Modeling Foreign Undergraduates’ Chinese Language Writing Mindset, Achievement Goals, and Self-regulated Learning Strategies

Drawing on a sample of 429 Chinese major undergraduates from abroad, this study investigates the relationship between growth mindset, achievement goals and self-regulated strategies in L2 writing. Structural equation modeling and mediation analysis are performed to analyze the data. The results reveal that: (a) the participants adopt multiple achievement goals rather than single achievement goal in L2 writing; (b) L2 writing mindset significantly and positively predicts the endorsement of the three L2 writing achievement goals and the use of self-regulated writing strategies; and (c) both mastery and performance-approach goals act as a significant mediator between L2 writing mindset and self-regulated writing strategies, while the mediating effect of performance-avoidance goals was non-significant. Our findings highlighted important theoretical implications for L2 writing motivation and suggested practical applications for enhancing instructional strategies in L2 (Chinese language) learning.