Perceived Teacher Emotional Support and English Pragmatic Competence: The Serial Mediation of Self-Efficacy and Effort

Abstract Several studies have examined students’ pragmatic competence, but little attention has been paid to the role of perceived teachers’ emotional support in this domain. This study investigated the serial mediating roles of self-efficacy and effort level in the relationship between perceived teacher emotional support and English pragmatic competence among Chinese college students. Data were collected through a survey of 245 students from various universities in China, using Likert-scale measures. The serial mediation effects were tested with Model 6 of Hayes’ PROCESS macro in SPSS. The results showed that perceived teacher emotional support positively influenced English pragmatic competence. Moreover, both self-efficacy and effort level independently mediated this relationship, and importantly, they also exerted a serial mediating effect. These findings provide new insights into the study of pragmatics and shed light on the mechanisms linking teacher support, self-regulation, and language learning outcomes.