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 study intended to describe profiles of three achievement emotions (enjoyment, boredom, anxiety), their associations with each other and with control-value appraisals within the framework of the control-value theory. A total of 2002 Chinese university EFL students from 11 universities in China participated in the questionnaire survey.…

Although engagement in the language learning process is important for students' language outcomes, factors that contribute to it are underexamined. Therefore, the aim of this study was to explore the roles of individual differences (growth language mindset and academic emotion) in shaping foreign language (FL) engagement. A total of 1,738 Chinese…

Among the previous studies examining academic emotions and academic achievement in EFL contexts, few studies have been conducted on heterogeneous patterns of pre-exam academic emotions among English-as-a-foreign-language (EFL) students in high schools. To address this gap, this study aimed to investigate the pre-exam academic emotion profiles and…

This study illuminated the association between negative emotions such as anxiety and boredom and subjective well-being among foreign language (FL) learners and further examined the moderation of teacher-student relationships (TSR) in these associations, as conceptualised within attachment theory, control-value theory, and self-determination…

Willingness to communicate in a foreign and second language (L2 WTC) has gradually become a recurrent theme in the SLA. With the advent of an emotional or affective turn brought by the positive psychology movement in applied linguistics, the significant role of positive emotions such as Foreign Language Enjoyment (FLE) in L2 WTC has been…

Buoyancy is considered a critical factor influencing learning outcomes. Yet, its effect on language learning is still underexplored. Drawing on the control-value theory, this research examines how buoyancy affects academic performance, mediated by emotions (anxiety, enjoyment, and boredom) and engagement. Data was gathered using a composite…

Cognitive and affective factors play crucial roles in shaping learners' attitudes towards generative artificial intelligence (GenAI). However, the synergistic influence of language attitude and emotions, including foreign language enjoyment (FLE) and foreign language classroom anxiety (FLCA) on struggling EFL learners' GenAI attitudes remains…

Switching between languages requires the participation of executive functions (EFs) which comprise both the 'hot' affective aspects (hot EFs) and the 'cool' cognitive aspects (cool EFs). However, the role of these EFs in language switching is not clear. This study employed a word valence categorization task to explore the effects of hot (i.e.…

Drawing 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…

Engagement and willingness to communicate (WTC) are crucial elements for second language (L2) learning. However, little is written about whether L2 learners demonstrate heterogeneous patterns of engagement and WTC in the classroom. This study aims to identify intraindividual differences in these two constructs and examine the roles of eight…

The study examined the mediating roles of academic buoyancy and academic emotions in the relationship between classroom social climate (CSC) and student engagement in English as a foreign language (EFL) learning. The study involved 759 Chinese university students and utilized confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and structural equation…

In Chinese universities, most English majors are taught by teachers, and students attend classes and do homework. Students are often passive in their study, which can make them lose study interest, negatively affect their study and cause boredom in class. Although previous studies have studied the class-related boredom of some English courses,…

Most people view language learning as a feminine domain and take it for granted that females have better performance in foreign language learning. Despite researchers' efforts in uncovering the phenomenon of gender stereotypes in language learning, it remains unclear: (1) whether there were differences in language learning stereotypes and their…

Recent literature has demonstrated the advantages of a low-arousal positive emotion -- foreign language peace of mind (FLPOM). In comparison to the well-studied high-arousal positive emotion (e.g. foreign language enjoyment), FLPOM is primarily experienced by foreign language (FL) learners from collective societies. Pioneering research into FLPOM…