The Effects of Learner Beliefs on the Structural Model of English Achievement

Although students' beliefs about L2 learning may not be supported by perfectly with empirical evidence, there appears to be a relationship between their beliefs and achievement. The purpose of this study was to identify student beliefs about English learning in a Korean EFL context and to examine the structural relationships among belief factors affecting English achievement. It furthermore investigated the effect of gender on the causal relationships between beliefs and L2 achievement. A total of 247 L2 students (126 girls, 121 boys) at a public middle school completed a questionnaire consisting of 26 Likert-scale items. The study yielded a six-factor solution: self-efficacy of English learning, role of teacher feedback, Importance of school classes, importance of grammar learning, nature of English learning, and importance of accuracy. The path model indicated that self-efficacy of English learning was the most significant predictor of L2 achievement, while student beliefs in role of teacher feedback and nature of English learning were positively related to the students' L2 achievement through the mediating role of self-efficacy. Student gender, however, did not operate as a moderator variable in the structural relationship between L2 beliefs and achievement.