When motivation is not enough: the moderating role of social support in cross-cultural adaptability among Chinese students learning Arabic

IntroductionAgainst the backdrop of the Belt and Road Initiative, the demand for professionals proficient in Arabic and capable of cross-cultural communication has surged, yet the mechanism of how learners navigate the significant cultural distance remains underexplored. This study aims to investigate the relationship between learning motivation and cross-cultural adaptability among Chinese Arabic language learners, specifically examining the moderating role of social support.MethodsAdopting a quantitative survey design, data were collected from 315 undergraduate Arabic majors. The study employed Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA), hierarchical multiple regression, and Instrumental Variable Two-Stage Least Squares (IV-2SLS) analysis to test the hypotheses.ResultsFindings indicate that both learning motivation (B = 0.319, p < 0.001) and social support (B = 0.494, p < 0.001) significantly and positively predict cross-cultural adaptability. Crucially, social support functions as a significant moderator (B_interaction = 0.703, p < 0.001), with the final model explaining 74.2% of the variance. Simple slope analysis reveals that the positive association between motivation and adaptability is significant only under high levels of social support, acting as a necessary boundary condition. Further analysis based on Self-Determination Theory subtypes specifically highlights that this moderating effect is most pronounced for external regulation, suggesting that learners driven by instrumental goals are particularly dependent on external resources to translate motivation into adaptive outcomes. Robustness checks using IV-2SLS (B = 0.630) confirmed the stability of these associations.DiscussionTheoretically, this study extends the existing literature by identifying the boundary conditions under which motivation predicts adaptability, suggesting that internal drive and external support function together to facilitate adaptation. Practically, the findings indicate that higher education institutions should provide multi-dimensional support systems to assist students in translating their motivation into effective cross-cultural competence.