Studies in Second Language Learning and Teaching
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Chinese EFL learners’ enjoyment and anxiety in an online class: An idiodynamic approach
No full textWhile students often experience fluctuations in their positive and negative L2 emotions during online classes, there is a dearth of research on these emotional changes. This study fills this gap by exploring the dynamic nature of enjoyment and anxiety in an online English as a foreign language (EFL) classroom using an idiodynamic method. Seven Chinese EFL university students participated in a series of four online class sessions, each lasting 20 minutes. Following each session, they reviewed video recordings of their performance and rated their enjoyment and anxiety on a minute-by-minute basis. Stimulated recalls, interviews, and field notes identified factors influencing these emotional fluctuations. Results show that, in some cases, both emotions operated in a seesaw relationship, with one rising and the other falling, while in others they operated independently. A closer look reveals that the relationship between these emotions was complex and dynamic, shaped by both internal (e.g., personality) and external (e.g., task difficulty) factors. The findings also show that while EFL students initially experienced emotional turbulence at the beginning of online classes, effective emotional, pedagogical, and technological support from teachers helped learners maintain optimal emotional states over time
Cross-lagged panel analysis of reciprocal effects of metacognitive knowledge and breadth of vocabulary knowledge in a foreign language context
No full textMetacognitive knowledge significantly influences English vocabulary knowledge. However, few longitudinal studies have explored the reciprocal growth trajectories of metacognitive knowledge and English vocabulary knowledge over time. The present study explores how young primary school learners develop their metacognitive knowledge and vocabulary knowledge from Grade 3 to Grade 6.The longitudinal sample included 361 Grade 3 (third-year primary school) students (M = 9.60 years, SD = 0.85). The participants completed tests of metacognitive knowledge and vocabulary knowledge on four occasions. The metacognitive knowledge test focused on students’ cognitive activities, whereas the vocabulary knowledge test focused on learners’ breadth of vocabulary knowledge. Cross-lagged panel analysis was employed to explore the reciprocal effects of metacognitive knowledge and the breadth of vocabulary knowledge. The results supported the role of metacognitive knowledge in developing the breadth of vocabulary knowledge, and vice versa. Implications for young learners’ longitudinal development of metacognitive knowledge and vocabulary knowledge are discussed.
Sustaining growth needs contextual supports: The mindset × ecological-system approach to motivation
No full textThe belief that abilities can be cultivated, commonly referred to as a growth mindset, plays an important role in learners’ motivation and persistence in their educational journey, including learning a new language. Recent research suggests that having a growth mindset alone is insufficient for educational success. Rather, the “seed” of growth mindsets flourishes best when the “soil” of the environment offers students abundant opportunities to apply and implement their growth mindsets in their learning process (i.e., the mindset × context theory). However, discussions about this contextual impact, particularly within the broader sociocultural environment (akin to “climate” in the seed-and-soil metaphor) are limited in mindset research. Therefore, this article introduces the mindset × ecological-system framework by synthesizing emerging research from psychology, education, and applied linguistics, aiming to provide a more comprehensive understanding of how social and cultural factors impact the psychological dynamics of mindsets. This framework illustrates how embedded socioecological systems, ranging from interpersonal to cultural contexts, influence the psychological processes through which mindsets shape learning and resilience. This ecological system framework of mindset serves as a guide for future research to examine how to sustain learners’ growth in diverse sociocultural and achievement settings
Commentary on the special issue on ability beliefs and learning a new language at school
No full textThis commentary discusses the important contribution of the special issue on ability beliefs in language learning at school. The nature of language learning is highly complex and requires complex theories to explain its linguistic, cognitive and social phenomena. I am particularly interested in writing a commentary on this special issue, given my long-term intrinsic interest in learning about psychological constructs that influence language learners’ behaviors and performance. This article considers and responds to various ability belief constructs that the authors have presented, such as self-efficacy, self-concepts, and mindsets, as well as factors that contribute to the operation of these constructs in language learning. This article finally reflects on the issues I have learned from this commentary, pointing out exciting avenues for researching ability beliefs in language learning
Exploring peer emotion transmission in foreign language classrooms: A social psychological investigation using mixed methods
Full text linkDrawing on theories of interpersonal emotion transfer (Parkinson, 2020) and the control-value theory of achievement emotions (Pekrun, 2006), the present research employed a mixed-methods approach to examine how emotions are transmitted among peers in foreign language (FL) classrooms. We collected quantitative data from 308 freshmen using self-report questionnaires and qualitative data from 18 freshmen using semi-structured interviews. Results of structural equation modeling showed that students’ perceptions of peer FL enjoyment, anxiety, and boredom were positively related to their own corresponding emotions. Both control and value appraisals partially mediated the relations between perceived peer FL enjoyment and anxiety and students’ corresponding emotions. However, value appraisal was the only significant mediator of the relation between perceived peer FL boredom and student boredom. Interview findings further supported the operation of emotion contagion and social appraisal in FL peer emotion transmission. In addition, the qualitative data revealed that perceptions of peer FL emotions may also activate students’ discordant emotions as a result of social comparison processes. The interpretation of the findings is discussed along with future directions and pedagogical implications
Research across contexts and timescales with the experience sampling method: Applications in the study of language anxiety
No full textLanguage anxiety (LA) is among the most researched emotions in language learning research. Mirroring the recent dynamic turn in the broader field, LA researchers are increasingly interested in the situation-specific and dynamic nature of anxiety (Elahi Shirvan & Taherian, 2021; MacIntyre, 2017). In practice, this must be accompanied by a movement towards methodologies sensitive to potential dynamic changes in LA within and across various contexts. The idiodynamic methodconstitutes one such approach, which allows researchers to investigate moment-to-moment changes in situated LA (e.g., MacIntyre & Gregersen, 2022; Macintyre & Legatto, 2011), whereas general self-report questionnaires implemented longitudinally typically capture changes at the level of weeks and months. However, quantitative studies on the intermediate timescales, at the level of hours and days, as well as those comparing LA across different contexts, remain comparatively rare. In this paper, we explore the potential of the experience sampling method (ESM; Csikszentmihalyi & Larson, 1987) as an approach to conducting longitudinal studies of LA in a variety of contexts at this timescale, within and beyond the language classroom. Drawing connections to recent theoretical and methodological developments, we reflect on how the ESM complements existing measures and provide practical guidance for researchers interested in integrating the method into their own studies
L2 Learning and academic self-concept: The role of dimensional comparisons
No full textAn expanding literature has explored the impact of second language (L2) self-concept on language achievement and motivation. This review adopts a psychological lens to examine L2 self-concept, beginning with an outline of prominent theoretical frameworks: situated expectancy‐value theory; Shavelson et al.’s (1976) hierarchical, multidimensional model of self-concept; and the integrated Marsh/Shavelson model (Marsh et al., 1988). Building on these foundations, we introduce Marsh’s (1986) internal/external (I/E) frame of reference model, which posits that, within domains such as mathematics or verbal subjects, achievement and academic self-concept are positively correlated, whereas achievement in one domain relates negatively to self-concept in a different domain. Originally confined to mathematics and a single verbal subject in the firstlanguage (L1), the I/E model has been extended to additional disciplines, including L2, through dimensional comparison theory (DCT; Möller & Marsh, 2013). Central to this paper is a synthesis of findings from a recent meta-analysis investigating I/E effects that incorporate measures of L2 achievement and self-concept. Results demonstrate that higher L2 achievement bolsters L2 self-concept while simultaneously diminishing self-concepts in math, physics, biology, and L1; conversely, accomplishments in those other fields exert negative influences on L2 self-concept. We conclude by discussing both theoretical insights and practical applications of self-concept research for language education generally, and L2 instruction specifically
Birds of a feather (might not) flock together: Exploring the complex interplay of motivation, autonomy and positive emotions in predicting anxiety levels in Hungarian secondary school language learners
No full textDue to its importance in second/foreign language (L2) learning, anxiety appears to be one of the most important individual differences (IDs). Still, learners’ experiences of anxiety tend to vary considerably, so we set out to investigate the anxiety levels, reported in our large-scale quantitative study involving 1,152 secondary school language learners in Hungary, by different learner groups. Cluster analysis was employed to create learner groups with different profiles, which were based on the learners’ motivation, autonomy and selected positive emotions, that is, hope, pride, enjoyment and curiosity, thereby forming three profiles for autonomy and four groups for motivation and positive emotions. The resulting groupings were then entered into a univariate general linear model (GLM) to predict the anxiety levels of the learners. The results of the three-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) showed significant main effects for motivation, autonomy and positive emotions, two significant second-order interactions between motivation and autonomy and motivation and positive emotions, and a significant third-order interaction between motivation, autonomy and learners’ positive emotions. It appears that learners’ motivation, autonomy, and positive emotion profiles jointly determined the level of anxiety experienced by them. The most important implication of our results is that simple linear relationships are untenable when it comes to describing the interplay of these individual differences both concerning the theoretical advancement of our knowledge as well as the pedagogical knowledge of English teachers