The Power of Passion and Perseverance: An Exploration of Turkish EFL Learners’ L2 Grit

Year 2025, Volume: 12 Issue: 4, 251 - 267, 01.07.2025

Gülcan Yılmaz , Tutku Başöz

https://doi.org/10.17275/per.25.59.12.4

Abstract

Although the number of studies on L2 grit has been increasing lately and prior research has emphasized the crucial role of grit in L2 achievement, L2 grit research in the Turkish EFL context is still in its infancy and it is remarkable that evidence on EFL learners’ L2 grit levels remains scarce. Concerning this research gap, the current study aimed to investigate Turkish EFL learners’ perceived levels of L2 grit. The variance in learners’ L2 grit in terms of their grade level, the type of high school that they graduated from, and their self-perceived proficiency in English was also examined in the study. The present study, which employed a quantitative research design, was conducted with 500 EFL learners studying at a vocational school of a state university in Türkiye in the spring semester of the 2023-2024 academic year. The data were collected through a questionnaire including some demographic questions about the participants and the L2 grit scale and analyzed descriptively via IBM SPSS 21. The findings showed that EFL learners have a moderate level of grit for learning English. While grade level and the type of high school being graduated from were found to have no impact on EFL learners’ grit for learning English, self-perceived proficiency in English was revealed to exert influence on their passion for and perseverance in attaining long-term proficiency in English. The results offer some practical implications that could be valuable for EFL instruction and developing learners’ grit for learning English.

Keywords

L2 grit , EFL learners , individual difference variables , positive psychology

Ethical Statement

This study is based on the MA thesis of the first author in the supervision of the second author, completed in February 2025 on “The relationship between foreign language learners' grit, motivation, and achievement”. The necessary permission was obtained from Balikesir University Social Sciences and Humanities Research Ethics Committee (Date: 03.05.2024; Number: E-88958771-050.04-382944).

Supporting Institution

none

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