Foreign Language Enjoyment and Burnout as Predictors of Multilinguals' Willingness to Communicate

ABSTRACT Characterised by its nomadic traditions and multiethnic composition, Inner Mongolia exhibits unique linguistic diversity and intercultural exchange. Within such multilingual contexts, learners' willingness to communicate (WTC) may be influenced by emotional factors such as foreign language enjoyment (FLE) and foreign language learning burnout (FLLB). Therefore, this study investigates how FLE, FLLB and WTC interact within the context of multilingual education among Mongolian‐speaking university students in China. Drawing on the Broaden‐and‐Build Theory and Control‐Value Theory as conceptual frameworks, this quantitative study employed three validated questionnaires, completed by 246 students learning English as a third language, with 244 valid responses analysed. The results of descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation and structural equation modelling (SEM) were obtained using SPSS 27.0 and AMOS 24.0. The results indicated that FLE is a significant positive predictor of WTC ( β = 0.39, p < 0.001), and FLLB is a considerable negative predictor of WTC ( β = −0.17, p < 0.05). Moreover, 26.8% of variance in the WTC can be explained by FLE and FLLB jointly. It was also revealed that there is a negative correlation between FLE and FLLB ( β = −0.5, p < 0.001). Based on the results, it can be concluded that FLE in multilingual students promotes their WTC, while FLLB inhibits their WTC. The study offers theoretical and pedagogical implications for enhancing learner motivation, reducing emotional fatigue, and designing emotionally responsive classroom practices in multilingual education settings.