Yang He, Lian Zheyu
College of Foreign Languages and Cultures, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361005, China.
Behav Sci (Basel). 2023 Jul 16;13(7):597. doi: 10.3390/bs13070597.
The role that individual difference factors play in pragmatic learning behavior has received increasing attention in second-language (L2) pragmatics. However, there is a dearth of studies exploring the relationship between learners' motivational variables and their pragmatic production. To address this gap, the present study aims to examine a model of the ideal L2 self, self-efficacy, willingness to communicate (WTC), and pragmatic production among English-as-a-foreign-language (EFL) learners. The study also seeks to explore the mediating role of WTC within this structural model. For this purpose, a total of 427 undergraduate students at a public university in China were recruited for an online survey. The structural validity of the questionnaires was established using a confirmatory-factor analysis, while the hypothesized structural relations between the variables were tested through structural-equation modeling. The results demonstrated that self-efficacy and WTC significantly and directly predicated pragmatic production. Nevertheless, the ideal L2 self influenced pragmatic production indirectly, through the mediation of WTC. The study concludes by providing implications for teaching and by offering suggestions for future research.
个体差异因素在语用学习行为中所起的作用在第二语言（L2）语用学领域受到了越来越多的关注。然而，探索学习者动机变量与其语用产出之间关系的研究却很匮乏。为了填补这一空白，本研究旨在考察一个关于理想二语自我、自我效能感、交际意愿（WTC）以及作为外语的英语（EFL）学习者语用产出的模型。该研究还试图探究交际意愿在这个结构模型中的中介作用。为此，在中国一所公立大学共招募了427名本科生参与在线调查。问卷的结构效度通过验证性因素分析得以确立，而变量之间的假设结构关系则通过结构方程模型进行检验。结果表明，自我效能感和交际意愿显著且直接地预测了语用产出。然而，理想二语自我是通过交际意愿的中介作用间接地影响语用产出。该研究最后给出了教学启示并为未来研究提供了建议。
