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 mode (concerned with analysis, evaluation, and comparison) contributed to syntactic and lexical complexity, the reduction of dysfluencies, and overall English proficiency, whereas the locomotion mode (concerned with acting without deliberation) positively predicted the speed measure of fluency and the total number of errors. The prevention focus (concerned with stability, security, and safety) negatively predicted lexical sophistication, whereas the promotion focus (concerned with advancement, accomplishments, and growth) predicted overall English proficiency. Theoretical and instructional implications were discussed.

该研究考察了学习者的动机倾向如何预测其口语任务表现的复杂性、准确性、流畅性以及总体第二语言熟练程度。美国的 81 名以英语为第二语言的人完成了监管焦点和监管模式问卷、口语访谈任务和图片描述任务。回归分析显示出有意义的结果模式。评估模式（涉及分析、评估和比较）有助于句法和词汇的复杂性、减少不流利性和整体英语水平，而运动模式（涉及不假思索地行动）积极预测流利程度的速度测量和错误总数。预防焦点（涉及稳定性、安全性和安全性）对词汇复杂性产生负面影响，而促进焦点（涉及进步、成就和成长）则预测整体英语熟练程度。讨论了理论和教学意义。