“Not giving up when I can't express myself”: toward an entrepreneurial mindset framework in English language learning

This study examined students’ entrepreneurial mindset in English language learning (EM-ELL) by investigating its overall level and pattern, underlying factor structure, and variation across gender, year level, and self-reported English proficiency. A total of 1,990 students participated in the study. Descriptive statistics indicated that students generally reported a moderately high level of EM-ELL, as all item means were above the midpoint of the 4-point scale. The highest-rated items concerned goal clarity, continued practice, and consistency in English learning, whereas dedicating time to learning English received the lowest mean. Inter-item correlations were positive and ranged from weak to moderately strong, showing that the items were related while remaining distinct. Exploratory factor analysis indicated that the data were suitable for factor analysis and produced a three-factor solution with Promax rotation, explaining 50.7% of the total variance. The three factors were interpreted as Strategic Persistence, Adaptive Learning Agency, and Confident Expression. Bayesian ANOVA indicated that the data favored the null model for gender, while evidence of differences was found for selected year-level and self-reported proficiency comparisons. Follow-up post hoc comparisons showed that year-level differences were concentrated mainly around Year 5, whereas the largest Bayes factors were observed in the proficiency comparisons, particularly between A1 and B1 and between A1 and A2. Overall, the findings indicate that EM-ELL may be represented as a multidimensional construct and that its scores were more closely associated with year level and self-reported proficiency than with gender in this sample.