Students’ Attributions for Success and Failure in the Learning of English as a Second Language: A Comparison of Undergraduates from Six Public Universities in Malaysia

The present study was undertaken on six Malaysian public universities. It attempts to examine the relationship between performance attributions and different university settings in the English as a Second Language (ESL) context. Investigation into types of causal attributions people make to explain successes and failures in a variety of settings, and how these attributions affect expectations for future success or failure are in line with the primary goals of motivation models and hence of relevance to language teaching and learning. A quantitative approach, through the use of a questionnaire, was used to measure students’ responses to authentic tasks undertaken in the ESL context. The findings clearly show that “getting a good grade” and “teacher influence” are the most endorsed attributes for success across all six universities in Malaysia, so we can say that external factors play a vital role in moulding attributions and this is particularly apparent in the case of one particular university. In conclusion, it can be said that high respect for teachers and self-critical tendency are communal characteristics in the Malaysian context. Findings of previous studies by Gobel and associates reveal similar trends in two other Asian countries