Expectancy Beliefs and English Language Performance of Secondary Schools Students in Maiduguri Metropolis, Borno State, Nigeria

Abstract

The study determined Relationship between Students’ Expectancy Beliefs and English Language Performance of Students in Maiduguri Metropolis, Borno State, Nigeria.  Correlation design was adopted for the study.  Four hypotheses which determined the relationships between the components of expectancy beliefs: ability, tasks difficulty, and past experience beliefs, and performance in English Language and the difference among these components in explaining the variance of English Language performance were tested.  A sample of 400 (192 males and 208 females) SS II students from 8 secondary schools, participated in the study. The sample was selected through stratified random sampling. Ability Self-Perceptions Instrument (ASPI), with a Cronbach Alpha Coefficient reliability of .96, and students’ end of session results in English Language were used to collect the data.  Multiple regressions were used to analyse the data. The results revealed significant relationship between ability, task difficulty and past experience beliefs and academic performance in English Language respectively. Task difficulty and past experience beliefs contributed significantly to the variance of performance in English Language whereas ability belief does not make a significant contribution. Recommendations were highlight for teachers and school counsellors.

Keywords: Expectancy Beliefs, English Language, Performance, Students, Secondary Schools, Nigeria.