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International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences

Open Access Journal

ISSN: 2222-6990

The Relationship between Achievement Goal Orientations and Language Performance of Secondary School EFL Learners in China

Wang Ruishi, Gurnam Kaur Sidhu, Priyadarshini Muthukrishnan

http://dx.doi.org/10.6007/IJARBSS/v11-i7/10425

Open access

Research in second and foreign language teaching and learning has indicated that there are many factors that influence language performance. These factors can be broadly divided into internal and external factors. This study investigated the impact of one internal factor, namely achievement goal orientations. It explored four types of achievement goal orientations namely mastery approach orientation, mastery avoidance orientation, performance approach orientation and performance avoidance orientation. This non-experimental quantitative study involved 360 Grade Eight Secondary school students from five randomly selected schools located in the Tongcheng County in Hubei Province, China. Data were collected using a survey questionnaire and the findings were analyzed using SPPS version 27. The findings indicated that there was a significant and positive relationship between achievement goal orientations and language performance. Mastery approach orientation, and mastery avoidance orientation however showed a significant, moderate and positive relationship, performance approach orientation showed a significant, low and positive relationship and performance avoidance orientation showed a very low and negative relationship with language performance. Overall, these findings imply that achievement goal orientations should be further explored as potential factors influencing language performance in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) classrooms.

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In-Text Citation: (Ruishi et al., 2021)
To Cite this Article: Ruishi, W., Sidhu, G. K., & Muthukrishnan, P. (2021). The Relationship between Achievement Goal Orientations and Language Performance of Secondary School EFL Learners in China. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 11(7), 139–149.