Causal Attributions for Failure and the Effect of Gender among Moroccan EFL University Learners

This paper reports a study that sought to investigate Moroccan university learners’ perceptions of failure. 333 subjects studying English at university ranked their perceptions of failure in a Causal Attribution Scale of University Failure (CASUF). The results show that Moroccan learners attribute their failure to teachers’ attitude, effort, interest and pressure. Factors like social problems, lack of teachers’ help and ability were not important. The study also investigated the link between gender and causal attributions of failure. Overall, male and female students reported similar causes. Still, some gender differences were detected.