Language learning strategies as antecedents of academic self-concept and achievement: a longitudinal study of beginner CFL character learners

Abstract Using cross-sectional and cross-lagged panel models, this study examined the concurrent and prospective relationships among language learning strategies (LLSs), academic self-concept (ASC), and academic achievement among Vietnamese Chinese as a foreign language (CFL) beginners engaged in Chinese character writing (CCW). The initial static analyses supported a strategy-driven pathway (LLSs→ASC→Achievement). The longitudinal analyses further reinforced this pattern: initial LLS use positively predicted subsequent ASC and CCW achievement, whereas initial ASC predicted later CCW achievement but did not predict subsequent LLS use. These findings suggest that in persistent, cognitively demanding learning tasks such as CCW, LLS use is positively associated with subsequent ASC and CCW achievement. Moreover, ASC appeared to be more strongly associated with prior LLSs use than predictive of later LLSs use, consistent with self-perception theory. The study, therefore, underscores the importance of prioritizing strategy development to constructively build ASC during the early stages of complex foreign-language learning.