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Abstract
The purpose of the this study was to investigate both the nature of second language proficiency and its interrelationships with learner variables using a wide range of language proficiency measures and powerful multivariate statistical techniques. First competing hypotheses regarding the nature of second language proficiency were tested against each other using confirmatory factor analysis second the relationships between different aspects of language proficiency and selected learner variables were investigated using causal modeling techniques. Regarding the nature of second language proficiency, a correlated traits hypothesis was tested against a second-order hypothesis. As for the relationships between proficiency and learner variables four hypotheses were tested against each other : a background learnervariables (’formal learning in home country, home country and family use of English and formal learning in an English speaking country’) and motivation affect proficiency ; b)background learner variables affect proficiency while the latter affects motivation ; c) background learner variables affect proficiency while proficiency and motivation reciprocally affect each other and d) background learner variables affect proficiency while motivation and proficiency are unrelated.