A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF THE ATTRIBUTION FOR FAILURE OF ENGLISH MAJORS STUDENTS VERSUS THAT OF THEIR INSTRUCTORS

The current research is a comparative study of the attribution of English majors students ver-sus that of their instructors. The aim of this study was to explore the causes of attribution for students’ failure pinpointed by students of English translation, English teaching, and English literature as well as their instructors. This study was conducted to indicate why some students of English majors could not perform adequately and efficiently. By these findings, instructors should try to enhance the quality of their pedagogy. The researcher investigated the attribution of 300 students of English related majors in five branches of Islamic Azad University in Iran and their difference among them and instructors. The students were asked to determine their attribution by a questionnaire. Thirty (English Foreign Language) EFL teachers were also asked what they attributed their students’ failure to. The result of the questionnaire indicated that students mainly attributed their failure to external factors while their instructors attributed their students’ failure to internal factors. Many significant differences were found between the relation of students’ attribution in English related majors and their instructors. The findings of this study aid the heads of departments to compare the learners’ opinions of studying English translation, literature, teaching and the instructors regarding their attribution towards language pedagogy. They should recognize the people who are responsible for students’ failure in the process of learning or even the reasons which contribute to their failure to communicative well in English.