A study of the relationship between language learners' attitudes and their development of language proficiency was based on a survey of 50 Yugoslavian university students of English as a Second Language (ESL). The subjects were taking English to fulfill a second language requirement. They were first administered two written attitudinal surveys in their English classes (the short form of the Personal Report of Communication Apprehension and a variant designed to obtain similar information about communication apprehension levels when speaking English in a variety of contexts, including the classroom). Subjects were then interviewed in English concerning why they were studying English, and again completed another survey that tests communication apprehension immediately after a stress-producing communicative experience. All surveys were administered in Serbo-Croatian. Analysis of the survey results suggests that the survey type and the context of its administration influence whether or not it will support a linear, causal perspective on the attitude-proficiency relationship. An alternative model of the attitude proficiency relationship, focusing on the learner's first impression of the target language, is proposed. Survey data are appended and 33 references are cited. (MSE)