A latent profiling approach to foreign language enjoyment and L2 achievement

Both Broaden-and-Build theory and Control-Value theory (CVT) posit that enjoyment contributes to academic achievement. However, empirical studies show mixed results concerning the predictive effects between these constructs in Second Language Acquisition (SLA). This study examines the link between second language (L2) achievement and Foreign Language Enjoyment (FLE) among 1,360 Chinese tertiary-level students learning English as a foreign language (EFL). Participants completed a national standardised English language test and an FLE questionnaire. Data analysis involved the use of Mplus to perform factor mixture modelling (FMM), a technique that identifies latent subgroups within the sample based on their response patterns. Results revealed four distinct profiles, each displaying different FLE-L2 achievement profile characteristics. The importance of this study lies in its analytic approach, which recognises the non-uniform connections between the three dimensions of FLE and L2 achievement across learners. This finding challenges the notion of straightforward correlations and sheds light on the complexities of these relationships, thereby addressing inconsistencies observed in previous studies and paving the way for more nuanced future research.