The relationship between secondary school students' motivation and attitudes towards English course and their academic achievement

The aim of this study is to determine the relationship between secondary school students' motivation and attitudes towards English courses and their academic achievement, and to examine whether these variables differ significantly based on demographic factors such as gender, grade level, and school type. The research was designed in accordance with the relational survey model, which is a type of quantitative research method. The study group consists of 1096 secondary school students enrolled in 13 public schools representing different school types in Bartın province during the 2023–2024 academic year. The sample was selected using the stratified sampling method based on school type. The data were collected using two instruments developed by different researchers: the English Lesson Attitude Scale and the English Lesson Motivation Scale. Academic achievement was measured based on students' end-of-year grades in English courses. Data analysis was carried out using SPSS 27.0 software. Prior to the main analyses, the assumptions of normal distribution were tested through skewness and kurtosis values and the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test, revealing that the data did not follow a normal distribution. Accordingly, non-parametric statistical techniques including Spearman Rho correlation, Mann-Whitney U, and Kruskal-Wallis H tests were employed. The findings of the study revealed a statistically significant and positive relationship between students' motivation levels and both their academic achievement and attitudes towards English. However, no significant relationship was found between attitudes and academic achievement. In terms of gender, female students were found to have higher academic achievement and motivation levels compared to male students, whereas no significant difference was observed in their attitude scores. Grade level comparisons showed that 9th-grade students had higher levels of achievement and motivation than students in upper grades. According to school type, students from selective Anatolian High Schools, Science High Schools, and Project Imam Hatip High Schools demonstrated significantly higher levels of motivation and academic achievement compared to those from other school types. In conclusion, the results indicate that motivation is the strongest predictor of academic success in English courses. Therefore, learning environments and instructional strategies should be restructured to enhance student motivation. Based on the findings, the study also presents implications and recommendations.