The Influence Of Language Aptitude And Grit On Foreign Language Learner’s English Proficiency

Obtaining quick and reliable evidence regarding learners’ language proficiency is a longstanding issue in foreign language research.To test language proficiency,many scholars have explored different factors that impact language proficiency.The L2 grit test developed by Teimouri(2020)has been widely concerned recently and its validity in English as a foreign language(FL)will be tested in this thesis.In addition,the LLAMA language aptitude test developed by Meara and Rogers(2019)can test aptitude as one of the internal factors impacting learners’ English proficiency.Even though the significance of grit and aptitude has recently gotten attention from various fields,the research related to Foreign Language Acquisition(FLA)hasn’t been sufficiently studied compared to other areas yet.There is still no literature comparing the influence of the two on second language proficiency.The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between language proficiency,language aptitude,and language grit in a sample of 152 Chinese undergraduate students studying English as a foreign language in Chinese universities.The researcher used the Grit Scale,the LLAMA Language Aptitude Test,and the College English Test Band 4(CET-4)to collect data and assess the reliability and validity of the questionnaire through exploratory factor analysis with SPSS software and confirmatory factor analysis with AMOS software.The results of the study showed that foreign language aptitude has a positive impact on CET-4 scores,with Aptitude 3(the ability to establish sound-symbol-correspondences)being the only dimension of aptitude significantly predicting proficiency.What’s more,language grit was also found to be a significant factor in the relationship between aptitude,grit,and proficiency.Language grit has proven to be one of the most significant factors that are correlated with a higher CET-4.The study also found that foreign language grit had a positive relationship with language aptitude and CET-4 scores.However,when under the same language proficiency level,those who have a high aptitude tend to be more negligent than those who are not giftedOverall,this study introduced the L2 grit scale in the Chinese version as well as the Chinese instruction of the LLAMA Language Aptitude Test.As the scales adopted in this study have been examined to ensure their validity and reliability in tertiary education in Chinese contexts,university students might be able to use them as a tool to assess their own level of language aptitude and language grit.The findings of this study suggest that both language aptitude and foreign language grit are important factors in predicting foreign language proficiency.The results of this study can be useful for students and teachers in English language learning and teaching as they can help to identify students’ strengths and weaknesses and tailor teaching approaches accordingly.Spending more time and emotional resources on boosting students’ grittiness and perseverance will improve learner’s English ability to a great extent.