# Psychological well-being and L1 learning grit among Ghanaian language students in higher education: a PLS-SEM analysis

## TL;DR

This study explores how psychological well-being affects the learning grit of Ghanaian language students in higher education.

## Contribution

The study empirically examines the relationship between psychological well-being and L1 learning grit in Ghanaian language students using PLS-SEM.

## Key findings

- Self-efficacy and positive learning experience significantly predict L1 learning grit.
- Emotional stability, overall satisfaction, and social connectedness do not significantly influence learning grit.
- Marginalization of indigenous languages may explain the lack of influence from emotional and social factors.

## Abstract

Scholars in the field of L1 education in Ghana have argued that students pursuing Ghanaian languages as a program of study at the higher education level pass through psychological burdens to achieve their learning goals. It has been argued that these psychological burdens, which probably stem from the negative attitudes among peers and lecturers, coupled with limited institutional support for students pursuing Ghanaian languages, may have a detrimental effect on the effort they put into their learning. Since these scholarly suppositions lack enough empirical backing, the current study aimed to explore the psychological wellbeing of students and its influence on the L1 learning grit (LLG) using a partial least squares structural equation modeling approach.

A census survey was used to recruit 173 Ghanaian language students in two higher educational institutions in the Cape Coast metropolis of the Central region of Ghana. Partial least squares structural equation modelling was used to analysis the data.

The study revealed that psychological well-being variables including self-efficacy, and positive learning experience are significant predictors of students’ L1 grit. Overall satisfaction and enjoyment of L1 education, emotional stability and management, and social connectedness were not significant predictors of students’ L1 grit.

It can be argued that, in the context of indigenous language learning in Ghana, the strongest determinant of students’ learning grit is their sense of confidence and positive learning experience. However, emotional stability, overall satisfaction, and social connectedness do not influence grit, and this is attributable to the constant marginalization of indigenous languages in educational domains.