Examining the relationship between English as a foreign language learners' cognitive abilities and L2 grit in predicting their writing performance

Research aims: This study was designed to explore the interplay among English as a foreign language learners' cognitive abilities and grit in predicting writing performance along different task complexity through path analysis and multiple group analysis. Methodology: A total of 353 tertiary students from Western China were recruited to participate in this study. Their language aptitude and working memory capacity were evaluated by the LLAMA tests and the automated operation span task, respectively. They were required to complete writing tasks with different complexities: argumentation (complexity+) and narration (complexity-). Results and conclusion: The results revealed that (1) the effects of perseverance of effort and working memory on L2 writing performance were significant in the argumentative task, whereas the influences of perseverance of effort and consistency of interest on L2 writing performance were significant in the narrative one; (2) task complexity moderated the respective impacts of grammatical inferencing ability and working memory on L2 writing performance. Theoretical and pedagogical implications were discussed.