Chinese adolescent students’ motivational profiles in English learning: a situated expectancy-value theory approach

As an increasing number of Chinese students have engaged in English learning, more research on the different clusters of students’ English motivational beliefs is sorely needed. Based on the situated expectancy-value theory, we investigated the latent profiles of Chinese adolescent students’ expectancy, value, and cost beliefs in English learning. In addition, we compared motivational profiles regarding academic outcomes and personal characteristics. Latent profile analysis based on a sample of 838 Chinese middle school students identified five profiles: adaptive, average-all, maladaptive, ambitious-struggling, and lying-flat. Significant differences in students’ English engagement and achievement were observed among the five latent profiles, drawing a more comprehensive picture of students’ motivational dynamics in English learning. Moreover, the five latent profiles have revealed meaningful associations with students’ personal characteristics, such as socio-economic status, providing more implications for the construction of profile membership.