“I Can Do It” or “It’s Hard”: a comparative qualitative study of Thai EFL students’ mindsets and speaking engagement

This study investigates how language learners’ mindsets—growth or fixed—influence their engagement and re-engagement strategies during English-speaking tasks. Grounded in mindset theory, the study examines the cognitive, emotional, and behavioral mechanisms that students employ when disengaging from oral performance tasks in the classroom. Data were collected from 70 university students enrolled in a speaking-focused English course. Students first completed the Language Mindset Inventory to determine their mindset orientation, then participated in a mock job interview. Afterward, individual interviews were conducted in the students’ native language to gain deeper insights into their experiences. Reflexive thematic analysis revealed that, although both students endorsing growth and fixed mindsets faced similar situational challenges, such as anxiety, cognitive overload, limited vocabulary, and environmental distractions, their responses diverged significantly. Students with a growth mindset employed active strategies, such as self-talk, reframing, peer modeling, and digital tools, to regain focus and continue participating. In contrast, fixed mindset students were more likely to experience cognitive shutdown, hesitate, or withdraw from tasks, and rarely described internal coping mechanisms or structured plans for improvement. The study offers targeted pedagogical implications to support fixed mindset learners, including normalizing mistakes, teaching self-regulation, scaffolding speaking practice, and promoting motivational language use. Findings suggest that cultivating growth-oriented habits can enhance resilience and engagement in language learners, particularly in high-pressure speaking contexts. This research contributes to the growing field of language mindset studies by highlighting the role of mindset in both long-term achievement and moment-to-moment classroom engagement. Future research is encouraged to examine interventions that help students with fixed mindset orientations develop more adaptive strategies for speaking and communication in second language acquisition.