Does student assessment literacy matter between motivational constructs and engagement in L2 writing? A survey of Chinese EFL undergraduates

While the literature has established the impacts of L2 motivation, growth mindsets, and academic buoyancy on engagement, their relationships in L2 writing contexts remain relatively under-explored. Additionally, the potential mediating role of student writing assessment literacy (SWAL) in the aforementioned relationships warrants further investigation. Therefore, the present study aims to examine both the direct and indirect relationships among L2 writing motivation, growth mindsets, academic buoyancy, SWAL, and engagement as perceived by university students through questionnaire survey. Questionnaire data were gathered from a sample of 425 university students, with structural equation modeling employed for data analysis. Regarding the direct relationships, results showed that L2 writing motivation, growth mindsets, academic buoyancy, and SWAL all positively predicted L2 writing engagement; only L2 writing motivation and academic buoyancy positively predicted SWAL. In terms of the indirect relationships, SWAL mediated the relationship between L2 writing motivation and engagement, and between academic buoyancy and L2 writing engagement. Gender did not result in variations in the mediation model. Pedagogical implications for improving students’ writing motivation, assessment literacy, and engagement are discussed.