drugih predmeta i uopće iz života)
1 2 3 4 5
___________________________________________________________________________
 učenje engleskog jezika me interesuje
1 2 3 4 5
 imam želju za učenjem engleskog jezika
1 2 3 4 5
___________________________________________________________________________
 talenat za učenje engleskog jezika
1 2 3 4 5
 ide mi engleski
1 2 3 4 5
___________________________________________________________________________
 strategije učenja engleskog jezika (npr. zapisivanje bilješki, podvlačenje u knjizi i svesci, organizovanje
nepoznatih riječi, pogađanje značenja riječi iz konteksta, i sl)
1 2 3 4 5
 organizovanje obaveza i planiranje vremena za učenje
1 2 3 4 5
___________________________________________________________________________
 na nastavi engleskog jezika koristimo dobar udžbenik
1 2 3 4 5
 sadržaji koje učimo na časovima engleskog su korisni i povezani sa životom
1 2 3 4 5
___________________________________________________________________________
 porodični odnosi
1 2 3 4 5
 podsticanje od strane roditelja
1 2 3 4 5
 pomoć drugova/drugarica iz odjeljenja i drugih prijatelja
1 2 3 4 5
 težina/lahkoća učenja engleskog jezika
1 2 3 4 5
 imam sreće kad je u pitanju test ili usmeno ispitivanje
1 2 3 4 5
 nagrada od roditelja
1 2 3 4 5
 dosadašnji rezultati
1 2 3 4 5
 potreba za znanjem engleskog jezika tj. važnost poznavanja engleskog jezika u današnje vrijeme
1 2 3 4 5
 nešto drugo (što gore nije spomenuto) - navedi: __________________________
1 2 3 4 5
________________________________________________________________
6. Koje vrste uspjeha iz engleskog te najviše ohrabruju i motiviraju? Navedi primjer.
___________________________________________________________________________

7. Engleski jezik učim samo zato što je to nastavni predmet u školi: da ne

3
112
8. Zaokruži da li su ponuđene opcije koje utiču na tvoj uspjeh pod tvojom kontrolom
(tj. ti možeš uticati na njih ili ih mijenjati):
 trud u učenju i radu da ne
 praćenje na časovima engleskog jezika šta profesorica priča i objašnjava da ne
 rad na zadatim zadacima i trud na časovima engleskog jezika da ne
 pisanje domaće zadaće da ne
 ponavljanje gradiva prije testa ili usmenog ispitivanja iz engleskog jezika da ne
 pažljivo čitanje svakog pitanja/zadatka na testu da ne
 težina/lahkoća zadataka na testu ili usmenom ispitivanju da ne
 način kako su mi predavali nastavnici engleskog jezika u osnovnoj školi da ne
 način na koji mi predaje sadašnja profesorica engleskog jezika da ne
 stav profesorice engleskog jezika prema meni da ne
 ohrabrenje i pohvale profesorice engleskog da ne
 traženje pomoći od profesorice da ne
 ponavljanje gradiva za test zajedno s profesoricom da ne
 atmosfera na časovima engleskog jezika da ne
 prisustvo nastavi da ne
 ponašanje na času da ne
 prethodno znanje engleskog (iz osnovne škole) da ne
 čitanje na engleskom jeziku da ne
 slušanje muzike na engleskom jeziku da ne
 igranje igrica na engleskom jeziku da ne
 učenje engleskih riječi dok koristim internet da ne
 gledanje filmova i/ili serija na engleskom jeziku da ne
 opće znanje (iz drugih predmeta i uopće iz života) da ne
 interes za učenje engleskog jezika da ne
 želja za učenjem engleskog jezika da ne
 talenat za učenje engleskog jezika da ne
 strategije učenja engleskog jezika (npr. zapisivanje bilješki, podvlačenje u knjizi i svesci, organizovanje
nepoznatih riječi, pogađanje značenja riječi iz konteksta, i sl) da ne
 organizovanje obaveza i planiranje vremena za učenje da ne
 porodični odnosi da ne
 podsticanje od strane roditelja da ne
 pomoć drugova/drugarica iz odjeljenja i drugih prijatelja da ne
 težina/lahkoća učenja engleskog jezika da ne
 sreća kad je u pitanju test ili usmeno ispitivanje da ne
 nagrada od roditelja da ne
 nešto drugo (što gore nije spomenuto) - navedi: _____________________________

_______________________________________________________________

U sljedećim pitanjima za svaku ponuđenu opciju zaokruži ili DA ili NE:

9. Kad uložim puno truda u učenje engleskog jezika i postignem dobar uspjeh tad osjećam:
1. ponos da ne
2. samopouzdanje da ne
3. bijes/ljutnju da ne
4. zahvalnost da ne
5. krivicu da ne 4
113
 6. žaljenje i razočarenje da ne
7. stid da ne
8. beznađe da ne
9. nešto drugo (navedi): ________________

10. Talentovan/a sam za engleski jezik: da ne

Ako si u pitanju 10 zaokružio/la 'DA' pređi na pitanje 10a, a ako si zaokružio/la 'NE' pređi na pitanje 11.

10a. Kada zbog mog talenta za učenje engleskog jezika postignem dobar uspjeh tad osjećam:

1. ponos da ne
2. samopouzdanje da ne
3. bijes/ljutnju da ne
4. zahvalnost da ne
5. krivicu da ne
6. žaljenje i razočarenje da ne
7. stid da ne
8. beznađe da ne
9. nešto drugo (navedi): ________________

11. Kad imam sreće na testu/usmenom ispitivanju i postignem dobar uspjeh tad osjećam:
1. ponos da ne
2. samopouzdanje da ne
3. bijes/ljutnju da ne
4. zahvalnost da ne
5. krivicu da ne
6. žaljenje i razočarenje da ne
7. stid da ne
8. beznađe da ne
9. nešto drugo (navedi): ________________

12. Kad zbog težine/lahkoće zadataka na testu/usmenom ispitivanju postignem dobar uspjeh tad
osjećam:
1. ponos da ne
2. samopouzdanje da ne
3. bijes/ljutnju da ne
4. zahvalnost da ne
5. krivicu da ne
6. žaljenje i razočarenje da ne
7. stid da ne
8. beznađe da ne
9. nešto drugo (navedi): ________________
________________________________________________________________

13. Zaokruži zaključnu ocjenu iz engleskog jezika na I polugodištu 2014/2015. godine:

1 2 3 4 5

HVALA na učešću!
5
114
Za svako pitanje zaokruži jednu od pet ponuđenih opcija tj. broj, a brojevi znače sljedeće:
1 - potpuno se slažem
2 - djelimično se slažem
3 - niti se slažem, niti se ne slažem
4 - djelimično se ne slažem
5 - nikako se ne slažem

5. Razlog mog neuspjeha u učenju engleskog jezika je:

 trudim se u učenju i radu

1 2 3 4 5
 na časovima engleskog jezika pratim šta profesorica priča i objašnjava
1 2 3 4 5
 na časovima engleskog jezika radim zadate zadatke i trudim se
1 2 3 4 5
 radim domaće zadatke
1 2 3 4 5
___________________________________________________________________________
 prije testa ili usmenog ispitivanja iz engleskog jezika ponovim gradivo
1 2 3 4 5
 na testu pažljivo pročitam svako pitanje/zadatak
1 2 3 4 5
 težina/lahkoća zadataka na testu ili usmenom ispitivanju
1 2 3 4 5
___________________________________________________________________________
 način kako su mi predavali nastavnici engleskog jezika u osnovnoj školi
1 2 3 4 5
 način na koji mi predaje sadašnja profesorica engleskog jezika
1 2 3 4 5
 stav profesorice engleskog jezika prema meni
1 2 3 4 5
 profesorica engleskog me ohrabruje i pohvaljuje
1 2 3 4 5
 pitam profesoricu za pomoć
1 2 3 4 5
 profesorica s nama ponovi ono što će biti na testu
1 2 3 4 5
 atmosfera na časovima engleskog jezika
1 2 3 4 5
___________________________________________________________________________
 prisustvo nastavi
1 2 3 4 5
 ponašanje na času
1 2 3 4 5
___________________________________________________________________________
 prethodno znanje engleskog (iz osnovne škole)
1 2 3 4 5
 čitam na engleskom jeziku
1 2 3 4 5
 slušam muziku na engleskom jeziku
1 2 3 4 5
 igram igrice na engleskom jeziku
1 2 3 4 5 6
115
  naučim engleske riječi dok koristim internet
1 2 3 4 5
 gledam filmove i/ili serije na engleskom jeziku
1 2 3 4 5
 opće znanje (iz drugih predmeta i uopće iz života)
1 2 3 4 5
___________________________________________________________________________
 učenje engleskog jezika me interesuje
1 2 3 4 5
 imam želju za učenjem engleskog jezika
1 2 3 4 5
___________________________________________________________________________
 talenat za učenje engleskog jezika
1 2 3 4 5
 ide mi engleski
1 2 3 4 5
___________________________________________________________________________
 strategije učenja engleskog jezika (npr. zapisivanje bilješki, podvlačenje u knjizi i svesci, organizovanje
nepoznatih riječi, pogađanje značenja riječi iz konteksta, i sl)
1 2 3 4 5
 organizovanje obaveza i planiranje vremena za učenje
1 2 3 4 5
___________________________________________________________________________
 na nastavi engleskog jezika koristimo dobar udžbenik
1 2 3 4 5
 sadržaji koje učimo na časovima engleskog su korisni i povezani sa životom
1 2 3 4 5
___________________________________________________________________________
 porodični odnosi
1 2 3 4 5
 podsticanje od strane roditelja
1 2 3 4 5
 pomoć drugova/drugarica iz odjeljenja i drugih prijatelja
1 2 3 4 5
 težina/lahkoća učenja engleskog jezika
1 2 3 4 5
 imam sreće kad je u pitanju test ili usmeno ispitivanje
1 2 3 4 5
 nagrada od roditelja
1 2 3 4 5
 dosadašnji rezultati
1 2 3 4 5
 potreba za znanjem engleskog jezika tj. važnost poznavanja engleskog jezika u današnje vrijeme
1 2 3 4 5
 nešto drugo (što gore nije spomenuto) - navedi: ____________________________
1 2 3 4 5
________________________________________________________________
6. Koje vrste neuspjeha iz engleskog te najviše obeshrabruju, deprimiraju i utuku? Navedi
primjer.
___________________________________________________________________________
7. Engleski jezik učim samo zato što je to nastavni predmet u školi:
da ne
8. Ne želim da se trudim da učim engleski kad su mi rezultati gotovo uvijek loši:
da ne 7

116
9. Više bih učio/la engleski kad bi
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________

10. Zaokruži da li su ponuđene opcije koje utiču na tvoj uspjeh pod tvojom kontrolom
(tj. ti možeš uticati na njih ili ih mijenjati):
 trud u učenju i radu da ne
 praćenje na časovima engleskog jezika šta profesorica priča i objašnjava da ne
 rad na zadatim zadacima i trud na časovima engleskog jezika da ne
 pisanje domaće zadaće da ne
 ponavljanje gradiva prije testa ili usmenog ispitivanja iz engleskog jezika da ne
 pažljivo čitanje svakog pitanja/zadatka na testu da ne
 težina/lahkoća zadataka na testu ili usmenom ispitivanju da ne
 način kako su mi predavali nastavnici engleskog jezika u osnovnoj školi da ne
 način na koji mi predaje sadašnja profesorica engleskog jezika da ne
 stav profesorice engleskog jezika prema meni da ne
 ohrabrenje i pohvale profesorice engleskog da ne
 traženje pomoći od profesorice da ne
 ponavljanje gradiva za test zajedno s profesoricom da ne
 atmosfera na časovima engleskog jezika da ne
 prisustvo nastavi da ne
 ponašanje na času da ne
 prethodno znanje engleskog (iz osnovne škole) da ne
 čitanje na engleskom jeziku da ne
 slušanje muzike na engleskom jeziku da ne
 igranje igrica na engleskom jeziku da ne
 učenje engleskih riječi dok koristim internet da ne
 gledanje filmova i/ili serija na engleskom jeziku da ne
 opće znanje (iz drugih predmeta i uopće iz života) da ne
 interes za učenje engleskog jezika da ne
 želja za učenjem engleskog jezika da ne
 talenat za učenje engleskog jezika da ne
 strategije učenja engleskog jezika (npr. zapisivanje bilješki, podvlačenje u knjizi i svesci, organizovanje
 nepoznatih riječi, pogađanje značenja riječi iz konteksta, i sl) da ne
 organizovanje obaveza i planiranje vremena za učenje da ne
 porodični odnosi da ne
 podsticanje od strane roditelja da ne
 pomoć drugova/drugarica iz odjeljenja i drugih prijatelja da ne
 težina/lahkoća učenja engleskog jezika da ne
 sreća kad je u pitanju test ili usmeno ispitivanje da ne
 nagrada od roditelja da ne
 nešto drugo (što gore nije spomenuto) - navedi: _______________________

____________________________________________________________________________________________________
U sljedećim pitanjima za svaku ponuđenu opciju zaokruži ili DA ili NE:
11. Kad uložim puno truda u učenje engleskog jezika i postignem loš uspjeh tad osjećam:
1. ponos da ne
2. samopouzdanje da ne
3. bijes/ljutnju da ne 8
117
 4. zahvalnost da ne
5. krivicu da ne
6. žaljenje i razočarenje da ne
7. stid da ne
8. beznađe da ne
9. nešto drugo (navedi): ________________

12. Talentovan/a sam za engleski jezik: da ne

Ako si u pitanju 12 zaokružio/la 'NE' pređi na pitanje 12a, a ako si zaokružio/la 'DA' pređi na pitanje 13.

12a. Kada zbog nedostatka talenta za učenje engleskog jezika postignem loš uspjeh tad osjećam:
1. ponos da ne
2. samopouzdanje da ne
3. bijes/ljutnju da ne
4. zahvalnost da ne
5. krivicu da ne
6. žaljenje i razočarenje da ne
7. stid da ne
8. beznađe da ne
9. nešto drugo (navedi): ________________

13. Kad nemam sreće na testu/usmenom ispitivanju i postignem loš uspjeh tad osjećam:
1. ponos da ne
2. samopouzdanje da ne
3. bijes/ljutnju da ne
4. zahvalnost da ne
5. krivicu da ne
6. žaljenje i razočarenje da ne
7. stid da ne
8. beznađe da ne
9. nešto drugo (navedi): ________________

14. Kad zbog težine/lahkoće zadataka na testu/usmenom ispitivanju postignem loš uspjeh tad
osjećam:
1. ponos da ne
2. samopouzdanje da ne
3. bijes/ljutnju da ne
4. zahvalnost da ne
5. krivicu da ne
6. žaljenje i razočarenje da ne
7. stid da ne
8. beznađe da ne
9. nešto drugo (navedi): ________________
________________________________________________________________
15. Zaokruži zaključnu ocjenu iz engleskog jezika na I polugodištu 2014/2015. godine:
1 2 3 4 5

HVALA na učešću! 9
118
Appendix 3 Attributions from Williams, Burden, Poulet and Maun (2004)

119
Appendix 4 Attributions from Peacock (2010)

I did well in English because

1. I read a lot (English newspapers/books) outside class

2. I was lucky
3. The tests were easy
4. I focused on English outside school
5. I paid attention in class
6. I watched English TV/listened to English songs outside class
7. I asked my teacher for help sometimes
8. I loved/was interested in English
9. I competed hard with my classmates
10. Outside class, I looked up words I did not know in a dictionary/studied vocabulary
11. I was confident during tests
12. I competed with myself/my previous results
13. My teacher praised/encouraged me
14. I revised a lot for tests/studied hard in class
15. My teacher was a good teacher

I did badly in English because

1. I was unlucky
2. I did not enjoy English
3. The teacher was biased against me
4. I did not read the test questions carefully
5. I did not study hard
6. I had poor time management
7. I was nervous/anxious during tests
8. My teacher was not a good teacher
9. I was careless during tests
10. I lacked confidence in English
11. The tests were difficult/too difficult

120
Appendix 5 Attributions from Dörnyei (2013)

1. Learning English is important to me because I would like to travel internationally. 1 2 3 4 5 6

2. I like English films. 1 2 3 4 5 6

3. My parents/family believe that I must study English to be an educated person. 1 2 3 4 5 6

4. Studying English is important to me in order to gain the approval of the society. 1 2 3 4 5 6

5. Studying English can be important to me because I think I’ll need it for further 1 2 3 4 5 6
studies.
6. I always look forward to English classes. 1 2 3 4 5 6

7. I think learning English is important in order to learn more about the culture and art 1 2 3 4 5 6
of its speakers.
8. Studying English is important to me because I am planning to study abroad. 1 2 3 4 5 6

9. I can imagine myself speaking English in the future with foreign friends at parties. 1 2 3 4 5 6

10. I have to study English, because, otherwise, I think my parents will be disappointed 1 2 3 4 5 6
with me.
11. Studying English is important to me because without English I won’t be able to 1 2 3 4 5 6
travel a lot.
12. Studying English is important to me in order to gain the approval of my peers. 1 2 3 4 5 6

13. Studying English is important to me because other people will respect me more if I 1 2 3 4 5 6
have a knowledge of English.
14. I like TV programmes made in English-speaking countries. 1 2 3 4 5 6

15. I study English because close friends of mine think it is important. 1 2 3 4 5 6

16. Studying English is important to me in order to gain the approval of my family. 1 2 3 4 5 6

17. I like to travel to English-speaking countries. 1 2 3 4 5 6

18. I can imagine myself in the future giving an English speech successfully to the 1 2 3 4 5 6
public in the future.

121
19. Studying English is important to me, because I would feel ashamed if I got bad 1 2 3 4 5 6
grades in English.
20. I really like the actual process of learning English. 1 2 3 4 5 6

21. Studying English is important to me in order to achieve a personally important goal 1 2 3 4 5 6

(e.g., to get a degree or scholarship).
22. I will study English harder when thinking of not becoming a successful user of 1 2 3 4 5 6
English in the future.
23. Studying English is important to me in order to gain the approval of my teachers. 1 2 3 4 5 6

24. Studying English is important to me because my life will change if I acquire good 1 2 3 4 5 6
command of English.
25. My dreams of how I want to use English in the future are the same as those of my 1 2 3 4 5 6
parents’.
26. I really like the music of English-speaking countries (e.g., pop music). 1 2 3 4 5 6

27. I find learning English really interesting. 1 2 3 4 5 6

28. I can imagine a situation where I am doing business with foreigners by speaking 1 2 3 4 5 6
English.
29. I study English because with English I can enjoy travelling abroad. 1 2 3 4 5 6

30. Studying English is necessary for me because I don’t want to get a poor score mark 1 2 3 4 5 6
or a fail mark in English proficiency tests (NMET, CET, MET, IELTS,…).
31. I think time passes faster while studying English. 1 2 3 4 5 6

32. I consider learning English important because the people I respect think that I 1 2 3 4 5 6
should do it.
33. I can imagine that in the future in a café with light music, a foreign friend and I will 1 2 3 4 5 6
be chatting in English casually over a cup of coffee.
34. When thinking of not becoming a successful user of English in the future, I feel 1 2 3 4 5 6
scared.
35. I can feel a lot of pressure from my parents when I’m learning English. 1 2 3 4 5 6

36. Learning English is important to me because I plan to travel to English-speaking 1 2 3 4 5 6

countries in the future.
37. I like English-language magazines, newspapers, and books. 1 2 3 4 5 6

38. I really enjoy learning English. 1 2 3 4 5 6

39. I have to learn English because I don’t want to fail the English course. 1 2 3 4 5 6

40. I can imagine myself in the future having a discussion with foreign friends in 1 2 3 4 5 6
English.

122
41. Studying English is important to me because an educated person is supposed to be 1 2 3 4 5 6
able to speak English.
42. My image of how I want to use English in the future is mainly influenced by my 1 2 3 4 5 6
parents.

43. When the teacher tells me the instructions I understand better. 1 2 3 4 5 6

44. I am prepared to expend a lot of effort in learning English. 1 2 3 4 5 6

45. When I’m imagining myself using English skillfully in the future, I can usually have 1 2 3 4 5 6
both specific mental pictures and vivid sounds of the situations.
46. I use colour coding (e.g. highlighter pen) to help me as I learn. 1 2 3 4 5 6

Appendix 6 Attributions from Lei (2009)

1. I feel calm when I take in examinations.

2. I have strong ability in analyzing and summarizing what the teacher teach in the class so that I grasp the main points.
3. The majority of my classmates do well in this subject.
4. The test paper is unexpectedly easy.
5. I never put off till tomorrow what can be done today.
6. Our teachers prepare and teach the lessons very well.
7. I can finish the tasks of preview and revision given by the teacher.
8. I have a good memory so that I can remember what I have just learnt.
9. I take the revision lessons seriously and remember the key points before taking the examinations.
10. I feel energetic in examinations.
11. I have done some of the questions in the test paper during the revision period.
12. I am never absent-minded in class.
13. The contents of this subject are specific and connected with the reality.
14. The teacher will help us review what we have learnt before the examinations.
15. I will finish my homework consciously after class.
16. The lively teaching can appeal to us.
17. I won’t go out with my classmates for relaxation during the revision period.
18. I did not come across catch questions.
19. This subject is easy to learn.
20. Someone will help me review what I have learnt before examinations.
21. I can concentrate on studying in my daily life.
22. I can guess what the teacher will test during the revision period.
23. I read carefully the requirements for each question and do revision when I am in examinations.
24. My classmates all study hard and we have a good learning atmosphere.
25. I will stop watching films during the examination period.
26. I have no burdens when taking the examinations.
123
27. I can understand thoroughly what the teacher teaches us.
28. Our teachers can specify the difficult points and key points.
29. I will try my best to solve difficult questions, not to turn hastily to others for help.
30. I have always interest in learning.
31. Good friends can help each other during the revision period.
32. I have a plan for my studying so that I can make reasonable arrangement of my time.
33. I feel ease when I do the questions in the test papers.
34. The teacher takes no prejudice to anyone when grading our test papers.
35. I have good foundation in studying so that I can grasp the basic knowledge in the textbooks.
36. I stay up late into night during the examination period.
37. I think I can do well in the coming examinations.
38. I am willing to work hard so as to make progress in studying.
39. When I hear the examination results this time, I feel:
(1) pride 1 2 3 4 5
(2) gratified 1 2 3 4 5
(3) grateful 1 2 3 4 5
(4) excited 1 2 3 4 5

Appendix 7 Attributions from Besimoğlu, Serdar and Yavuz (2010)

Attributions

Strategy
Interest
Effort
Teacher
Background Knowledge
Attendance
English Speaking Environment
Ability
Classroom Atmosphere
Educational Policy

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