A Study Of The Relationship Between English Learners' Self-efficacy,Attribution Anci Acadlemic Achievement Of Left-behind Junior High School Students In Rural Areas

Self-efficacy and attribution are two important factors that affect student's English achievement.Some empirical studies have been conducted on the relationship between self-efficacy,attribution and academic achievement.However,very little work has been done on the relationship between English learners' self-efficacy,attribution and academic achievement of left-behind Junior High School students in rural areas.Therefore,based on Bandura' self-efficacy theory(1977)and Weiner's attribution theory(1986),this study adopted quantitative and qualitative approaches and was designed to investigate the state quo of left-behind Junior High School students' English learning self-efficacy and attributional style,the correlations between English learning self-efficacy,attribution and English achievement.Participants were 105 left-behind students from a Junior High School in Ganzhou and the results were as follows:(1)rural left-behind Junior High School students' sense of self-efficacy was at a moderate to inferior level;(2)left-behind Junior High School students tended to ascribe their successful English learning to efforts and teacher's effects while attribute their failures in English learning to their efforts;(3)left-behind Junior High School students' academic self-efficacy was positively correlated with their English achievement,their sense of competence to accomplish tasks and sense of confidence to achieve learning goals were able to predict 30.8% of the variance in their English achievements;(4)in terms of success attribution,students' academic achievements were positively correlated with effort and teacher's effect factors and negatively with luck factor.Besides,luck,teacher and mood factors had significant prediction for English achievement which explained 20.4% of the variance in English achievement.In failure attribution,students' English achievements were negatively correlated with ability,luck and teacher's effect factors.In addition,ability,luck,and mood factors had significant prediction for English achievement which accounts for32.7% of the variance in English achievement.Based on the research result,the researcher gives some pedagogical suggestions for English learning and teaching.Firstly,parents should regularly contact their children who are left behind in rural areas,listen to their children's opinions andencourage them to put more efforts in English learning;Secondly,students should hold a correct understanding about English learning and cultivate their interest in learning English;Thirdly,English teachers should improve their teaching methods and train students to form a positive attribution style.