| Language mindset is language learners’ beliefs and perceptions about whether or not their language ability is malleable.Depending on learners’ perceptions,language mindset can be divided into three types-growth,fixed and undecided.Growth mindset learners believe that their language ability can be improved with efforts,fixed mindset learners believe that this ability is difficult to develop,while undecided mindset learners hold a rigorous attitude towards this statement.In recent years,scholars at home and abroad have conducted studies on language mindset,which mainly focus on the nature,types,the role of language mindset,the factors influencing language mindset and their correlation with learners’ goal setting and behavioral responses.Foreign research suggests that language mindset is an important factor in language learning that may influence the outcome,but researchers have not reached a consensus on whether there is a direct correlation between language mindset and language achievement.Therefore,there is a need to get a further exploration.In China,there is also a small body of research on language mindset.Though,the ways in which learners’ language mindset affects their language achievement are unclear and still being explored.Today,emotion has been considered as one of the most fundamental psychological activities learners experience,and research has shown that language mindset is an important motivational factor that influences learners’ behavior,including the management and regulation of their own emotions.It is,therefore,worth exploring whether language mindset affects learners’ use of their emotion regulation strategies(ERS)in learning and ultimately their language achievement,since there is a paucity of such research.In view of the above,this study,based on examining the general profile and characteristics of Chinese non-English major undergraduates’ language mindset and ERS use,goes further to investigate the differences in ERS use and language achievement among the learners with different language mindsets and the relationship between language mindset,ERS and language achievement.Therefore,the following three research questions are addressed in the present study:1.What are the general profiles and characteristics of language mindsets and theERS use among Chinese non-English major undergraduates?2.Are there any differences in ERS use and language achievement among Chinese non-English major undergraduates with different language mindsets? If yes,what are the differences?3.Is there a mediating effect of ERS on the relationship between language mindsets and overall language achievement? If yes,how does the mediating role act?In this study,432 non-English major undergraduates from Lanzhou Jiaotong University were selected as the participants,and the data were collected through their background information survey,Language Mindset Inventory(LMI),the College Students’ English Learning Emotion Regulation Strategies Questionnaire(ERSQ)and interview.SPSS 25.0 and AMOS 23.0 were used to analyse the data,and the following findings are made:(1)The language mindset of Chinese non-English major undergraduates varies,with a balanced distribution of the three types,but does not generally show a positive trend.Specifically,in terms of percentages,learners with a fixed mindset(32.6%)and an undecided mindset(29.5%)are significantly more numerous than those with a growth mindset(37.9%),reflecting the fact that most Chinese non-English major undergraduates do not have a language mindset that is conducive to learning English.They tend to believe that English achievement cannot be further enhanced with effort,or they hold an ambiguous view of the malleability of their English language ability.(2)Chinese non-English major undergraduates use ERS at a moderate level,with venting(PERS)as the most frequently used strategy(M=3.76)and venting(NERS)as the least frequently used strategy(M=3.065).(3)There are differences in the use of ERS and language achievement among students with different language mindsets.Specifically,in the use of NERS,the growth mindset learners are significantly greater than the fixed and undecided mindset learners,while there is no significant difference between the fixed and undecided mindset group.In the use of PERS,a significant difference cannot be found among the three groups.In addition,in terms of language achievement,students in the growth mindset group perform significantly better than those in the fixed and undecided mindset groups,while students in the fixed mindset group have significantly higher language achievement than the undecided mindset group.(4)Chinese non-English major undergraduates’ ERS use is found to be able to mediate between language mindset and language achievement.For learners with a growth mindset,both NERS and PERS mediate between growth mindset and language achievement.For the fixed mindset learners,NERS negatively mediate the relationship between fixed mindset and language achievement,while PERS cannot mediate the relationship.For learners with an undecided mindset,neither NERS nor PERS has been observed to mediate their language mindset and language achievement.The findings of this study have brought some implications for pedagogical English teaching and learning.Considering the fact that most Chinese non-English major undergraduates are stuck in fixed and undecided mindset,teachers are suggested to help them to pay attention to their language mindset and recognise the positive role of a growth mindset in enhancing their language achievement.In the English teaching practice,teachers are advised to take appropriate measures,incorporate certain content and design activities,targeting at students’ better understanding of the nature and laws of language learning with the growth mindset well-developed.Teachers should also guide students to manage their emotions appropriately.Meanwhile,students should be instructed to use various emotional strategies flexibly and encouraged to adjust their state positively,so that they can vent their negative emotions in certain ways and stimulate a positive mental state in all aspects of learning.Thereby an ecological and pleasant learning environment is expected to be created and students are aided to achieve better language achievement. |
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