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Motivation and self-regulated learning profiles: A person-centered perspective of English learning and achievement in an Asia context
Learning English holds immense significance in 21st century education, especially for students whose mother tongue is not English. For non-native speakers, learning English is not just a linguistic challenge but also a key to unlocking global opportunities in education, career, and personal development (Cook, 2016). These students often face unique challenges, such as grappling with different phonetics, syntax, and cultural nuances that are intrinsic to English, which can significantly differ from their native languages. Extensive research underscored the crucial roles played by motivation and self-regulated learning in students' English language acquisition and academic achievement (e.g., Bai, Guo, & Wang, 2022; Bai & Guo, 2021; Bai et al., 2022b; Bai and Wang, 2023; Wang et al., 2023; Yu et al., 2019; Yuksel et al., 2023). These studies employed variable-centered approaches to examine the positive relations among motivation, self-regulated learning, and English achievement across different countries/regions (e.g., Hong Kong, China Mainland, Turkey) at various grade levels. Though the variable-centered approach aims to examine relationships between variables of interest, distinct differences inherent in individual students were overlooked (Li et al., 2022; Wang et al., 2016). In response to this limitation, a person-centered approach has been recommended (Lau & Roeser, 2008). This approach aims to identify potential subgroups of similar subjects, such as students, within a given population. Subjects are categorized into subgroups based on shared profiles (Howard & Hoffman, 2018). It is worth noting that identifying distinct profiles among students can be immensely beneficial for educators in designing tailored programs and pedagogies, facilitating effective differentiated learning (e.g., Lau & Roeser, 2008; Xie et al., 2020). Therefore, the current study aims to adopt a person-centered approach to identify profiles based on students’ motivation (e.g., self-efficacy, task value, test anxiety) and self-regulated learning (e.g., metacognitive strategies, time and environment management, effort regulation) and explore how these profiles relate to their English achievement.