Motivational drivers and emotions that students experience play an important role in the process of learning a new language (L2). This has been recognised by researchers and educators, and extensive research has been conducted in recent decades to examine the psychological and emotional factors involved in L2 learning. However, two ubiquitous…

The importance of vocabulary when speaking is not only demonstrated in models of second language speech production and speaking proficiency but also reflected in rating criteria and assessment scales. The present study examined and compared micro-level lexical information in a speaking task from two complementary stakeholders' perspectives…

Conducting a survey research on demotivating factors in business English majors can enrich the theoretical research findings on demotivation and meanwhile help to explore effective methods to enhance the students' learning motivation. This study explores the construct of demotivating factors in business English majors in a Chinese university, the…

This study investigated the beliefs, attitudes, and motivation of Thai and Chinese undergraduate students in relation to English language learning. Utilizing a mixed-method, explanatory sequential design, it aims to provide a better understanding of the three variables mentioned above. The quantitative data analysis showed disparities between the…

Taking the L2 Motivational Self System (L2MSS) model as its theoretical basis, this study aimed to extend knowledge of the learning motivation of Korean language learners. A survey questionnaire was administered to 967 Korean language learners at 28 universities in China to investigate their motivation for learning the Korean language and the…

This study first validates a survey on self-regulated vocabulary learning strategies. It then examines the effects on the acquisition of new second language (L2) words from a reading text of three word-focused exercise conditions: reading + marginal glosses, reading + gap-fill and reading + sentence writing. It also evaluates the extent to which…

Interest in learner engagement in foreign language education has increased, yet research on its development across various timescales remains limited. Using a classroom-based longitudinal research design, this study sought to investigate the dynamism of classroom engagement over a 15-week semester and identify, from students' perspective, the…

Metacognitive knowledge, closely correlated with one's writing skills, has received increasing research and pedagogical attention. Applying Flavell's metacognition framework, this study adopts a quasiexperimental design to investigate whether and how a DMC assignment as a pedagogical intervention influences Chinese English as a Foreign Language…

The present study, based on a cross-lagged panel design, was to examine the directionality of the relationships between anxiety, self-efficacy, and motivation in the context of online English learning. A total of 420 university students in China completed self-efficacy belief, motivation, and anxiety measures twice, eight months apart. The…

This mixed-methods study investigated Chinese tertiary-level students' perceptions of different English accents existing in mainland China. Also examined were their perception changes and factors that contributed to their perception changes. An electronic questionnaire survey was employed to investigate the general trend and the possible…

Recent research highlights that external feedback alone does not lead to improvements unless students process and use it internally, emphasising the need to shift from a teacher-centred to a student-centred approach. While previous studies have underscored the importance of students generating feedback for their own use and explored effective…

English writing centers at Chinese universities present a fascinating paradox. On one hand, the number of universities with writing centers and the professional interest in writing centers in China have grown steadily over the past two decades. But on the other, the number of centers is still modest and only a few centers have had a significant…

Multimodal synchronous-computer-mediated communication (SCMC) provides many possibilities for improving language learners' pragmatic competence (Maa & Taguchi, 2022). However, the research exploring how SCMC mode affects the pragmatic learning process and its outcome is limited. This study investigates the effects of SCMC modes on pragmatic…

This study investigates the adoption and impact of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) tools on English as a foreign language (EFL) learners, focusing on self-efficacy, motivation, and predicted exam performance. Using a mixed-methods approach, the research combines survey data (N = 595) and interviews (N = 8) from Chinese university…

Identity issues have been an area of focus in language learning motivation scholarship. However, the role of national identity in language learning motivation has not received sufficient attention. In response to the timely call for reflections on nationalism and language education, this study examines how political nationalism and cultural…