Abstract:

In online English learning, students’ confidence (academic self-efficacy) and willingness to speak (willingness to communicate) are two important psychological factors that influence learning outcomes. However, the ways in which these two factors are combined within individuals, as well as their role in shaping academic resilience, remain insufficiently understood. Drawing on the risk-protective factor framework of academic resilience, this study employed latent profile analysis to investigate 579 eleventh-grade students. The aims were to identify heterogeneous profiles based on academic self-efficacy and willingness to communicate, and to compare differences in academic resilience across these profiles. The results showed that: (1) the four-profile model demonstrated the best fit, yielding four distinct groups: the low-efficacy—avoidant group (15.4%), the moderate-efficacy—low-communication group (24.7%), the balanced-development group (32.0%), and the high-efficacy—communicative group (28.0%); (2) significant gradient differences in academic resilience were found across the profiles, with a large effect size. Among them, the high-efficacy—communicative group scored the highest, whereas the low-efficacy—avoidant group scored the lowest. These findings suggest that academic self-efficacy, as an internal protective factor, and willingness to communicate, as a social protective factor, work synergistically in enhancing students’ academic resilience. This study reveals the heterogeneity of learner psychological characteristics in online learning contexts and provides empirical evidence for learner type-based differentiated intervention.

Key words: online English learning, academic self-efficacy, willingness to communicate, academic resilience, latent profile analysis, protective factors