The Role of Basic Psychological Needs in Task Engagement: A Mixed-Methods Study in Chinese University EFL Contexts

The present study investigated the interplay between Basic Psychological Needs (BPNs)—autonomy, competence, and relatedness—and task engagement in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learning at the university level in China. Adopting a mixed-methods approach, the research combined quantitative data from 3,807 participants with qualitative insights from group interviews to explore how BPN satisfaction influenced students’ engagement across behavioral, emotional, cognitive, agentic, and social dimensions. The quantitative findings, analyzed through Structural Equation Modeling (SEM), revealed that autonomy was the most significant predictor of task engagement across all dimensions, with competence and relatedness also showed strong predictive effects, though competence did not significantly affect social engagement. The qualitative analysis identified three primary themes: instruction, stratification, and motivation, emphasizing the need for balanced autonomy support, differentiated instruction, and interactive activities to foster engagement. Notably, the study highlighted the “autonomy paradox” in transitional educational contexts, where students craved autonomy yet experienced stress in its absence of structured guidance. The findings offer both theoretical contributions to Self-Determination Theory (SDT) by highlighting cultural nuances in autonomy’s predictive power and practical implications for EFL pedagogy, urging educators to create environments that balance autonomy with structured support, promote competence development, and strengthen teacher-student and peer relationships. Despite limitations, such as the reliance on a single university sample, the study lays the foundation for further research into BPNs and task engagement in diverse educational settings.