A Research On The Correlation Between Success And Failure Attributions And The Choice Of English Reading Strategies

Attribution is a process that individuals explain and infer the factors of their ownbehavior or others(Weiner,1979)．In recent years, few researches have been done onthe relationship between attribution and reading strategy choice; most studies areconcerned with the relationship between attribution and foreign language teaching.This research aims to investigate the tendencies of success and failure attributions andthe features of reading strategies use for non-English majors(the subjects of thisresearch are239sophomore students from Xinjiang University), and attempts toexplore the correlation between success and failure attributions and the choice ofEnglish reading strategies, which is based on research results related to attributiontheory and English reading strategy home and abroad, adopts the framework ofattribution theory which is proposed by Weiner(1979), and O’Malley&Chamot’s(1987) classification of reading strategies serves as foundation.The research questions of this survey are as follows:1) How do the non-Englishmajors EFL learners attribute their success in English language learning?2) How dothe non-English majors EFL learners attribute their failure in English languagelearning?3) What are the general tendencies of English reading strategy use for thenon-English majors EFL learners in Xinjiang University?4) How are the factors ofsuccess and failure attributions and the choice of reading strategies correlated?The following instruments are mainly used in this research: ELL Success andFailure Attribution Scales (the two scales are adapted on the basis of Lefcourt’sMultidimensional-Multiattributional Causality Scale) for Tertiary-Level EFL Learnersare used to measure the learner’s ELL success and failure attributions; questionnairefor English reading strategy(the questionnaire is adapted according to O’Malley&Chamot’s(1987) classification of reading strategy) which is used to find out learners’tendencies of English reading strategy choice. The collected data was givenquantitative analysis through SPSS17.0, also the interview material was analyzed in a qualitative way.Based on the statistical and interview questions analysis, the following resultswere obtained:1) non-English majors attribute their successful English learning toeffort, teacher factors, and practical use.2) Non-English majors attribute theirunsuccessful English learning to teacher factors, lack of confidence, lack of effort, andexternal factors.3) the most frequently used reading strategy is cognitive strategy forsuccessful English learners; social/affective strategy and meta-cognitive strategy areless frequently used; next, unsuccessful English learners use relatively fewer types ofreading strategies compared with successful English learners, and they use cognitivestrategy more frequently, the meta-cognitive and social/affective strategy are used lessfrequently.4) There is correlation relationship between success and failure attributionsand choice of reading strategies. Attribution of success to effort factors is significantlyand positively related with social/affective strategy; teacher-success attribution issignificantly and positively correlated with cognitive strategy. Success ascribed toteacher factors significantly positive correlates to social/affective strategy, practiceuse success attribution significantly positive relates to social/affective strategy.Ascription of failure to teacher factor has positive relationship with cognitive strategy;attribution of failure to lack-of-confidence is positively and significantly associatedwith social/affective strategy.Both English learners and teachers can gain meaningful implications from theresults of this research. English learners should try to develop their interest in Englishlearning, do their best to increase their confidence in keeping on English learning, andtry their best to apply what they have learned into practice. English teachers shouldgive attribution and English reading strategy training to help learners form rightattribution and enhance their awareness and ability of using reading strategies.