Student Grittiness : A Pilot Study Investigating Scholarly Persistence in EFL Classrooms

Abstract

In this paper, we review this concept of grit, operationalized by Duckworth, Peterson, Matthews, and Kelly (2007), and discuss an initial correlational investigation of how well grit predicted performance on two tasks, vocabulary learning (n = 21) and extensive reading (ER) (n = 58), that were thought to require Japanese university EFL students to demonstrate grit over a long period of time. A modified version of Duckworth et al.＇s (2007) original 12-item Grit Scale was administered in Japanese and examined using Rasch analysis (1960), followed by a correlational analysis with the dependent variables of summed vocabulary quiz scores (over one semester) and words read through extensive reading (over one year). Both results were statistically insignificant, with a moderate effect size for the relationship between grit and weekly vocabulary quiz scores, and a weak effect size between grit and the amount of extensive reading.