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Expectancy-value theory: Linking uncertainty tolerance, grit, and academic engagement among EFL learners
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DOI：10.1016/j.lmot.2026.102241.png)
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Abstract
En 中文
In high-stakes educational environments such as those in China, English as a foreign language (EFL) learners encounter significant psychological challenges. These include navigating uncertainty, fostering perseverance, and managing emotions to remain engaged in their studies. While individual constructs like tolerance of uncertainty, grit, and engagement have been studied, there is a notable lack of integrated structural models that investigate their connections with emotion regulation within the Chinese EFL context. This research explored the connections between academic emotion regulation, engagement, grit, and tolerance of uncertainty among 200 undergraduate EFL learners (ages 20-27) studying in English programs at various Chinese universities. Participants completed four self-report instruments and the collected data were analyzed using Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). The results confirmed the primary hypotheses: tolerance of uncertainty and academic engagement were positively associated with academic emotion regulation, whereas grit exhibited a notable negative impact. Sub-hypotheses examining specific dimensions revealed that stressful, incapability-in-action, negative/avoidance, and unfairness aspects of uncertainty, as well as the perseverance-in-effort and stability-of-interests dimensions of grit, and behavioral, emotional, and cognitive dimensions of engagement, all significantly influenced academic emotion regulation. These results highlight the central role of emotion regulation, grit, and uncertainty management in promoting EFL learners' academic engagement, offering implications for targeted pedagogical interventions. The findings highlight the importance of teaching strategies that improve tolerance for uncertainty and foster engagement, which can enhance emotion regulation and possibly reduce the adverse effects of grit in high-stress situations.
Keywords:
Academic emotion regulation
Academic engagement
Grit
Tolerance of uncertainty
EFL learners
Expectancy-Value Theory
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