Motivational Profiles, Foreign Language Anxiety, and Willingness to Communicate among Thai Learners of Chinese: A Person-Centered Approach

Hao Zhang; Sumalee Chinokul

Authors

Hao Zhang Suryadhep Teachers College, Rangsit University https://orcid.org/0009-0008-0212-066X
Sumalee Chinokul Suryadhep Teachers College, Rangsit University

Keywords:

L2 Motivational Self System, Latent Profile Analysis, Foreign Language Anxiety, Willingness to Communicate, Chinese as a Foreign Language

Abstract

Motivation is widely recognized as an important factor in second language (L2) learning. However, learners may differ not only in the strength of their motivation but also in how different motivational dimensions are combined within individuals. Given the predominance of variable-centered approaches in previous research and the limited use of person-centered approaches in Chinese as
a foreign language (CFL) contexts, this study investigated motivational profiles among Thai CFL learners and examined profile differences in foreign language anxiety (FLA) and willingness to communicate (WTC). A total of 291 Thai undergraduate students majoring in Chinese participated in the study. Latent profile analysis (LPA) was conducted based on the three components of the L2 motivational self system (L2MSS): the ideal L2 self, ought-to L2 self, and L2 learning experience. The analysis identified a four-profile solution: low ideal L2 self-high ought-to L2 self-low L2 learning experience (n = 57, 19.59%); high ideal L2 self-high ought-to L2 self-high L2 learning experience (n = 16, 5.50%); moderate ideal
L2 self-moderate ought-to L2 self-moderate L2 learning experience (n = 140, 48.11%); and low ideal
L2 self-low ought-to L2 self-low L2 learning experience (n = 78, 26.80%). Significant profile differences were found in both FLA and WTC, with a substantially larger effect for WTC (η² = .311) than for FLA
(η² = .105). The findings demonstrate motivational heterogeneity among Thai CFL learners and suggest that externally driven motivation may not promote favorable affective and communicative outcomes when accompanied by a weak ideal L2 self and an unfavorable learning experience.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Author Biographies

Hao Zhang, Suryadhep Teachers College, Rangsit University

Hao Zhang is an Ed.D. candidate at Suryadhep Teachers College, Rangsit University,Thailand, and a lecturer at the Faculty of Arts, Silpakorn University, Thailand. His researchinterests include second language acquisition (SLA), teaching Chinese as a foreign language,quantitative research methods, meta-analysis, and cognitive and affective individualdifferences.

Sumalee Chinokul, Suryadhep Teachers College, Rangsit University

Sumalee Chinokul, Ph.D. was an Associate Professor at Suryadhep Teachers College,Rangsit University, Thailand. Her research focuses include English language teachereducation, English for specific purposes (ESP), classroom-based assessment, and research inEnglish language instruction.

References

Chen, W. (2025). Systematic review and meta-analysis of the relationship between foreign language anxiety and academic achievement in Chinese language learners. Frontiers in Education, 10, 1576224. https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2025.1576224

Csizér, K., & Dörnyei, Z. (2005). Language learners’ motivational profiles and their motivated learning behavior. Language Learning, 55(4), 613-659. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.0023-8333.2005.00319.x

Dong, L., Liu, M., & Yang, F. (2022). The relationship between foreign language classroom anxiety, enjoyment, and expectancy-value motivation and their predictive effects on Chinese high school students’ self-rated foreign language proficiency. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, 860603. https:// doi.org /10.3389/fpsyg.2022.860603

Dörnyei, Z. (2005). The psychology of the language learner: Individual differences in second language acquisition. Lawrence Erlbaum.

Dörnyei, Z. (2009). The L2 motivational self system. In Z. Dörnyei & E. Ushioda (Eds.), Motivation, language identity and the L2 self (pp. 9-42). Multilingual Matters.

Dörnyei, Z. (2019). Towards a better understanding of the L2 learning experience, the Cinderella of the L2 Motivational Self System. Studies in Second Language Learning and Teaching, 9(1), 19-30. https://doi.org/10.14746/ssllt.2019.9.1.2

Dunn, K., & Iwaniec, J. (2022). Exploring the relationship between second language learning motivation and proficiency: A latent profiling approach. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 44(4), 967-997. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0272263121000759

Ferguson, S. L., Moore, E. W. G., & Hull, D. M. (2020). Finding latent groups in observed data: A primer on latent profile analysis in Mplus for applied researchers. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 44(5), 458-468. https://doi.org/10.1177/0165025419881721

Horwitz, E. K. (2010). Foreign and second language anxiety. Language Teaching, 43(2), 154-167. https://doi.org/10.1017/S026144480999036X

Lee, J. S., Sylvén, L. K., & Lee, K. (2021). Cross-cultural insights into Korean and Swedish secondary school students’ willingness to communicate in a second language. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 42(6), 522-536. https://doi.org/10.1080/01434632.2019.1708917

Le-Thi, D., Dörnyei, Z., & Pellicer-Sánchez, A. (2022). Increasing the effectiveness of teaching L2 formulaic sequences through motivational strategies and mental imagery: A classroom experiment. Language Teaching Research, 26(6), 1202-1230. https://doi.org/10.1177/1362168820913125

MacIntyre, P. D., Clément, R., Dörnyei, Z., & Noels, K. A. (1998). Conceptualizing willingness to communicate in a L2: A situational model of L2 confidence and affiliation. The Modern Language Journal, 82(4), 545-562. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-4781.1998.tb05543.x

Nylund, K. L., Asparouhov, T., & Muthén, B. O. (2007). Deciding on the number of classes in latent class analysis and growth mixture modeling: A Monte Carlo simulation study. Structural Equation Modeling: A Multidisciplinary Journal, 14(4), 535-569. https://doi.org/10.1080/10705510701575396

Papi, M. (2010). The L2 motivational self system, L2 anxiety, and motivated behavior: A structural equation modeling approach. System, 38(3), 467-479. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2010.06.011

Papi, M., & Teimouri, Y. (2014). Language learner motivational types: A cluster analysis study. Language Learning, 64(3), 493-525. https://doi.org/10.1111/lang.12065

Peng, J. E. (2015). L2 motivational self system, attitudes, and affect as predictors of L2 WTC: An imagined community perspective. The Asia-Pacific Education Researcher, 24(2), 433-443. https://doi.org/ 10.1007/s40299-014-0195-0

Peng, J. E., & Woodrow, L. (2010). Willingness to communicate in English: A model in the Chinese EFL classroom context. Language Learning, 60(4), 834-876. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9922. 2010.00576.x

Salbaş, H., & Ekmekci, E. (2025). The impact of classroom environment on students' willingness to communicate in foreign language learning. International Journal of Educational Research, 129, 102517. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijer.2024.102517

Spurk, D., Hirschi, A., Valero, D., Wang, M., & Kauffeld, S. (2020). Latent profile analysis: A review and “how to” guide of its application within vocational behavior research. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 120, 103445. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2020.103445

Teimouri, Y. (2017). L2 selves, emotions, and motivated behaviors. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 39(4), 681-709. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0272263116000243

Ushioda, E. (2012). Motivation: L2 learning as a special case? In S. Mercer, S. Ryan, & M. Williams (Eds.), Psychology for language learning: Insights from research, theory and practice (pp. 58-73). Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137032829_5

Welesilassie, M. W., & Nikolov, M. (2024). The relationship among EFL learners’ motivational self-system, willingness to communicate, and self-assessed proficiency at an Ethiopian preparatory high school. Heliyon, 10(2), e24171. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e24171

Woo, S. E., Hofmans, J., Wille, B., & Tay, L. (2024). Person-centered modeling: Techniques for studying associations between people rather than variables. Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior, 11(1), 453-480. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-orgpsych-110721-045646

Xu, W. (2023). Rising China and rising Chinese: An investigation into African international students’ language beliefs. System, 115, 103054. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2023.103054

Xu, W., Zhang, H., Sukjairungwattana, P., & Wang, T. (2022). The roles of motivation, anxiety and learning strategies in online Chinese learning among Thai learners of Chinese as a foreign language. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, 962492. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.962492

Zhang, C., Meng, Y., & Su, Y. (2025). Profiles of the future L2 selves in foreign language learning: Associations with emotions, willingness to communicate, and personality traits. International Journal of Applied Linguistics, 35(2), 796-809. https://doi.org/10.1111/ijal.12663