A latent profiling approach to foreign language enjoyment and L2 achievement

ABSTRACT

Both Broaden-and-Build theory and Control-Value theory (CVT) posit that enjoyment contributes to academic achievement. However, empirical studies show mixed results concerning the predictive effects between these constructs in Second Language Acquisition (SLA). This study examines the link between second language (L2) achievement and Foreign Language Enjoyment (FLE) among 1,360 Chinese tertiary-level students learning English as a foreign language (EFL). Participants completed a national standardised English language test and an FLE questionnaire. Data analysis involved the use of Mplus to perform factor mixture modelling (FMM), a technique that identifies latent subgroups within the sample based on their response patterns. Results revealed four distinct profiles, each displaying different FLE-L2 achievement profile characteristics. The importance of this study lies in its analytic approach, which recognises the non-uniform connections between the three dimensions of FLE and L2 achievement across learners. This finding challenges the notion of straightforward correlations and sheds light on the complexities of these relationships, thereby addressing inconsistencies observed in previous studies and paving the way for more nuanced future research.

KEYWORDS:

• Foreign language enjoyment
• Chinese EFL learners
• factor mixture modelling
• L2 achievement

Acknowledgements

The author is grateful to the participants for their cooperation in the study.

Data availability statement

Dataset underlying the findings of this study can be found here: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.25804843.v1

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Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Ethics statement

Ethical review and approval was not required for the study involving human participants according to local legislation and institutional guidelines.

Additional information

Funding

Scientific Research Program Funded by Education Department of Shaanxi Provincial Government (Program No. 23JK0133).