The relationship between individual differences and Spanish achievement among Chinese undergraduate students

This study investigates how three individual differences (language anxiety, Expectancy–Value Motivation, and social identity) predict academic performance in Spanish as a foreign language among a sample of 317 Chinese undergraduate students majoring in Hispanic Philology. A designed questionnaire was used to collect all the data from the participants. The results demonstrated that while Chinese learners of Spanish generally possess a high level of value motivation, especially utility value, they showcase a medium level of expectancy. Additionally, participants show a medium-low level of language anxiety in the institutional context of Spanish as a foreign language (ELE) and experience a positive trend towards changes in their social identity, particularly when it comes to self-confidence. Moreover, achievement value and self-confidence emerge as positive predictors of Spanish achievement, while language anxiety is the only negative predictor. Based on the above, limitations and future lines of research are also discussed.