Unpacking the relationship between L2 grit profiles and foreign language engagement among Chinese university students

Wei Sun; Yi Yan

doi:10.30827/portalin.vi45.31346

Authors

Wei Sun Huazhong University of Science and Technology https://orcid.org/0009-0008-2188-7436
Yi Yan China University of Petroleum Beijing https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9110-685X

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.30827/portalin.vi45.31346

Keywords:

L2 grit profiles, FL engagement, latent profile analysis, gender differences

Abstract

This study examines the relationship between L2 grit components, namely, perseverance of effort (PE) and consistency of interest (CI), and foreign language (FL) engagement components (i.e., emotional engagement, behavioral engagement, cognitive engagement, and agentic engagement) using a person-centered approach with a sample of 400 Chinese university students. Results showed that female students reported higher behavioral and emotional engagement, while no gender differences were found in PE or CI. Moreover, PE was more strongly associated with FL engagement than CI. In addition, PE was more related to behavioral engagement than CI, while CI was more related to emotional engagement than PE. Latent profile analysis revealed four L2 grit profiles: high-all, average-all, low-all, and low PE and high CI. Learners in the high-all profile showed the highest FL engagement, while those with low PE and high CI had similar low FL engagement levels to the low-all group. These findings highlight the nonlinear nature of the grit-engagement relationship and emphasize the importance of PE in exam-driven contexts. Pedagogically, the study suggests that developing tailored interventions based on specific L2 grit profiles could improve learner engagement in FL classrooms.

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Author Biographies

Wei Sun, Huazhong University of Science and Technology

Wei Sun is a Ph.D. candidate at the School of Foreign Languages, Huazhong University of Science and Technology. His research interests include instructed SLA, psychology of language teaching and learning, and corpus linguistics. Email: weis@hust.edu.cn

Yi Yan, China University of Petroleum Beijing

Yi Yan is a lecturer in the Faculty of School of Foreign Languages, China University of Petroleum-Beijing, and holds a Ph.D. in Linguistics. His research interests include language education, second language acquisition, and discourse analysis. Email: y.yan@cup.edu.cn

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