Beyond individual differences: How instructional practices and social support impact Chinese EFL learners’ self-regulated reading

The salient contributions of self-regulated learning (SRL) to L2 acquisition have prompted researchers to explore myriad factors to account for learners' differences in strategy adoption. However, most research has scrutinized learners' individual characteristics, leaving the intermediate, micro-level classroom environment (e.g., teaching practices, interpersonal relationships) largely unexplored, particularly for English-as-a-foreign-language (EFL) reading in an examination-intensive educational system. This study examined how Chinese high-school students' perceived instructional practices (i.e., instructional task, and study autonomy) and social support (i.e., academic and emotional support from teachers and classmates) influenced their SRL-strategy use in EFL reading, and whether the relationships were mediated by their motivational beliefs. The eleventh (n = 427) and twelfth (n = 472) graders were recruited and a questionnaire was distributed to them. Mediation analysis revealed that instructional task exercised only a direct effect on SRL, while study autonomy impacted it only indirectly via the intrinsic task value. Several motivational pathways linked teacher social support and SRL, with a total medium to large-sized positive indirect effect. As for peer social support, a small positive indirect effect was detected through extrinsic task value and self-efficacy. The findings provide educators/practitioners with implications to integrate SRL elements in language instruction, and particularly strengthen teachers’ social-emotional skills to create an affective classroom.