The influences of mindfulness on foreign language fluency mediated by irrational thoughts, foreign language anxiety and self-efficacy on Thai English learners

Abstract

This study investigated the impact of selected psychosocial factors on the foreign language fluency among Thai people. The influences between mindfulness, irrational thoughts, foreign language anxiety, self-efficacy, and foreign language fluency were explored. The confirmatory factor analysis revealed that fear of non-achievement, concern over mistake, perfectionistic cognition, and inferiority feeling were better explained by the second-order latent factor- irrational thoughts. The SEM analysis of the sample of 1,358 Thai students and office workers revealed that mindfulness both directly and indirectly influenced irrational thoughts (comprised of fear of non-achievement, concern over mistake, perfectionistic cognition, and inferiority feeling), foreign language anxiety, self-efficacy and foreign language fluency. Mindfulness was found to have a negative relationship with foreign language anxiety; and foreign language anxiety also had an adverse effect on self-efficacy and foreign language fluency. This research contributes to foreign language learning by revealing the role of mindfulness to help Thai learners better aware of their negative thoughts which lead to foreign language anxiety, as well as to help enhance a Thai person’s belief in his/her ability to fluently communicate in a foreign language. It also provides insight knowledge to behavioral science by explaining the influences of mindfulness on a person’s irrational thoughts, anxiety, self-efficacy and fluent or proficient performances in general.