Fostering strategic learning: The development and validation of the Writing Strategies for Motivational Regulation Questionnaire (WSMRQ)

Abstract

This article describes the development and validation of a survey instrument, the Writing Strategies for Motivational Regulation Questionnaire (WSMRQ), designed to measure Chinese university students’ reported use of motivational regulation strategies in writing in English as a second/foreign language (L2). Conceptualized in a self-regulated learning framework, the WSMRQ was developed and validated. Two independent samples of 359 and 373 Chinese university students were recruited. The data were subject to exploratory factory analyses (EFA) and confirmatory factor analyses (CFA), respectively, to evaluate the psychometric properties of the instrument. Results of the EFA revealed a five-factor structure of motivational regulation strategies: Interesting enhancement, performance self-talk, mastery self-talk, emotional control, and environment structuring. The CFA results from another sample supported a five-factor correlated model with the best fit, confirming the validity and reliability of the WSMRQ. The significant, moderate correlations between the five motivational regulation strategies and writing scores showed the instrument’s reasonable predictive validity. Pedagogical implications are also discussed.