GROWTH, FIXED, AND MIXED MINDSETS

TLDR

Language learners’ mindsets—beliefs about language as fixed or malleable—are linked to achievement goals, anxiety, reappraisals, and persistence. The study aims to integrate these mindset-related constructs to identify mindset‑system profiles among foreign language learners. A latent profile analysis of 234 university students in foreign language courses revealed three distinct profiles. The fixed (21.8 %) and growth (20.5 %) profiles displayed contrasting patterns of goals, reappraisals, anxiety, and persistence, while most learners (57.7 %) endorsed a mixed profile; although mindsets alone did not predict grades, growth‑profile students were most engaged and achieved the highest grades, indicating that mindsets function as a system with related factors.

Abstract

Abstract Language learners’ mindsets–their beliefs about whether language is a fixed aptitude that is immutable or a malleable capacity that can be developed–are associated with achievement goals, language-use anxiety, reappraisals of challenges, and persistence. This study integrates these mindset-related constructs to identify mindset-system profiles among foreign language learners. A latent profile analysis of 234 university students in foreign language courses revealed three distinct profiles. The fixed (21.8%) and growth (20.5%) profiles showed distinct and contrasting patterns of goals, reappraisals, anxiety, and persistence. However, most learners (57.7%) endorsed a mixed profile. Although mindsets alone did not predict grades, students in the growth profile were consistently most engaged and achieved the highest grades, suggesting that mindsets function as a system, in concert with related factors. This person-centered approach enhances our understanding of the complexity and functions of the mindset system, as well as the motivation of learners with mixed mindsets.