Interactive Effects of Pride, Shame, and Guilt on Foreign Language Learning Motivation and Willingness to Communicate
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This study examined how self-conscious emotions—pride, shame, and guilt—relate to English learning motivation and classroom willingness to communicate (WTC) among 472 Chinese non-English-major undergraduates. Validated questionnaires measured foreign-language pride, L2 shame and guilt, learning motivation, and classroom WTC. Correlational and regression analyses were used, and mediation and moderation analyses were conducted. Results indicated that pride strongly predicted higher learning motivation, and motivation fully mediated pride’s positive effect on WTC. Guilt also increased motivation and showed a smaller direct positive association with WTC. Shame produced an inconsistent pattern: it slightly increased motivation but directly reduced WTC. Pride did not significantly buffer shame’s negative effects. Overall, pride and guilt functioned as activating emotions that supported engagement and communication, whereas shame mainly suppressed willingness to communicate. These findings suggest that fostering authentic pride while mitigating shame can enhance EFL classroom communication.
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