Mostafa Papi
Biographic Data
| ID | 1691874 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Mostafa Papi |
| GIVEN NAMES | Mostafa |
| FAMILY NAME | Papi |
| SIGNATURE | PAPI M |
| AFFILIATIONS | Florida State University |
| ORCID | 0000-0003-4309-0483 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 30 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 143 |
| WORKS AS AUTHOR | 30 |
| WORKS AS EDITOR | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2009 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 6 |
A revised model of feedback-seeking behavior in SLA
This study proposed and tested a revised model of feedback-seeking behavior in second language acquisition. The revised model included feedback elicitation, monitoring, and use. In two studies, data were collected from 207 learners enrolled in Spanish classes at a large public university in Florida and 294 learners of English at a multi-branch private language institute in Iran. Exploratory factor analyses generally combined CF Monitoring and CF …
Motivational dispositions shape feedback-seeking behaviors
Grounded in Regulatory Mode Theory and Proactive Language Learning Theory, this study examined how learners’ general and second language (L2)-specific regulatory modes predict different dimensions of feedback-seeking behaviour (FSB) in foreign language learning. Participants were 212 university-level L2 learners in the United States who completed measures of general regulatory modes, L2-specific regulatory modes, and FSB. Confirmatory factor anal…
Exploring information-seeking behavior in second language learning
Grounded in Proactive Language Learning Theory (PLLT, Papi, M., and P. Hiver. 2025a. “Proactive Language Learning Theory.” Language Learning 75 (1): 295–329. doi:10.1111/lang.12644), this study examines how adult ESL learners engage in proactive information-seeking behaviors (InfoSBs) to support English language acquisition. Semi-structured interviews with eleven international university students in the United States were analyzed thematically, r…
A good relationship is not enough
Regulatory focus and fit effects on task engagement
This study examined the effects of learners’ regulatory focus, task type, and the match/mismatch between the two on task engagement. Eighty-five learners of English as a second language at a US-American university completed a regulatory focus questionnaire, an English proficiency self-assessment, one task with a promotion focus (requiring creativity and imagination), one task with a prevention focus (requiring attention to detail and accuracy), a…
Manufactured crisis
Based on correlational and factorial analysis of data collected from 384 middle and high school students in South Korea, Al–Hoorie et al. (2024) claimed the existence of a discriminant validity crisis within the L2 motivational self-system research tradition and advocated for abandoning research in this area. In this response, we critically examined the evidence presented, re-analyzed their data, and argued that their findings actually support th…
What Proactive Language Learning Theory Is and Is Not
We thank Dwight Atkinson for his thought-provoking commentary, which invites us into dialogue and provides an important opportunity to clarify points regarding the assumptions underlying proactive language learning theory (PLLT). Insightful discourse and scholarly exchange of ideas undoubtedly benefit the field and help us approach a much-needed basic consensus in second language acquisition (SLA) theory, which we believe PLLT helps to provide. B…
Proactive Language Learning Theory
Second language acquisition theory has traditionally focused on the cognitive and psycholinguistic processes involved in additional language (L2) learning. In addition, research on learner psychology has primarily centered on learners' cognitive abilities (e.g., aptitude and working memory) and internal traits or states (e.g., dispositions, motivations, and affect). Language learning behavior, however, has remained largely neglected and under-the…
The importance of seeking feedback for benefiting from feedback
This study explored the role of feedback‐seeking behaviors (FSB) in how English‐as‐a‐second language (ESL) learners benefit from written corrective feedback (WCF). Seventy‐six learners enrolled in an ESL writing course at a major university in the United States completed an FSB questionnaire, wrote a narrative essay, received WCF on their essays, and were given the opportunity to seek further feedback while revising their essays. Five writing mea…
Second language anxiety
Second language (L2) anxiety is the most studied affective factor in the field of second language acquisition. Numerous studies have been conducted on this emotion from different perspectives over the last few decades. These studies can be classified into three groups. The first group has tried to conceptualize and operationalize L2 anxiety and identify the different components or dimensions of the construct (e.g., Cheng, 2004; Horwitz et al., 19…
Motivational dispositions predict qualitative differences in oral task performance
The study examined how learners’ motivational dispositions predict the complexity, accuracy, fluency of their oral task performance and their overall second language proficiency. Eighty-one speakers of English as a second language in the United States completed a regulatory focus and a regulatory mode questionnaire, an oral interview task, and a picture description task. Regression analyses showed a meaningful pattern of results. The assessment m…
The role of future L2 selves in L2 speech development
Individual Differences in How Language Learners Pursue Goals
In two studies, we examined two functional dimensions of L2 learners’ self-regulation toward their motivational goals: assessment and locomotion. The assessment constitutes the aspect of self-regulation concerned with critically evaluating the relative quality of L2 states and goals and the means to achieve them. The locomotion mode constitutes the aspect of self-regulation concerned with uninterrupted movement from state to state toward L2 goals…
International Teaching Assistants Offer More Than Their English Accents
This study investigates how learners’ chronic motivational characteristics, that is their regulatory focus (Higgins, 1997), can account for differences in L2 pragmatic production in general and across situations with different levels of power, social distance, and imposition. One-hundred-twenty-one L1-Mandarin learners of English as a second language completed a regulatory focus questionnaire and a discourse completion task focusing on two types …
Future selves, enjoyment and anxiety as predictors of L2 writing achievement
The motivation‐anxiety interface in language learning
The study examined the relationship between chronic regulatory focus, L2 self‐guides, L2 anxiety, and motivated behavior. Questionnaire data were collected from 161 English learners in a foreign language context. Multiple regression results showed that the participants’ promotion focus (concerned with accomplishments and achievements) strongly and negatively predicted their L2 anxiety whereas their prevention focus (concerned with safety and obli…
Motivational Mechanisms Underlying Second Language Achievement
We tested a theoretical model that integrated regulatory focus, second language (L2) self-guides, anxiety and enjoyment, eager and vigilant L2 use, and L2 achievement. We collected data from 324 students learning English as a foreign language. Structural equation modeling results showed that (a) the promotion focus positively predicted ideal selves, whereas the prevention focus negatively predicted ought selves; (b) ideal self/own predicted enjoy…
Persistence in language learning
Language Learning Motivation as a Complex Dynamic System
Research on language learning motivation has typically focused on the strength of different motives in isolation and often out of context. The present study aims to explore the applicability of one global framework of motivation to integrate different perspectives. We investigated how adaptive interactions between learners’ motivations for value, truth, and control effectiveness, and contextual factors led to varying motivational trajectories and…
Why stories matter
Rethinking L2 Motivation Research
The present study proposed and tested a revision of the self-guides outlined in the L2 motivational self system (Dörnyei, 2005, 2009). Covering the previous conceptualization and measurement issues, ideal L2 self and ought-to L2 self were bifurcated by own and other standpoints, and reoperationalized based on the fundamental tenets of self-discrepancy theory (Higgins, 1987) and regulatory focus theory (Higgins, 1997). Confirmatory factor analysis…
Feedback‐Seeking Behavior in Language Learning
This study investigated the concept of corrective feedback in second language learning as a learning resource, recasting it as feedback‐seeking behavior . Dweck's (1999) mindsets, Korn and Elliot's (2016) achievement goals, and Ashford's (1986) model of feedback‐seeking behavior were re‐operationalized in the context of language learning. Questionnaire data from 287 college students studying foreign languages in the United States confirmed that l…
Research initiatives in the foreign and second language education program of Florida State University
An abstract is not available for this content so a preview has been provided. Please use the Get access link above for information on how to access this content
Motivation and feedback
Statistical Literacy Among Applied Linguists and Second Language Acquisition Researchers
The importance of statistical knowledge in applied linguistics and second language acquisition ( SLA ) research has been emphasized in recent publications. However, the last investigation of the statistical literacy of applied linguists occurred more than 25 years ago (Lazaraton, Riggenbach, & Ediger, 1987). The current study undertook a partial replication of this older work by investigating (a) applied linguists’ general experiences with statis…
The L2 motivational self system, L2 anxiety, and motivated behavior
Why stories matter
Language Learner Motivational Types
The study aimed to identify different second language (L2) learner motivational types drawing on the framework of the L2 motivational self system. A total of 1,278 secondary school students learning English in Iran completed a questionnaire survey. Cluster analysis yielded five different groups based on the strength of different variables within their motivational configurations. Further analyses revealed that the motivational groups have differe…
Teacher Motivational Practice, Student Motivation, and Possible L2 Selves
The present study aims to provide observational evidence on the relationship between teachers' use of motivational strategies and students' motivated behavior in the English as a foreign language (EFL) context of Iran. To this end, 741 male learners of English from 26 secondary school classes taught by 17 teachers participated in the study. The teachers' use of motivational strategies and the students' motivated behavioral codes were measured usi…
Dynamics of selves and motivation
Within the framework of the L2 motivational self system, the present study investigates the temporal evolution of the motivational characteristics of Iranian learners of English as a foreign language (EFL) across three different populations: secondary school, high school, and university students. The data were collected from a number of 1,041 Iranian learners of English using a questionnaire survey specifically developed to be used in the context…
Motivational Mechanisms Underlying Second Language Achievement
We tested a theoretical model that integrated regulatory focus, second language (L2) self-guides, anxiety and enjoyment, eager and vigilant L2 use, and L2 achievement. We collected data from 324 students learning English as a foreign language. Structural equation modeling results showed that (a) the promotion focus positively predicted ideal selves, whereas the prevention focus negatively predicted ought selves; (b) ideal self/own predicted enjoy…
Statistical Literacy Among Applied Linguists and Second Language Acquisition Researchers
The importance of statistical knowledge in applied linguistics and second language acquisition ( SLA ) research has been emphasized in recent publications. However, the last investigation of the statistical literacy of applied linguists occurred more than 25 years ago (Lazaraton, Riggenbach, & Ediger, 1987). The current study undertook a partial replication of this older work by investigating (a) applied linguists’ general experiences with statis…
Proactive Language Learning Theory
Second language acquisition theory has traditionally focused on the cognitive and psycholinguistic processes involved in additional language (L2) learning. In addition, research on learner psychology has primarily centered on learners' cognitive abilities (e.g., aptitude and working memory) and internal traits or states (e.g., dispositions, motivations, and affect). Language learning behavior, however, has remained largely neglected and under-the…
The role of future L2 selves in L2 speech development
The motivation‐anxiety interface in language learning
The study examined the relationship between chronic regulatory focus, L2 self‐guides, L2 anxiety, and motivated behavior. Questionnaire data were collected from 161 English learners in a foreign language context. Multiple regression results showed that the participants’ promotion focus (concerned with accomplishments and achievements) strongly and negatively predicted their L2 anxiety whereas their prevention focus (concerned with safety and obli…
The L2 Motivational Self System among Japanese, Chinese and Iranian Learners of English
The L2 motivational self system, L2 anxiety, and motivated behavior
Dynamics of selves and motivation
Within the framework of the L2 motivational self system, the present study investigates the temporal evolution of the motivational characteristics of Iranian learners of English as a foreign language (EFL) across three different populations: secondary school, high school, and university students. The data were collected from a number of 1,041 Iranian learners of English using a questionnaire survey specifically developed to be used in the context…
Teacher Motivational Practice, Student Motivation, and Possible L2 Selves
The present study aims to provide observational evidence on the relationship between teachers' use of motivational strategies and students' motivated behavior in the English as a foreign language (EFL) context of Iran. To this end, 741 male learners of English from 26 secondary school classes taught by 17 teachers participated in the study. The teachers' use of motivational strategies and the students' motivated behavioral codes were measured usi…
Statistical Literacy Among Applied Linguists and Second Language Acquisition Researchers
The importance of statistical knowledge in applied linguistics and second language acquisition ( SLA ) research has been emphasized in recent publications. However, the last investigation of the statistical literacy of applied linguists occurred more than 25 years ago (Lazaraton, Riggenbach, & Ediger, 1987). The current study undertook a partial replication of this older work by investigating (a) applied linguists’ general experiences with statis…
Language Learner Motivational Types
The study aimed to identify different second language (L2) learner motivational types drawing on the framework of the L2 motivational self system. A total of 1,278 secondary school students learning English in Iran completed a questionnaire survey. Cluster analysis yielded five different groups based on the strength of different variables within their motivational configurations. Further analyses revealed that the motivational groups have differe…
Motivation and feedback
Rethinking L2 Motivation Research
The present study proposed and tested a revision of the self-guides outlined in the L2 motivational self system (Dörnyei, 2005, 2009). Covering the previous conceptualization and measurement issues, ideal L2 self and ought-to L2 self were bifurcated by own and other standpoints, and reoperationalized based on the fundamental tenets of self-discrepancy theory (Higgins, 1987) and regulatory focus theory (Higgins, 1997). Confirmatory factor analysis…
Feedback‐Seeking Behavior in Language Learning
This study investigated the concept of corrective feedback in second language learning as a learning resource, recasting it as feedback‐seeking behavior . Dweck's (1999) mindsets, Korn and Elliot's (2016) achievement goals, and Ashford's (1986) model of feedback‐seeking behavior were re‐operationalized in the context of language learning. Questionnaire data from 287 college students studying foreign languages in the United States confirmed that l…
Research initiatives in the foreign and second language education program of Florida State University
An abstract is not available for this content so a preview has been provided. Please use the Get access link above for information on how to access this content
Persistence in language learning
Language Learning Motivation as a Complex Dynamic System
Research on language learning motivation has typically focused on the strength of different motives in isolation and often out of context. The present study aims to explore the applicability of one global framework of motivation to integrate different perspectives. We investigated how adaptive interactions between learners’ motivations for value, truth, and control effectiveness, and contextual factors led to varying motivational trajectories and…
Why stories matter
Future selves, enjoyment and anxiety as predictors of L2 writing achievement
The motivation‐anxiety interface in language learning
The study examined the relationship between chronic regulatory focus, L2 self‐guides, L2 anxiety, and motivated behavior. Questionnaire data were collected from 161 English learners in a foreign language context. Multiple regression results showed that the participants’ promotion focus (concerned with accomplishments and achievements) strongly and negatively predicted their L2 anxiety whereas their prevention focus (concerned with safety and obli…
Motivational Mechanisms Underlying Second Language Achievement
We tested a theoretical model that integrated regulatory focus, second language (L2) self-guides, anxiety and enjoyment, eager and vigilant L2 use, and L2 achievement. We collected data from 324 students learning English as a foreign language. Structural equation modeling results showed that (a) the promotion focus positively predicted ideal selves, whereas the prevention focus negatively predicted ought selves; (b) ideal self/own predicted enjoy…
Individual Differences in How Language Learners Pursue Goals
In two studies, we examined two functional dimensions of L2 learners’ self-regulation toward their motivational goals: assessment and locomotion. The assessment constitutes the aspect of self-regulation concerned with critically evaluating the relative quality of L2 states and goals and the means to achieve them. The locomotion mode constitutes the aspect of self-regulation concerned with uninterrupted movement from state to state toward L2 goals…
International Teaching Assistants Offer More Than Their English Accents
This study investigates how learners’ chronic motivational characteristics, that is their regulatory focus (Higgins, 1997), can account for differences in L2 pragmatic production in general and across situations with different levels of power, social distance, and imposition. One-hundred-twenty-one L1-Mandarin learners of English as a second language completed a regulatory focus questionnaire and a discourse completion task focusing on two types …
Second language anxiety
Second language (L2) anxiety is the most studied affective factor in the field of second language acquisition. Numerous studies have been conducted on this emotion from different perspectives over the last few decades. These studies can be classified into three groups. The first group has tried to conceptualize and operationalize L2 anxiety and identify the different components or dimensions of the construct (e.g., Cheng, 2004; Horwitz et al., 19…
Motivational dispositions predict qualitative differences in oral task performance
The study examined how learners’ motivational dispositions predict the complexity, accuracy, fluency of their oral task performance and their overall second language proficiency. Eighty-one speakers of English as a second language in the United States completed a regulatory focus and a regulatory mode questionnaire, an oral interview task, and a picture description task. Regression analyses showed a meaningful pattern of results. The assessment m…
The role of future L2 selves in L2 speech development
The importance of seeking feedback for benefiting from feedback
This study explored the role of feedback‐seeking behaviors (FSB) in how English‐as‐a‐second language (ESL) learners benefit from written corrective feedback (WCF). Seventy‐six learners enrolled in an ESL writing course at a major university in the United States completed an FSB questionnaire, wrote a narrative essay, received WCF on their essays, and were given the opportunity to seek further feedback while revising their essays. Five writing mea…
Regulatory focus and fit effects on task engagement
This study examined the effects of learners’ regulatory focus, task type, and the match/mismatch between the two on task engagement. Eighty-five learners of English as a second language at a US-American university completed a regulatory focus questionnaire, an English proficiency self-assessment, one task with a promotion focus (requiring creativity and imagination), one task with a prevention focus (requiring attention to detail and accuracy), a…
Manufactured crisis
Based on correlational and factorial analysis of data collected from 384 middle and high school students in South Korea, Al–Hoorie et al. (2024) claimed the existence of a discriminant validity crisis within the L2 motivational self-system research tradition and advocated for abandoning research in this area. In this response, we critically examined the evidence presented, re-analyzed their data, and argued that their findings actually support th…
What Proactive Language Learning Theory Is and Is Not
We thank Dwight Atkinson for his thought-provoking commentary, which invites us into dialogue and provides an important opportunity to clarify points regarding the assumptions underlying proactive language learning theory (PLLT). Insightful discourse and scholarly exchange of ideas undoubtedly benefit the field and help us approach a much-needed basic consensus in second language acquisition (SLA) theory, which we believe PLLT helps to provide. B…
EFL/ESL Teaching and Learning (25 works) · Psychology (25 works) · Mathematics education (16 works) · Social Psychology (14 works) · Linguistics (13 works) · Computer Science (11 works) · Cognitive psychology (9 works) · Regulatory focus theory (7 works) · Second Language Learning and Teaching (7 works) · Educational and Psychological Assessments (6 works)