Directed motivational currents (DMCs) are portrayed as highly intense and prolonged periods of motivation oriented to a much-desired goal of personal significance. While we have seen a recent growth in studies examining aspects of DMCs, evidence on the negative side-effects of DMCs remains inadequate to date. In response to repeated calls for…

This article recounts my experience in enhancing my students' boredom regulation by designing, implementing, and evaluating a strategy instruction project. The project was undertaken with 25 Thai university students enrolled in my English oral communication course for 15 weeks. The project began with exploring how and why my students experienced…

The past decade has witnessed a surge of research interest in diverse emotions that foreign/second language (L2) learners experience. However, research on L2 boredom is just starting. The current study focuses on foreign language learning boredom (FLLB) and foreign language enjoyment (FLE), and examines how they are associated with a wide range of…

Because most real-life foreign language speech is naturally unpredictable, spontaneous speech should be practiced in the foreign language classroom. Student teachers of English as a foreign language (EFL) may benefit from practising methodology for spontaneous speech practice. This article reports the findings for a study into EFL student…

Willingness to communicate (WTC) used to be studied as a relatively stable, trait-like predisposition; however, recently attention has shifted to the more dynamic, state-like components of WTC. This research investigates variability and stability in state WTC, particularly focusing on within-person variability, which may lead to stable…