From motivation to communicative readiness in blended CSL: academic emotions and academic self-efficacy as theory-specified indirect pathways

Abstract

Many learners of Chinese can complete classroom tasks and demonstrate formal knowledge, yet remain reluctant to use Chinese when communication becomes socially visible. This study examined how learning motivation is associated with L2 willingness to communicate (WTC) among international students enrolled in blended Chinese as a second language (CSL) programs. Drawing on the L2 WTC framework, control-value theory, and self-efficacy theory, the study specified a theory-informed indirect-association model in which academic emotions and academic self-efficacy link motivation with communicative readiness. Survey data were collected from 956 international students in Chinese-language programs at eight universities in China. Measures covered learning motivation, positive academic emotions, negative academic emotions, academic self-efficacy, and L2 WTC. Confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling with 5,000 bootstrap resamples were used to evaluate the measurement structure and the proposed indirect pathways. The structural model fitted the data well, χ2/df = 2.84, CFI = 0.96, TLI = 0.95, RMSEA = 0.044, and SRMR = 0.038. Learning motivation was directly associated with L2 WTC (β = 0.21, p < 0.001), and the total indirect association through emotions and self-efficacy (β = 0.34) was larger than the direct component. Positive emotions, lower negative emotions, and self-efficacy each accounted for part of the motivation-WTC association. Because the study used cross-sectional data, these pathways are interpreted as theoretically ordered associations rather than causal effects. The findings refine motivation-centered accounts of WTC by showing that motivation is linked with communicative readiness partly through emotionally supportive and capability-enhancing psychological conditions in blended CSL learning.