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Volume 11. Issue 3
Article 2

Title
An Empirical Study of Success and Failure Attributions          of EFL Learners at the Tertiary Level in China

Authors
Lei LEI
 Huazhong University of Science and Technology,
China

Xiaoqing QIN
Huazhong University of Science and Technology,
China

Bio Data:
Lei LEI is an associate professor at the School of Foreign Languages, Huazhong University of Science and Technology (HUST), China, P.R. He got his MA of Applied Linguistics in June 2006 and is now doing his PhD research in SLA at Shanghai Jiao Tong University. He has authored /co-authored 10 papers in refereed journals of linguistics and applied linguistics at home and abroad and has chaired and participated in ten research projects sponsored by Hubei Province and HUST.

Xiaoqing QIN is a professor at School of Foreign Languages, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, China, P.R. He got his PhD of Applied Linguistics in May 1999 and did post-doctoral research at Nanjing University in the following two years. He has published extensively at home and abroad, including papers published at Hong Kong Journal of Applied Linguistics and RELC Journal. He has chaired over ten research projects sponsored by State Ministry of Education, Hubei Province and HUST.

Abstract
This study investigated the success and failure attributions of Chinese tertiary-level EFL learners and its relation to the English language achievement. Factor analysis provided clear evidence that Chinese EFL learners attributed English learning success to factors of effort, teacher, confidence and practical use, and failure to factors of lack of confidence, lack of effort, test-oriented learning, lack of practical use and lack of external help. Results of regression analysis indicated that the teacher and effort factors defined success of English learning, while lack of confidence, lack of practical use and test-oriented learning interpreted EFL failure. It is concluded that the interwoven functioning of all factors, i.e., effort, teacher, confidence and EFL learning for practical use rather than for tests, guides the EFL learning to success.

Key words: success attribution; failure attribution; English language achievement; factor analysis; regression analysis