Understanding Chinese Undergraduate Students’ Grit and L2 Willingness to Communicate: The Contributions of Foreign Language Enjoyment and Anxiety

doi:10.21203/rs.3.rs-5265580/v1

In recent years, the willingness to communicate among L2 learners (L2WTC) across different cultural and educational contexts have attracted increasing attention from the academic community. A variety of emotional, psychological and situational factors have been scrutinized for their direct and indirect effects on WTC. However, the personal factor of grit in shaping WTC has been insufficiently investigated, and the possible mediating effects of L2 emotions (e.g. foreign language enjoyment and anxiety) have been relatively under-explored. Based on a sample of 301 Chinese undergraduate English majors, this study investigated the influence of the two dimensions of grit, i.e., perseverance of effort (PE) and consistency of interest (CI), on two types of L2 WTC, i.e., meaning-focused and form-focused L2 WTC; and explored the possible mediating effects of foreign language anxiety (FLA) and three sources of foreign language enjoyment (FLE-private, FLE-atmosphere, and FLE-teacher) in their relationship. It is found that: (1) PE significantly positively predicted meaning-focused and form-focused L2 WTC; (2) FLE-private and FLE-atmosphere fully mediated the relationship between PE and meaning-focused and form-focused L2 WTC, and that (3) FLE-atmosphere fully mediated the relationship between CI and meaning-focused and form-focused L2 WTC.

Social science/Education

Social science/Language and linguistics

Social science/Psychology

L2 willingness to communicate

grit

foreign language enjoyment

foreign language anxiety

Chinese undergraduate students

As one of the four language skills (i.e. listening, speaking, reading, writing), speaking has received increasing attention from both academic researchers and language teachers in the higher education sector in China (e.g., Wang and Zhou, 2023; Yu and Zhang, 2024). The “Teaching Guide for Undergraduate English Major in Regular Higher Education Institutions” issued in 2021 stipulates that undergraduate students majoring in English should possess good English language application abilities (Zeng, 2019), including fundamental listening and speaking communication skills that enable simple English communication in daily life and academic pursuits. In the spirit of implementing this stipulation, colleges and universities across the country have attached great importance to the teaching and practice of English speaking skills. Researchers point out that speech fluency, i.e. the ability to speak fluently in a second langue (L2), is one of the key indicators in assessing learners’ L2 proficiency, and enhancing it to a high level is regarded as an ultimate goal pursued by L2 learners (Tavakoli and Wright, 2020).

Given the importance of speaking skills and speech fluency, it is both necessary and important to investigate into the factors influencing the development of Chinese English-as-a-foreign-language (EFL) learners’ communicative competence in English. One of the determinants in this regard that has been increasingly verified in the literature is learners’ willingness to communicate in the L2 (L2 WTC) (e.g., Chen et al., 2022; Wei and Chen, 2022; Wei et al., 2022), as learners having higher levels of L2 WTC will also have more opportunities for learning by practicing the L2 both inside and outside the classroom (MacIntyre et al., 1998). While existing studies on L2 WTC has incorporated a variety of personal, interpersonal, and situational factors, the personality factor of grit has only recently attracted scholarly attention (e.g., Ebn-Abbasi et al., 2022; Ebn-Abbasi et al., 2024; Lee, 2020; Lee & Chen Hsieh, 2019; Lee & Drajati, 2019; Wang, 2023; Yang et al., 2024), and its interactions with L2 emotions, such as foreign language enjoyment (FLE) and anxiety (FLA), in predicting L2 WTC, have been insufficiently studied, especially in a Chinese EFL context. Given these inadequacies, the current study sets out to explore the role of grit in predicting the L2 WTC among Chinese undergraduate English majors, and concurrently probe into the possible mediating roles of FLE and FLA in their relationship.

2.1 L2 WTC

McCroskey and Baer (1985) first introduced the concept of WTC for communication in the first language (L1), and subsequently MacIntyre and colleagues introduced it to the field of L2 acquisition (MacIntyre and Charos, 1996), and defined it as a learner’s “readiness to enter into discourse at a particular time with a specific person or persons, using a L2” (MacIntyre et al., 1998: 547). Believed to be “an antecedent of the L2 learners’ actual communicative behaviors” (Lan et al., 2021: 3), it allows L2 learners to “cultivate their communicative competence, and proceed with their L2 acquisition process effectively (Li, 2024: 2). To promote studies on L2 WTC, MacIntyre et al. (1998) developed a heuristic model of L2 WTC, in which various personal, interpersonal, and situational factors that may influence learners’ L2 WTC were encapsulated.

This theoretical model comprises six layers. The first layer is communicative behavior, referring to the specific behaviors of an individual engaging in L2 communication in real-life situations. The frequency, quality, and diversity of communicative behaviors can all directly reflect an individual’s level of L2 WTC. The second layer is behavioral intention, which precedes communicative behavior and serves as the internal impetus driving an individual to initiate or engage in L2 communicative acts. The stronger the behavioral intention, the more likely an individual is to initiate or engage in L2 communication in real-life situations. The third layer consists of situational antecedents that have a direct impact upon L2 WTC, including one’s desire to communicate with a specific person, and his/her state of communicative self-confidence. In all, the factors in these layers of the model, being subject to change per se depending on the specific situation or context, have a direct and short-term impact upon a person’s L2 WTC at any given moment. The fourth to sixth layers encompass enduring factors that indirectly affect L2 WTC, including one’s interpersonal and intergroup motivation, intergroup attitudes and climate, social situation, personality, among others, which represent “distal, enduring, and broadly applicable influences on L2 communication” (MacIntyre and Wang, 2021: 4). Taken together, it could be argued that the model proposed by MacIntyre et al. (1998) integrates various factors relating to language, communication, society, psychology, and personality, offering a multidimensional and holistic perspective on the comprehensive influences on WTC in L2 communication contexts (Shi and Fan, 2022).

Inspired by this model, a spate of inquiries have sought to validate potential predictors of L2 WTC, including learning motivation (especially within the L2 motivational self system framework), language mindset, emotional intelligence, class social atmosphere/classroom environment, along with studies on the influence of language attitude, international posture, and global perspective (see Li, 2024: 2). However, the personality factors (e.g. grit) within L2 WTC have received relatively less attention in existing research, especially in a Chinese EFL context. Moreover, in most prior studies, L2 WTC has been treated as a collective variable, but some researchers have suggested an obvious distinction between meaning-focused and form-focused L2 WTC (e.g., Li and Li, 2022; Peng and Woodrow, 2010; Weaver, 2005). While meaning-focused L2 WTC signifies willingness to communicate in an L2 with the teacher or the entire class for the exchange of ideas, thoughts and feelings, form-focused L2 WTC involves willingness to communicate in the L2 with a smaller, more familiar audience, such as nearby peers or classmates for solutions to language-related problems (Li and Li, 2022: 19). Given this difference, it is interesting to know whether grit exerts differential effects on the two types of L2 WTC. Therefore, this study tries to explore the influence of grit, a personality factor located in the bottom layer of MacIntyre et al.’s (1998) model, on Chinese undergraduate English majors’ L2 WTC in both meaning-focused and form-focused activities of communication.

2.2 Grit

The concept of grit, introduced by Duckworth and colleagues seventeen years ago, has garnered considerable interest within the psychological community. Defined as “perseverance and passion for long-term goals” (Duckworth et al., 2007: 1087), it is believed to have a stronger predictive effect on achievement compared to IQ and aptitude (Liu et al., 2022). Indeed, previous social psychological research has found that grit is an important predictor of success across diverse academic and non-academic domains among different populations (Teimouri et al., 2022). Generally, grit is regarded as a higher-order factor encompassing two dimensions: perseverance of effort (PE) and consistency of interest (CI) (Duckworth et al., 2007; Duckworth and Quinn, 2009). PE denotes the extent to which an individual persists and maintains efforts in order to achieve their long-term objectives, while CI refers to the degree to which an individual maintains interest and enthusiasm in achieving their long-term goals, regardless of the challenges and failures they may encounter (Sudina et al., 2021).

Despite the pivotal role of grit in achieving success, research exploring the role of grit in the process of language learning is relatively limited (Keegan, 2017; Mikami, 2024; Sudina et al., 2021), with studies on the relationship between grit and L2 WTC emerging only in recent years (e.g., Ebn-Abbasi et al., 2022; Ebn-Abbasi et al., 2024; Lee, 2020; Lee & Chen Hsieh, 2019; Lee & Drajati, 2019; Wang, 2023; Yang et al., 2024). For example, Lee & Chen Hsieh (2019) examined the relationship between emotional variables (grit, L2 confidence, L2 motivation, L2 anxiety) and L2 WTC in in-class, out-of-class, and digital contexts among 261 undergraduate students from different majors in Taiwan. The results suggested that students with higher grit and L2 confidence displayed higher L2 WTC in all three communicative settings. In a recent study, Yang et al. (2024) probed into the connections between teacher support, grit, and L2 WTC among a sample of 619 Chinese university students, and the results indicated that grit could directly and positively predict L2 WTC, and indirectly affect it through the mediation of foreign language enjoyment.

However, in most of the previous studies on the relationship between grit and L2 WTC, the construct of grit is taken as a collective variable, although differences of its two dimensions of PE and CI has been noted in the literature (e.g., Alamer, 2021; Credé et al., 2017; Muenks et al., 2017; Sudina et al., 2021). For example, Credé et al.’s (2017) meta-analysis, involving 88 independent samples of 66,807 individuals, revealed that PE is a more powerful predictor of performance than CI. Sudina et al. (2021) found that PE positively predicted L2 proficiency in an EFL context while CI had a negative predictive effect in an English-as-a-second-language (ESL) context. Based on these findings, in the present study, the two dimensions of grit, viz. PE and CI, were taken as separate variables in order to reveal possible differences in their predictive effect.

2.3 Foreign Language Enjoyment and Anxiety

Emotional factors in L2 acquisition have long been regarded as “irrational factors” and therefore largely neglected until the introduction of humanistic perspectives on language teaching in the 1970s and 1980s, which prompted scholars to consider language learners holistically by assigning equal importance to cognitive and emotional factors (Li and Xu, 2019).

Further, the rise and swift advancement of positive psychology in general education (e.g., Lake, 2013; MacIntyre and Gregersen, 2012; Mercer and MacIntyre, 2014) have prompted scholars to broaden their attention from solely negative emotions such as boredom, anxiety, and burnout to both positive and negative emotions in L2 teaching and learning (Wang et al., 2021). A range of studies have found that language learners and users experience a range of emotions in various settings, with foreign language enjoyment (FLE) and anxiety (FLA) being the most common emotions in the classroom (Li and Xu, 2019).

The notion of FLE was first introduced to L2 acquisition by Dewaele and MacIntyre (2014: 242) and was described as “enjoyment, fun, interest, and lack of boredom”. According to Li et al. (2018), FLE is a positive feeling derived from surpassing homeostatic constraints and pushing oneself to achieve something novel or unanticipated, particularly when confronted with challenging tasks. The notion of FLA was first introduced to L2 acquisition by Horwitz et al. (1986). They posited that L2 anxiety differs from general anxiety in that it possesses a certain degree of language specificity, referring to the complex self-perceptions, beliefs, feelings, and behaviors associated with foreign language learning. It is represented by the three sub-levels of communication apprehension, test anxiety, and fear of negative evaluation.

FLE and FLA, as two related but distinct and fundamentally independent emotions in L2 learning (Wang and Ren, 2024), have been shown to have a clear pattern of relationships with L2 achievement, with a significant positive relationship between FLE and L2 achievement, and significant negative relationship between FLA and L2 achievement (Li and Xu, 2019; Wang and Ren, 2024), although there are some different findings related to FLA (see Yu 2022, 2024). In recent years, the role of FLE and FLA in shaping learners’ L2 WTC has also been under scrutiny. For example, Wang et al. (2024), in a study involving 547 undergraduate students learning languages other than English in the United States, found that students’ L2 WTC in class was associated with their anxiety, boredom and enjoyment, and that these emotions along with pride mediated the relationships between classroom social climate/language mindset and L2 WTC. Wei and Chen (2022), in their study of a sample of 622 Chinese undergraduate non-English majors, found that FLE and FLA significantly positively and negatively predicted L2 WTC, respectively, and that both of them mediated the relationships between growth/fixed language mindset and L2 WTC. However, as noted earlier, in these studies, the construct of grit was taken as a single collective variable, and no distinction was made between meaning-focused and form-focused L2 WTC. Therefore, the roles of FLE and FLA in the relationships between PE/CI and meaning-focused/ form-focused L2 WTC remain unexplored. Moreover, FLE can be derived from different sources, such as individuals themselves, the atmosphere or environment of L2 learning, and the L2 teacher (Li et al., 2018). An interesting question that arises is whether these sources of FLE exhibit different relationships with the two dimensions of grit and the two types of L2 WTC. With these considerations, the current study seeks to probe into the direct influence of PE and CI on meaning-focused and form-focused L2 WTC, and the possible mediating effects of FLA and the three sources of FLE in their relationship.

Given the inadequacies of prior research, this study tries to answer the following research questions:

Q1: What are the general profiles of Chinese undergraduate English majors’ PE, CI, FLE-private, FLE-atmosphere, FLE-teacher, FLA, and meaning-focused and form-focused L2 WTC?

Q2: What are the interrelationships among Chinese undergraduate English majors’ PE, CI, FLE-private, FLE-atmosphere, FLE-teacher, FLA, and meaning-focused and form-focused L2 WTC?

Q3: Do Chinese undergraduate English majors’ PE/CI directly predict their meaning-focused and form-focused L2 WTC?

Q4: Do FLE-private, FLE-atmosphere, FLE-teacher, and FLA mediate the relationships between PE/CI and meaning-focused and form-focused L2 WTC?

4.1 Participants

Based on convenience sampling, with the informed consent of the department, class teacher, and students themselves, a cohort of first- and second-year undergraduate students majoring in English in a university located in Jiangsu Province, China were selected as participants. By conducting an online survey in the QQ groups of the classes involved (QQ is a popular social networking software in China used for both life and work), a total of 301 valid questionnaires were collected. The participants’ ages ranged from 17 to 23 years old (M = 20.017 years, SD = 1.392), with 34 males (11.30%) and 267 females (88.70%). Seven participants had overseas studying or living experience (2.33%). Their experience of English learning ranged from 6 to 16 years (M = 11.638 years, SD = 2.221).

4.2 Instruments

The questionnaires for this study were developed based on previous research (as described below). The items in the questionnaires were presented in a Likert five-point scale ranging from “not suitable for me at all ” to “very suitable for me”. To ensure that the participants accurately understand the meaning of the statements, all the items were presented in English first, followed by their Chinese translations.

4.2.1 Grit Scale

The grit scale used in this study was taken from Alamer (2021), consisting of 12 items. Given the controversy surrounding the factorial structure of grit, a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was initially conducted to determine the factorial structure of grit among undergraduate English majors in China. The results indicated that a two-factor structure of “perseverance of effort” and “consistency of interest” (χ²/df = 3.389, CFI = 0.927, TLI = 0.910, RMSEA = 0.089, SRMR = 0.085) significantly outperformed a single-factor structure (χ²/df = 10.422, CFI = 0.708, TLI = 0.643, RMSEA = 0.177, SRMR = 0.165) (following Wang (2023), the criteria applied are: 1 < χ²/df < 3, CFI > 0.9, TLI > 0.9, RMSEA < 0.8, SRMR < 0.8). The Cronbach’s α coefficients for the two sub-scales were 0.914 and 0.802 respectively, while that of the global scale was 0.679. In the present study, the data were analyzed with “perseverance of effort” and “consistency of interest” as two separate variables in an effort to probe into their respective roles in predicting L2 WTC.

4.2.2 Foreign Language Enjoyment Scale

In this study, the scale was taken from Li et al. (2018), consisting of 11 items, with necessary modifications made to relevant expressions in the original version. For example, Item 5 “It’s a positive environment” was changed to “I am surrounded by a positive environment in English learning”; Item 10 “There is a good atmosphere” was rephrased as “There is a good atmosphere of learning English in my class or school”. A CFA revealed that a three-factor model, comprising “FLE-private”, “FLE-atmosphere”, and “FLE-teacher” (Li et al., 2018), exhibited good fit indices (χ²/df = 2.570, CFI = 0.969, TLI = 0.959, RMSEA = 0.072, SRMR = 0.043), indicating that the structural validity of the scale was satisfactory. The Cronbach’s α coefficients of the three sub-scales were 0.859, 0.898, and 0.891 respectively, and that of the global scale was 0.893. In the present study, the data were analyzed by taking “FLE-private”, “FLE-atmosphere”, and “FLE-teacher” as three separate variables, aiming to better reveal the specific roles of different sources of foreign language enjoyment in the relationship between grit and L2 WTC.

4.2.3 Foreign Language Anxiety Scale

The scale used in this study was taken from Dewaele & MacIntyre (2014), consisting of 8 items. An initial analysis revealed poor internal consistency reliability of the scale (Cronbach’s α = 0.511). Based on the factor loadings of each item, items D4 and D5 were removed from the scale, and the same analysis was conducted again. The results indicated that the internal consistency reliability of the new scale was fairly satisfactory (Cronbach’s α = 0.851). A CFA showed that most fit indices were acceptable (χ²/df = 4.504, CFI = 0.956, TLI = 0.927, RMSEA = 0.108, SRMR = 0.044). Considering the KMO value (0.861), results of a Bartlett’s test of sphericity (p < 0.01), and the cumulative percentage of variance explained after rotation (57.996% > 50%), the structural validity of the new scale was acceptable.

4.2.4 L2 WTC Scale

In this study, the scale was selected from Peng & Woodrow (2010), consisting of 10 items. A CFA showed that the fit indices of a two-factor model (Li & Li, 2022; Peng & Woodrow, 2010; Weaver, 2005), involving “meaning-focused L2 WTC” and “form-focused L2 WTC” (χ²/df = 3.901, CFI = 0.949, TLI = 0.933, RMSEA = 0.098, SRMR = 0.059), significantly outperformed a single-factor model (χ²/df = 15.477, CFI = 0.738, TLI = 0.664, RMSEA = 0.220, SRMR = 0.134). The Cronbach’s α coefficients of the two sub-scales were 0.874 and 0.925, and that of the global scale was 0.907. In the present study, “meaning-focused L2 WTC” and “form-focused L2 WTC” were treated as two separate variables in data analysis, aiming to gain a more fine-grained understanding of the influence of grit, foreign language enjoyment, and foreign language anxiety on different types of L2 WTC.

4.3 Data Analysis

In this study, test of common method bias, descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, one-way ANOVA, Kruskal-Wallis test, and mediation analysis were conducted using the SPSSAU platform (an online platform for conducting statistical analysis at https://www.spssau.com).

5.1 Test of Common Method Bias

The Harman’s single-factor test was employed to examine possible common method bias in this study. Common method bias pertains to the systematic error that may emerge when a singular methodology is employed for gathering data on distinct variables within a research context, resulting in inflated relationships among those variables. This type of bias frequently stems from the utilization of a single source or method, including self-reported surveys or questionnaires, which has the potential to influence participants’ responses and induce spurious correlations (Li, 2024). The results indicated that a total of eight factors had eigenvalues greater than 1, with the variance explained by the first factor being 30.648%, below the critical threshold of 40%. This suggested that there was no presence of severe common method bias in the research data.

5.2 Descriptive Statistics and Correlation Analysis of Variables

The results of a normality test are presented in Table 1. According to Kim (2013), if the absolute values of skewness for a variable ranged from 0.03 to 0.98, and the absolute values of kurtosis ranged from 0.10 to 2.01, it then indicates that the data of the variable generally follow a normal distribution. Based on the values of skewness and kurtosis, and through a check of the P-P plots, it could be argued that the data for each variable were generally acceptable as normally distributed, with the means falling within or slightly above moderate range (following Li (2024), we take means between 2.1-3.5 as being at a moderate level).

Table 1 Descriptive statistics of variables (N = 301)

Variable	Range	Mean	St. D.	Skewness	Kurtosis
PE	1-5	3.640	0.705	-0.417	0.898
CI	1-5	3.147	0.665	-0.211	0.577
FLE-private	1-5	3.559	0.660	-0.021	0.311
FLE-atmosphere	1-5	3.377	0.731	0.080	0.064
FLE-teacher	1-5	3.887	0.600	-0.378	1.193
FLA	1-5	3.321	0.451	-0.099	0.216
Meaning-focused L2 WTC	1-5	3.274	0.682	0.393	0.087
Form-focused L2 WTC	1-5	3.403	0.742	0.052	-0.136

Note: PE: perseverance of effort; CI: consistency of interest; FLE: foreign language enjoyment; FLA: foreign language anxiety; L2 WTC: second language willingness to communicate

The results of a correlation analysis are presented in Table 2. It could be observed that: (1) PE was significantly positively correlated with both meaning-focused and form-focused L2 WTC; (2) CI was significantly negatively correlated with both meaning-focused and form-focused L2 WTC; (3) FLE-private, FLE-atmosphere, and FLE-teacher were significantly positively correlated with both meaning-focused and form-focused L2 WTC; (4) FLA was significantly negatively correlated with both meaning-focused and form-focused L2 WTC; (5) PE was significantly negatively correlated with CI and FLA, and positively with FLE-private, FLE-atmosphere, and FLE-teacher; (6) CI was significantly negatively correlated with FLE-private, FLE-atmosphere and FLE-teacher, and positively with FLA; (7) FLE-private was significantly positively correlated with FLE-atmosphere and FLE-teacher, and negatively with FLA; (8) FLE-atmosphere was significantly positively correlated with FLE-teacher, and negatively with FLA; (9) FLE-teacher was negatively related to FLA, but their correlation did not reach statistical significance; (10) Meaning-focused L2 WTC was significantly positively correlated with form-focused L2 WTC.

Table 2 Correlations among variables (N = 301)

Variable	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8
1.PE	—
2.CI	-0.253^**	—
3.FLE-private	0.605^**	-0.232^**	—
4.FLE-atmosphere	0.543^**	-0.282^**	0.640^**	—
5.FLE-teacher	0.555^**	-0.200^**	0.584^**	0.735^**	—
6.FLA	-0.170^**	0.459^**	-0.274^**	-0.167^**	-0.068	—
7.Meaning-focused L2 WTC	0.459^**	-0.189^**	0.561^**	0.521^**	0.484^**	-0.232^**	—
8.Form-focused L2 WTC	0.373^**	-0.164^**	0.448^**	0.486^**	0.430^**	-0.184^**	0.702^**	—

Note: 1. PE: perseverance of effort; CI: consistency of interest; FLE: foreign language enjoyment; FLA: foreign language anxiety; L2 WTC: second language willingness to communicate; 2. ** p<0.01

Considering the uneven distributions of age and years of English learning for the sample of this study, non-parametric tests were used to check for their possible influence on all the key variables under study. A Kruskal-Wallis test showed that age did not have a significant influence on FLE-private (H = 7.473, p = 0.279), FLE-teacher (H = 9.502, p = 0.147), and FLA (H = 11.768, p = 0.067), but did exert a significant impact on PE (p < 0.01), CI (p < 0.01), FLE-atmosphere (p < 0.01), meaning-focused L2 WTC (p < 0.05), and form-focused L2 WTC (p < 0.05). The same test showed that students’ years of English learning did not have a significant influence on all the other variables except PE (p < 0.05). A one-way ANOVA showed that gender did not significantly influence all the other variables except FLA and meaning-focused L2 WTC (p < 0.05). In light of these results, age, years of English learning, and gender were taken as control variables in the subsequent analysis.

5.3 Mediation Analysis of Foreign Language Enjoyment and Anxiety

Based on bias-corrected bootstrapping with 5000 samples, the author analyzed the mediating effects of FLE-private, FLE-atmosphere, FLE-teacher, and FLA on the relationships between PE/CI and meaning-focused/form-focused L2 WTC. Controlling for age, gender, and years of English learning, the variables were entered into the mediation model to estimate the size of the mediation effects and confidence intervals.

First of all, a regression analysis was conducted by taking PE and CI as independent variables, FLA and the three sources of FLE as mediator variables, and meaning-focused L2 WTC as the dependent variable, with age, gender, and years of English learning as control variables. As shown in Table 3, PE significantly positively predicted meaning-focused L2 WTC (β = 0.437, t = 8.140, p < 0.01), FLE-private (β = 0.592, t = 12.308, p < 0.01), FLE-atmoshphere (β = 0.493, t = 9.944, p < 0.01), and FLE-teacher (β = 0.552, t = 10.897, p < 0.01). CI significantly negatively predicted FLE-atmosphere (β = -0.117, t = -2.344, p < 0.05) while significantly positively predicting FLA (β = 0.430, t = 8.022, p < 0.01). When all predictor variables entered the regression equation simultaneously, FLE-private and FLE-atmosphere significantly positively predicted meaning-focused L2 WTC (β = 0.277, t =4.079, p < 0.01; β = 0.170, t = 2.195, p < 0.05).

A mediation analysis (see Table 4) revealed that FLE-private and FLE-atmosphere fully mediated the relationship between PE and meaning-focused L2 WTC, and FLE-atmosphere fully mediated the relationship between CI and meaning-focused L2 WTC, while the remaining mediation effects were non-significant.

Table 3 Regression analysis of the relationships among variables in the model (1)

Regression Equation		Overall Fit Indices			Significance of Regression Coefficients
Outcome Variable	Predictor Variables	R²	Adapted R²	F	β	t
Meaning-focused L2 WTC	Age	0.232	0.219	17.817^**	-0.074	-1.349
	Sex				-0.092	-1.802
	Years of English learning				0.080	1.478
	PE				0.437	8.140^**
	CI				-0.061	-1.123
FLE-private	Age	0.383	0.373	36.683^**	-0.028	-0.568
	Sex				-0.055	-1.198
	Years of English learning				0.098	2.020
	PE				0.592	12.308^^
	CI				-0.078	-1.620
FLE-atmosphere	Age	0.347	0.336	31.317^**	-0.184	-3.612^**
	Sex				0.023	0.495
	Years of English learning				0.046	0.925
	PE				0.493	9.944^**
	CI				-0.117	-2.344^*
FLE-teacher	Age	0.318	0.306	27.453^**	-0.000	-0.002
	Sex				0.056	1.155
	Years of English learning				0.050	0.990
	PE				0.552	10.897^**
	CI				-0.065	-1.277
FLA	Age	0.243	0.230	18.922^**	0.056	1.028
	Sex				0.127	2.488^*
	Years of English learning				-0.126	-2.354^*
	PE				-0.063	-1.184
	CI				0.430	8.022^**
Meaning-focused L2 WTC	Age	0.389	0.370	20.606^**	-0.030	-0.580
	Sex				-0.076	-1.633
	Years of English learning				0.026	0.521
	PE				0.108	1.731
	CI				0.032	0.594
	FLE-private				0.277	4.079^**
	FLE-atmosphere				0.170	2.195^*
	FLE-teacher				0.136	1.877
	FLA				-0.098	-1.821

Note: 1. PE: perseverance of effort; CI: consistency of interest; FLE: foreign language enjoyment; FLA: foreign language anxiety; L2 WTC: second language willingness to communicate; 2. * p<0.05; ** p<0.01

Table 4 Results of mediation effect test (1)

Pathway of Mediation Effect	a	b	a*b	95% Boot CI	c'	Conclusion
PE→FLE-private→ meaning-focused L2 WTC	0.554^**	0.286^**	0.159	0.083 ~ 0.259	0.104	full mediation
PE→FLE-atmosphere→ meaning-focused L2 WTC	0.511^**	0.158^*	0.081	0.001 ~ 0.184	0.104	full mediation
PE→FLE-teacher→ meaning-focused L2 WTC	0.470^**	0.155	0.073	-0.006 ~ 0.176	0.104	no significant mediation
PE→FLA→ meaning-focused L2 WTC	-0.040	-0.149	0.006	-0.003 ~ 0.034	0.104	no significant mediation
CI→FLE-private→ meaning-focused L2 WTC	-0.078	0.286^**	-0.022	-0.074 ~ 0.007	0.033	no significant mediation
CI→FLE-atmosphere→ meaning-focused L2 WTC	-0.128^*	0.158^*	-0.020	-0.064 ~ 0.001	0.033	full mediation
CI→FLE-teacher→ meaning-focused L2 WTC	-0.059	0.155	-0.009	-0.058 ~ 0.003	0.033	no significant mediation
CI→FLA→ meaning-focused L2 WTC	0.291^**	-0.149	-0.043	-0.101 ~ 0.006	0.033	no significant mediation

Note: 1. PE: perseverance of effort; CI: consistency of interest; FLE: foreign language enjoyment; FLA: foreign language anxiety; L2 WTC: second language willingness to communicate; 2. * p<0.05; ** p<0.01

Subsequently, a regression analysis was conducted by taking PE and CI as independent variables, FLA and the three sources of FLE as mediator variables, and form-focused L2 WTC as the dependent variable, with age, gender, and years of English learning as control variables. As shown in Table 5, PE significantly positively predicted form-focused L2 WTC (β = 0.352, t = 6.268, p < 0.01), FLE-private (β = 0.592, t = 12.308, p < 0.01), FLE-atmoshphere (β = 0.493, t = 9.944, p < 0.01), and FLE-teacher (β = 0.552, t = 10.897, p < 0.01). CI significantly negatively predicted FLE-atmosphere (β = -0.117, t = -2.344, p < 0.05) while significantly positively predicting FLA (β = 0.430, t = 8.022, p < 0.01). When all predictor variables entered the regression equation simultaneously, FLE-private and FLE-atmosphere significantly positively predicted form-focused L2 WTC (β = 0.152, t = 2.068, p < 0.05; β = 0.253, t = 3.027, p < 0.01).

Table 5 Regression analysis of the relationships among variables in the model (2)

Regression Equation		Overall Fit Index			Significance of Regression Coefficients
Outcome Variable	Predictor Variables	R²	Adapted R²	F	β	t
Form-focused L2 WTC	Age	0.161	0.146	11.293^**	-0.097	-1.684
	Sex				-0.076	-1.412
	Years of English learning				0.087	1.535
	PE				0.352	6.268^**
	CI				-0.053	-0.939
FLE-private	Age	0.383	0.373	36.683^**	-0.028	-0.568
	Sex				-0.055	-1.198
	Years of English learning				0.098	2.020^*
	PE				0.592	12.308^**
	CI				-0.078	-1.620
FLE-atmosphere	Age	0.347	0.336	31.317^**	-0.184	-3.612^**
	Sex				0.023	0.495
	Years of English learning				0.046	0.925
	PE				0.493	9.944^**
	CI				-0.117	-2.344^*
FLE-teacher	Age	0.318	0.306	27.453^**	-0.000	-0.002
	Sex				0.056	1.155
	Years of English learning				0.050	0.990
	PE				0.552	10.897^**
	CI				-0.065	-1.277
FLA	Age	0.243	0.230	18.922^**	0.056	1.028
	Sex				0.127	2.488^*
	Years of English learning				-0.126	-2.354
	PE				-0.063	-1.184
	CI				0.430	8.022^**
Form-focused L2 WTC	Age	0.288	0.266	13.102^**	-0.042	-0.759
	Sex				-0.070	-1.395
	Years of English learning				0.045	0.847
	PE				0.069	1.017
	CI				0.028	0.478
	FLE-private				0.152	2.068^*
	FLE-atmosphere				0.253	3.027^**
	FLE-teacher				0.117	1.486
	FLA				-0.074	-1.272

Note: 1. PE: perseverance of effort; CI: consistency of interest; FLE: foreign language enjoyment; FLA: foreign language anxiety; L2 WTC: second language willingness to communicate; 2. * p<0.05; ** p<0.01

A mediation analysis (see Table 6) revealed that FLE-private and FLE-atmosphere fully mediated the relationship between PE and form-focused L2 WTC. FLE-atmosphere fully mediated the relationship between CI and form-focused L2 WTC, while the remaining mediation effects were non-significant.

Table 6 Results of mediation effect test (2)

Pathway of Mediation Effect	a	b	a*b	95% Boot CI	c'	Conclusion
PE→FLE-private→ form-focused L2 WTC	0.554^**	0.170^**	0.094	-0.004 ~ 0.200	0.072	full mediation
PE→FLE-atmosphere→ form-focused L2 WTC	0.511^**	0.257^**	0.131	0.015 ~ 0.252	0.072	full mediation
PE→FLE-teacher→ form-focused L2 WTC	0.470^**	0.144	0.068	-0.033 ~ 0.179	0.072	no significant mediation
PE→FLA→ form-focused L2 WTC	-0.040	-0.122	0.005	-0.002 ~ 0.033	0.072	no significant mediation
CI→FLE-private→ form-focused L2 WTC	-0.078	0.170^*	-0.013	-0.051 ~ 0.003	0.031	no significant mediation
CI→FLE-atmosphere→ form-focused L2 WTC	-0.128^*	0.257^**	-0.033	-0.099 ~ -0.001	0.031	full mediation
CI→FLE-teacher→ form-focused L2 WTC	-0.059	0.144	-0.008	-0.056 ~ 0.005	0.031	no significant mediation
CI→FLA→ form-focused L2 WTC	0.291^**	-0.122	-0.036	-0.087 ~ 0.021	0.031	no significant mediation

Note: 1. PE: perseverance of effort; CI: consistency of interest; FLE: foreign language enjoyment; FLA: foreign language anxiety; L2 WTC: second language willingness to communicate; 2. * p<0.05; ** p<0.01

6.1 Overall Levels of Variables

Descriptive statistics revealed that Chinese college students’ levels of PE (M = 3.640, SD = 0.705) and CI (M = 3.147, SD = 0.665) fell within or slightly above the moderate range, which is similar to the results of prior research (e.g., Liu & Wang, 2021; Wei et al., 2019; Zhao & Wang, 2023). For example, Wei et al. (2019) reported in their study of a sample of 832 students aged from 11 to 16 (M = 13.27, SD = 1.01) that the average total score on the grit scale (adopting Duckworth & Quinn’s (2009) Grit-S scale comprising 8 items) was 27.47, equivalent to a mean of 3.434 (derived from 27.47/40*5); Zhao & Wang (2023) reported in their study of a cohort of 504 students aged from 12 to 16 (M = 14.14, SD = 0.94) that the mean values of PE and CI stood at 3.79, 3.45, respectively. Different from these studies, the participants in the present study are students in their first and second year of learning at college, whose ages ranged from 17 to 23 (M = 20.017, SD = 1.392). Therefore, the similar results obtained in this study suggest that grit is a relatively stable personality trait (Duckworth et al., 2007), which, without educational intervention or training, will likely remain at a certain level for an extended period of time.

The results of the current study also showed that Chinese college students’ FLE-private, FLE-atmosphere, FLE-teacher, and FLA were all at or slightly above moderate levels, and that the levels of FLE (especially FLE-teacher) were all higher than that of FLA. Paired-samples T-tests showed that the levels of FLE-private (t = 4.622, p < 0.01, Cohen’s d = 0.266) and FLE-teacher (t = 12.668, p < 0.01. Cohen’s d = 0.730) were significantly higher than that of FLA. In Wang’s (2023) study, which also measured Chinese college students’ FLE and FLA, it was found that the level of FLE was also higher than that of FLA, albeit with a larger mean difference (1.011). Although more studies are needed to arrive at a firm conclusion, it appears that Chinese college students experience both enjoyment and anxiety during L2 learning, with the former being more prevalent, corroborating the theoretical view of the coexistence of emotions (e.g., Dewaele & MacIntyre, 2014). In this respect, positive psychology in L2 education questions the positive and negative polarity of emotions and asserts that negative and positive emotions are not easily separable and, in many cases, even complement each other (Wang et al., 2021). Dewaele & MacIntyre (2014: 262) noted that it is plausible that enjoyment and anxiety may “cooperate from time to time”, where enjoyment fosters playful exploration while anxiety prompts a focus on the need for specific action.

The present study also revealed a moderate level of L2 WTC on the part of Chinese college students (meaning-focused L2 WTC: M = 3.274, SD = 0.682; form-focused L2 WTC: M = 3.403; SD = 0.742), and that the level of form-focused L2 WTC was significantly higher than that of meaning-focused L2 WTC (t = 4.058, p < 0.01, Cohen’s d = 0.234). Lan et al. (2021) reported that their sample of 842 Chinese undergraduate students scored a mean of 3.92 (SD = 0.585) in their L2 WTC. In Wang’s (2023) study, a total of 103 Chinese undergraduate English majors reported a mean of 3.796 (SD = 0.727) in their L2 WTC. Yang et al. (2024), in their study of 619 Chinese university students, found that their respondents scored a mean of 3.694 (SD = 0.796) in their L2 WTC. One-sample T-tests showed that there were statistically significant differences between their results and that of the current study (t = -16.122, p < 0.01, Cohen’s d = 0.929; t = -13.012, p < 0.01, Cohen’s d = 0.750; t = -10.455, p < 0.01, Cohen’s d = 0.603). It thus appears that the levels of L2 WTC among the participants in the current study are significantly lower than those in prior studies. It also seems that L2 WTC, different from L1 WTC which was conceived as a relatively stable personality factor (Shi & Fan, 2022), shows considerable variations across different situations and/or populations. Indeed, the heuristic model of L2 WTC proposed by MacIntyre et al. (1998) suggests that learners’ L2 WTC can be influenced by a variety of linguistic, situational, and psychological factors. Therefore, it is better to view L2 WTC as a dynamic instead of a static construct which varies across different situations and with different student populations.

6.2 Relationships among Variables

As previously mentioned, the results of the correlation analysis indicated that there were significant positive correlations between PE and the two types of L2 WTC, which aligns with the results of previous research (e.g., Teimouri et al., 2022; Wang, 2023). This result suggests that the more efforts Chinese college students invest into their L2 learning (especially in the long run), the more mentally prepared they are to commence or engage in L2 interaction and communication with their teachers and classmates, highlighting the pivotal role of PE in fostering their L2 WTC.

However, CI, the other component of grit, was found to be significantly negatively correlated with the two types of L2 WTC, which was different from the results of some prior studies (e.g., Li, 2024, Wang, 2023). For example, Li (2024) found in his study of a sample of Chinese junior high school students (N = 238) that both PE and CI were positively linked to L2 WTC. Wang (2023), taking Chinese undergraduate English majors as her research participants (N = 103), also found that both PE and CI were positively related to L2 WTC. One possibility may be that, for some participants in the current study, high consistency of interest may lead to a perfectionist attitude in them such that if they are particularly invested in performing well in their language studies, the fear of making mistakes or being judged unfavorably in communicative situations may create excessive anxiety, thereby reducing their willingness to communicate in the L2.

In addition, the three sources of FLE (viz. FLE-private, FLE-atmosphere, and FLE-teacher) and FLA were significantly positively and negatively correlated with the two types of L2 WTC, respectively, and FLE-private and FLE-atmosphere were significantly negatively correlated with FLA. In general, these results are consistent with some extant research (e.g., Li, 2024; Li et al. 2022; Li & Han, 2022; Wang, 2023). This suggests that the more enjoyment Chinese college students experience in their L2 learning process, the less anxiety they will have, the more willing they will be to use the L2 in the classroom, suggesting the important role of positive emotions such as FLE in mitigating the deleterious effects of negative emotions such as FLA on the one hand, and in boosting the L2 WTC among Chinese college students on the other.

Furthermore, while PE was found to be significantly positively correlated with the three sources of FLE, and negatively with FLA, CI was significantly negatively linked to the three sources of FLE, and positively with FLA. Part of this result (i.e. the links found between PE and FLE and between PE and FLA) is consistent with some earlier studies (e.g. Li, 2024; Teimouri et al., 2022; Wang, 2023). However, the negative correlations found between CI and the three sources of FLE, and the positive link revealed between CI and FLA, are counter-intuitive. This, however, could find plausible explanations from the Expectancy Theory proposed by Vroom (1994) in terms of its effort-performance relationship. Specifically, students with consistent interest often set high expectations for their performance in learning English. They may believe that continued engagement and effort should result in significant improvement and success. If these students feel that they must continually demonstrate their interest through high performance (e.g., achieving good grades, speaking fluently), the pressure to meet these expectations can lead to increased anxiety. They may be afraid of failures, which can detract from their overall enjoyment of the learning process. Therefore, the higher the level of CI is, the more anxiety they experience, and the less enjoyment they feel from themselves, the learning atmosphere or environment, and the teacher.

6.3 Direct and Indirect Effects of Grit on L2 WTC

As noted above, the results of a multiple regression analysis revealed that Chinese college students’ PE significantly positively predicted the two types of L2 WTC, while CI, although correlated significantly with the two types of L2 WTC, did not have a significant predictive effect on the latter, aligning with the results of some prior research (e.g., Lee, 2020; Wang, 2023). This suggests that the persistent efforts exerted in L2 learning serve as an important driving force in enhancing Chinese college students’ desire to communicate in the L2. Moreover, the predictive effect of PE on meaning-focused L2 WTC is stronger than on form-focused L2 WTC, which means that students who work hard toward achieving their valued goals in English learning are more willing to use the language for interaction with their teacher and classmates to exchange their ideas, feelings and perspectives than to use it for solving their own problems in English communication.

The results of the mediation analysis demonstrated that FLE-private and FLE-atmosphere fully mediated the relationships between PE and meaning/form-focused L2 WTC, and that FLE-atmosphere fully mediated the relationships between CI and meaning/form-focused L2 WTC. On the one hand, higher levels of PE will lead to higher levels of FLE-private and FLE-atmosphere, which, in turn, will generate stronger L2 WTC, either for meaning-based interaction or for form-focused communication. Although higher levels of PE will also lead to higher levels of FLE-teacher, the latter fails to translate into stronger L2 WTC on the part of students. Therefore, this study found that, for Chinese college students, their inherent interest in and satisfaction with the process and outcome of English learning (FLE-private), and their perceptions of the learning environment and atmosphere (FLE-atmosphere) appear to be more important than their satisfaction with the teacher in shaping their L2 WTC. On the other hand, higher levels of CI will lead to lower levels of FLE-atmosphere, which, in turn, will generate lowers levels of L2 WTC. In contrast, CI did not exert a significant influence on FLE-private and FLE-teacher. As mentioned earlier, CI was positively associated with FLA in the learning process, which possibly stemmed from high expectations of good performance. It, therefore, appears that Chinese college students, although having moderate levels of enduring interest and passion for English learning, suffer from FLA due to their high expectations of good performance in their language studies, which, in turn, significantly negatively influenced their perceptions of the learning environment and atmosphere, leading to a decline in their L2 WTC.

The current study focused on Chinese undergraduate English majors, and explored the influence of two dimensions of grit (i.e. perseverance of effort, and consistency of interest) on two types of L2 WTC (i.e. meaning-focused and form-focused L2 WTC), and concurrently probed into the differential roles of three sources of FLE (i.e. FLE-private, FLE-atmosphere, and FLE-teacher) and FLA in their relationships. It is found that PE significantly positively predicted meaning-focused and form-focused L2 WTC, FLE-private and FLE-atmosphere fully mediated the relationship between PE and meaning-focused and form-focused L2 WTC, and that FLE-atmosphere fully mediated the relationship between CI and meaning-focused and form-focused L2 WTC.

Despite these initial findings, the current study may suffer from several limitations. The first issue has to do with the sample size, which is not large enough compared with previous studies and therefore may undermine the generalizability of findings. The second issue relates to the static nature of the study, which fails to compare levels of grit, FLE, FLA, and L2 WTC across an extended timeline, as these may change over time and as a result their interrelationship may also change. These issues and other possible limitations may be tackled and overcome in future research endeavour.

The questionnaire survey was conducted with the approval of the Research Ethics Committee of the School of Foreign Languages, Taizhou University.

Author Contribution

L. conducted the research, wrote and reviewed the whole manuscript.

Data Availability

Data is provided within the supplementary information files.

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No competing interests reported.

Dataobtainedfromtheonlinesurvey.xlsx

Understanding Chinese Undergraduate Students’ Grit and L2 Willingness to Communicate: The Contributions of Foreign Language Enjoyment and Anxiety

Status:

Version 1

Abstract

1. Introduction

2. Literature Review

3. Research Questions

4. Research Design

5. Results

6. Discussion

7. Conclusion

Declarations

Author Contribution

Data Availability

References

Additional Declarations

Supplementary Files

Status:

Version 1