Classroom climate and EFL students' willingness to communicate: the mediating role of L2 grit.

Introduction: This study investigated the relationships among classroom social climate, L2 willingness to communicate (WTC) and L2 grit, with particular attention to the mediating role of L2 grit, in a Turkish EFL context. Drawing on socio-contextual and intrapersonal perspectives on L2 learning, the study aimed to bridge interpersonal classroom dynamics and learner-internal characteristics within a single mediation framework. Methods: Data were collected from 227 undergraduate EFL learners using self-report measures of perceived classroom climate, L2 grit, and L2 WTC. Structural equation modeling was employed to examine the hypothesized relationships, and mediation was further tested using bootstrap procedures. Results: The results indicated that classroom social climate had a significant positive direct effect on L2 WTC and also exerted an indirect effect through L2 grit. Classroom social climate significantly predicted L2 grit, which in turn emerged as a strong predictor of L2 WTC. The significant direct and indirect effects provided evidence for a partial mediating role of L2 grit in the relationship between classroom social climate and WTC. Discussion: These findings suggest that supportive classroom climates promote learners' willingness to communicate both directly and by strengthening their L2 grit, highlighting the interplay between contextual and learner-internal factors in L2 communication. The study offers pedagogical implications for fostering supportive learning environments and sustaining learner engagement.