Beyond aptitudes and experiences: The unique role of mindsets in emotions in language classrooms

Abstract

Achievement in foreign language (FL) classrooms depends on learners' emotional states. A key individual difference factor that is linked to these experiences is growth mindset, which helps learners make positive meaning of their endeavours. However, uncertainties remain regarding the importance of mindsets when factoring in other learner characteristics (aptitude, age of acquisition, language-use experiences, year of learning, gender). This study (N = 342 university-level FL learners) comprehensively explores how mindsets and learner characteristics are related to multifaceted emotions (enjoyment, helplessness, frustration, boredom, anxiety), and end-of-semester performance. We found that prior language-use experience was the most notable learner characteristic in predicting emotions. Growth mindsets also incrementally predicted all learning emotions, even after controlling for learner characteristics. Although growth mindset was not directly related to performance, it indirectly predicted performance through a decrease in the feeling of helplessness. Altogether, growth mindsets matter for positive classroom experiences.

Educational relevance and implications statement

This study shows that language learners' growth mindsets have incremental validity in predicting classroom emotions over other individual factors (aptitude, age of acquisition, prior foreign language [FL] learning experiences, FL use experience). Furthermore, helplessness was the emotion that was most predictive of students' later grades, with fixed mindsets appearing to be a key contributing factor through feelings of helplessness. Therefore, endorsing a growth mindset might help learners feel less helpless in class, which in turn may benefit their performance in foreign language learning.