Connecting L2 reading emotions and writing performance through imaginative capacity in the story continuation writing task: A gender difference perspective

Second-language (L2) integrated writing tasks, like the story continuation writing task (SCWT), evaluate students’ reading and writing abilities. Although the relationship between writing emotions and performance has been established, the influence of reading emotions in L2 integrated writing remains understudied. The SCWT, newly incorporated into China’s college entrance exam (Gaokao), is designed to evoke emotions and stimulate imagination. This study examined gender-related differences in the relationship between reading emotions and SCWT performance, considering the mediating role of imaginative capacity. It involved 679 Chinese high school students, comprising 279 male and 400 female students, who participated in the SCWT and completed a questionnaire assessing their reading emotions (enjoyment, anxiety, curiosity) and imaginative capacity (creative and reproductive). Results indicated that female students scored significantly higher on reading enjoyment, curiosity, and writing performance than male students. Multi-group structural equation modeling analysis revealed that reading enjoyment predicted reading curiosity for both genders, and reading curiosity further predicted both types of imaginative capacity. However, the analysis revealed that among female students, writing performance was significantly enhanced by the synergistic effects of reading enjoyment, curiosity, and reproductive imagination. Pedagogical implications for promoting test fairness between gender groups and enhancing reading processes within the SCWT were discussed.