Technological University Teachers’ Attribution of Students’ Success and Failure in English Learning in Taiwan

• Main Authors: Wan-chen Tsai, 蔡宛真
• Other Authors: Chi-fen Chen
• Format: Others
• Language: en_US
• Published: 2014
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/11386495707180920943

碩士 === 國立高雄第一科技大學 === 應用英語系應用語言學與英語教學碩士班 === 102 === In language learning contexts, learners are usually viewed as very important roles. Numerous studies have been investigating language learners’ learning performance in relation to motivation and attribution. However, there seem to be few studies focusing on teachers’ perceptions of students’ success and failure in English learning by applying the attribution theory (Weiner, 1979). Weiner assumes that performance is affected by individuals’ attributional beliefs of success and failure from past learning experiences. Therefore, this study uses Weiner’s attribution theory as a framework to examine how technological university teachers attribute students’ success and failure in English learning and to compare whether there are differences in teachers’ attribution in terms of teaching experience and student majors. A questionnaire with a six-point Likert scale, slightly modified by Lee’s (2011) version, was employed for this study. A total of 56 technological university teachers responded to this questionnaire. Among all the responses, 55 responses were valid. A descriptive analysis and independent-samples t-tests were employed for data analyses. In addition, 7 out of the 55 teachers were invited to take follow-up individual interviews in order to get their insights and reasons for their attributional beliefs. The interview data were used to provide more detailed explanations for the statistical results of teachers’ responses to the questionnaire. The results of technological university teachers’ attribution of students’ success and failure in English learning showed that teachers tended to ascribe students’ success and failure to internal factors. In terms of teaching experience, there was no difference in teachers’ attribution of success. As for failure, more experienced teachers considered effort more important than less experienced teachers did. In contrast, less experienced teachers perceived motivation more important than more experienced teachers did. With regard to student majors, significant differences in teachers’ attribution of success were found in the following factors: effort, learning experiences, not afraid of making mistakes, motivation, teaching method, support from parents, and university’s emphasis on English learning. This implies that the teachers thought that non-English major students needed to give more attention to the above factors in order to be successful in learning English than English major students. As for failure, significant differences were found in effort, likes, interest, preparation, and motivation. This reveals that the teachers thought that non-English major students needed to focus more on the above factors in order to prevent failure in learning English. Finally, pedagogical implications, limitations, and suggestions for future research were provided.