Maintaining Effort and Interest despite Challenges during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Process Tracing Approach to a Teacher’s Grit during an Online L2 Course

Grit—the ability to maintain effort and interest for long-term goals—is argued to be an important individual factor for achievement, especially in the face of obstacles. However, little research has examined the possible fluctuations of effort and interest and how challenges may trigger the changes of effort and interest. In this study, we measured a teacher’s grit at the beginning of an online course during the COVID-19 pandemic, and we focused on the changes in a teacher’s effort and interest throughout the course. In this case study we unpacked the explanations of possible changes in grit via process tracing. Despite the fact that the teacher scored high on the grit scale, we found that the sudden shift from in-person to online teaching had put much pressure and demand on the teacher. The new teaching challenge influenced the teacher’s self-evaluation of their teaching performance and students’ engagement, which led to changes in effort and interest. Therefore, we argue that one’s average grit (e.g., measured by grit scale) cannot be the representation of their ability to maintain interest and effort on different occasions due to the influence of different situational causes or pressure. Specifically, during the course, the teacher’s effort and interest underwent changes on four occasions, characterized by four distinct dynamic patterns in terms of the interaction of high and low interest and effort. The four emerging patterns of L2 teacher effort and interest indicate that the construct of grit could be explained in terms of four dynamic clusters or archetypes. This study provides implications for understanding the complex dynamic nature of grit, which can be further explored through cluster analytic approaches in future studies.

Language Learning in Crisis Mode: The Connection Between LX Grit, Trait Emotional Intelligence and Learner Emotions

When COVID-19 was declared a pandemic, the education sector soon faced the unprecedented challenge of moving courses online within no time. The rapid implementation of emergency remote teaching (ERT) led to students and teachers alike being thrown into an emotional terra incognita. This paper sets out to explore if foreign language (LX) grit, learners’ passion and perseverance for LX learning, is a predictor of learners’ foreign language enjoyment (FLE) and their foreign language anxiety (FLCA) in LX classes taught remotely due to COVID-19. Additionally, the role of trait emotional intelligence (TEI) in mediating the connections between LX grit, FLE, and FLCA is investigated. With a web survey, data were collected from 481 English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners in Europe. Regression analyses indicated that LX grit was a reliable predictor of FLE and TEI. TEI functioned as a partial mediator in the model, explaining a significant proportion of variance (14.3%) in FLE scores. Thus, grittier students, who were also more emotionally intelligent, reported enjoying their English classes more. LX grit was also shown to be a reliable predictor of FLCA. In this case, TEI functioned as a full mediator in the model, explaining 22.5% of the variance in FCLA scores. Therefore, lower TEI scores were linked to higher levels of FLCA. Less gritty EFL learners scored lower on TEI, which consequently determined higher levels of FLCA. Data from two open-ended questions revealed that particularly enjoyable or anxiety-provoking episodes during ERT were similar among all learners. While positive group dynamics, teachers’ forgiving nature and easy-going disposition, humor as well as the innovative use of technology were mentioned as common factors boosting their FLE, speaking in front of strangers, overwhelming workload and technology-related aspects were frequently mentioned sources of anxiety.

Exploring Grit: “Grit Linguistics” and Research on Domain-General Grit and L2 Grit

Grit is described as a unitary construct comprised of two elements, perseverance of effort (PE, or ongoing hard work) and consistency of interest (CI, referred to as “passion”). PE and CI together equate to success or achievement, according to the creator of the construct, Angela Duckworth (2016). Grit, which has supporters and detractors, says success is more dependent on PE and CI than on natural talent (Duckworth, 2016). This article presents “grit linguistics,” including the linguistic background of overall grit, PE, and CI and the appropriation of words from other fields into the grit vocabulary. This is followed by research on domain-general grit (grit across domains or areas) and domain-specific grit (L2 grit, i.e., grit for learning a second or foreign language). In addition, the article offers suggestions for future conceptions and assessment of grit.

Getting to the Nitty-Gritty of Grit: A Descriptive Characterization of Gritty L2 Learners from Thailand, Malaysia, Taiwan and Japan

Understanding the make-up of gritty L2 students has garnered quite a lot of attention recently. In this descriptive narrative-based study, we looked at the interview data of eight English language learners who recorded high scores on a nine-item grit questionnaire. Specifically, two female university students each from Taiwan, Malaysia, Thailand and Japan were interviewed and their interview scripts were transcribed and then coded looking for common threads to emerge from the data by applying the tenets of Charmaz’s (2006) Grounded Theory. The data show that beyond perseverance, gritty L2 students enjoy learning the L2, are consistently curious about the L2, are generally not bored by the L2, are confident using the L2 (not letting anxiety dissuade them), are extraverted—encompassing a strong willingness to communicate, have focused L2 vision and have had experiences and/or encounters that bolstered their L2 grittiness. As for encouraging L2 grit development, we suggest that good L2 classroom practice include frequent communicative activities so that students can see the practical side of learning a L2 with the hopes of strengthening their L2 vision.

On Domain-Specific Conceptualization and Measurement of Grit in L2 Learning

As a personality trait, second language (L2) grit—a combination of perseverance and passion for L2 learning—has recently been proposed as a meaningful predictor of learners’ motivational behavior and L2 achievement. The results of a growing body of empirical studies carried out in various L2 contexts have substantiated the power of L2 grit in predicting L2 success. In this paper, we contend that grit and its potential effects on L2 outcomes should be conceptualized and measured in a domain-specific fashion. We argue that a domain-specific measure of grit enhances its predictive and construct validity and better captures its differential effects in various domains and across languages. We then briefly review the findings of existing grit research in L2 contexts with respect to their domain-general versus domain-specific conceptualization of grit. Finally, we conclude the paper by discussing several issues raised against domain-general grit and discuss their potential relevance to domain-specific grit research in the context of L2 learning.

Grit in Second Language Learning and Teaching: Introduction to the Special Issue

This brief, introductory paper contextualizes the special issue in relevant literatures in psychology, education, and SLA. In addition to describing the rationale for the special issue and providing a preview of the papers included, we identify the major themes and questions raised by the authors. Balanced against the conceptual, measurement, and pedagogical issues is an argument for the applicability of the concept within SLA. Finally, we provide the implications of the special issue which should be considered in future research in L2 grit studies.

The Role of Grit Among Polish EFL Majors: A Comparative Study of 1st-, 2nd-, and 3rd-Year University Students

The foreign and second language (L2) learning process is shaped by a constellation of individual difference (ID) factors, some of which (e.g., age, anxiety, motivation, aptitude, learning styles, language learning strategies) have long been investigated by specialists, whereas others have only recently attracted their attention. One of such underexplored variables is grit, usually referred to as a personality trait predictive of success and supportive of various important skills including, among others, cooperation and creative thinking. Given the vital role that this ID factor might play in the L2 classroom, the present paper reports a mixed-methods study which addressed the following issues: (1) the level of grit experienced by 99 Polish university BA students majoring in English, (2) the differences in this respect between 1st-, 2nd- and 3rd-year students, and (3) possible manifestations and dynamics of grit in learning English as a foreign language (EFL). Grit was measured using the Polish version of Teimouri et al.’s (2020) language-specific grit scale and a semi-structured interview. One-way ANOVA was employed to quantitatively compare the means of the respondents enrolled in different levels of a BA program, whereas a four-stage procedure (Dörnyei, 2007) was adopted to analyze the qualitative data. The results demonstrated a relatively high level of grit among all the respondents and statistically significant differences for one of its components, that is, consistency of interest in learning the target language between 1st- and 2nd- as well as 1st- and 3rd-year students. This particular subconstruct of grit was found to be mediated by such factors as learning styles and strategies, emotions, weariness or personality. In addition, grit was shown to be linked to participants’ identification of their L2 learning weaknesses and the ability to eliminate them.

How Classroom Environment and General Grit Predict Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety of Chinese EFL Students

Interest in the role of learners’ personality, emotions and the learning environment in foreign language (FL) learning has grown exponentially in the past decade. The introduction of personality psychology in the field of applied linguistics has led to the inclusion of a set of personality dimensions in research designs like resilience and grit, which have been shown to be significant predictors of FL achievement. The abrupt emergence of COVID-19 in 2020 forced universities around the world to move their courses online, which has been named Emergency Remote Teaching. The sudden change in FL learning environment offers a unique opportunity to researchers to investigate whether the relationships between learners’ personality and classroom emotions in traditional ‘in-person’ classes, and the predictors of those emotions, also exist in the new online environments. The present study examined the foreign language classroom anxiety (FLCA) of Chinese secondary students at different instruction levels and its links with learner-internal and external factors, namely general grit and the classroom environment (CE) of the online English classes. A total of 1,526 Chinese secondary students completed an online questionnaire. Pearson correlation analyses and regression analyses revealed that general grit and CE predicted FLCA either independently or jointly. The findings are discussed and interpreted in the light of existing research on person-environment interaction. We identify avenues for further research and propose a number of pedagogical implications for optimizing online FL teaching.

Should Language Acquisition Researchers Study “Grit”? A Cautionary Note and Some Suggestions

Grit is theoretically defined as the combination of perseverance and passion for long term goals. Both of these constructs are likely to be relevant for our understanding of how language acquisition occurs and for explaining between-person differences in the rate of language acquisition. Despite this relevance, there are methodological and theoretical reasons why language acquisition researchers should be cautious about studying “grit” as a construct that is predictive of or causally related to language acquisition. In this paper we discuss some of these reasons, with a specific focus on the problems associated with the aggregation of perseverance and passion into a single variable, and the lack of predictive validity for other important life outcomes. We also discuss and describe with examples other challenges involved in studying grit, passion, or perseverance. Finally, we offer suggestions for some potentially more fruitful ways in which perseverance and passion for long-term goals may be integrated into research on second/foreign language acquisition. For example, we discuss how the measurement of grit facets may need to be revised to be better aligned with the “persisting despite initial failure” theoretical definition of perseverance, and to also balance the negatively-worded and positively-worded item content of the scales. We also discuss how an examination of necessary-but-not-sufficient relationships between grit facets and language acquisition using Dul’s (2016) methodology may be particularly valuable. That is, perseverance and passion may both be required for successful language acquisition but be insufficient on their own because other variables also need to be present (e.g., opportunity to practice, feedback).