Language Learning Strategies and Their Mediating Role between Motivation and English Learning Performance

Abstract

Motivation is fundamentally defined as what drives individuals to take certain actions. It encompasses many factors, which makes it challenging to investigate all of them within a single study. This study focused on self-efficacy, task value, and test anxiety, which are widely regarded as key motivational constructs. Although motivation has been extensively studied, there has been limited research on the motivation of middle school students in Vietnam, making this study a valuable contribution to the field of second language motivation by examining this specific group. To collect data, this study gathered English as a Foreign Language mid-term exam score and survey responses from 365 middle school students in Vietnam. The survey was adapted from established instruments measuring motivated learning strategies and language-learning strategies. The data were analyzed using structural equation modeling and led to the conclusion that, except for test anxiety, self-efficacy and task value are key motivational variables. Additionally, learning strategies were found to strongly mediate the relationship between motivation and English learning performance.