Mastering a foreign language involves overcoming linguistic challenges, cultural differences, and psychological barriers. The Adversity Quotient (AQ), a concept that measures an individual's ability to cope with difficulties, plays a crucial role in language learning. This study examines AQ levels among Thai EFL learners and explores its influence…

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…

Since the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic early in 2020, English language learners could no longer learn from face-to-face interactions and had to adapt to online lessons. This paper reports a study that investigated their learning strategies during their online sessions. To achieve the objective, a survey was conducted with 257 university…

Research on language motivation has tended to focus on the phenomena of demotivation and remotivation in the English classroom. This study utilized Q methodology to analyze the dynamics of demotivation and remotivation among 15 Chinese university students during their English learning process from primary school to senior middle school. Informed…

Students in higher education settings are susceptible to well-being concerns, as indicated by the global pervasiveness of mental illness and high rates of suicide. International students especially tend to encounter problems due to necessary adjustments in language and culture as well as loneliness when separated from family and close friends.…

Many studies have reported language problems faced by international students in cross-cultural study-abroad settings. The present study investigated Chinese international students' linguistic insecurity during their study-abroad in Australia, and the strategies that they deployed to manage this. Based on interviews with ten students from two…

Over the past two decades Hong Kong's higher education institutions have become favored destinations for students from Mainland China. They find Hong Kong society both familiar and strange. Though Chinese, its political history differs markedly from their homeland's. Since 2010, moreover, conflicts have arisen in Hong Kong between local and…

The purpose of this qualitative meta-synthesis is to investigate the demotivation and remotivation of Asian university students in the EFL context and the interplay with sociocultural factors. This meta-synthesis was designed to address three research questions:1. What are the demotivating factors of Asian university students who are learning…

Mindfulness has received increased attention recently in educational contexts as a tool helping students mitigate negative emotions, enhance resilience, reduce classroom anxiety, and improve academic performance. Although interventions that teach mindfulness principles have flourished in elementary school and university contexts, limited research…

This cross-cultural ethnography explored the global student mobility patterns of international students from English-speaking countries in China and asked research questions about (a) their motivational factors and acculturation expectations before arrival; (b) linguistic factors influencing their acculturative stressors in the host group…

This paper reports on research that aimed to provide initial insight into how university students in two different countries, Japan and Ukraine, coped with greater use of videoconferencing software and whether this resulted in any issues surrounding their online privacy. To facilitate learning under the COVID-19 pandemic, instructors and learners…

This mixed-methods study explores the self-regulation of two Japanese university students in response to the stressful situation of feeling unable to communicate effectively in English with foreigners. Qualitative data from interviews are used to interpret the quantitative results of the two students, who were part of an online intercultural…

Students describing feelings of anxiety and a lack of confidence for speaking in a foreign language can be a common phenomenon in the context of Japanese higher education. We believe that cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT) techniques can be used to help such learners overcome these feelings. A scenario-based questionnaire, adapted from Gkonou and…

Despite a growing body of research on instructor techniques and treatments to mitigate public speaking anxiety, this issue remains prominent, especially among university students. An alternative to mitigating such anxiety is to identify authentic coping strategies that university students could practice in actual situations. Numerous studies have…

Previous research reports that foreign language anxiety (FLA) is one of the affective factors exerting influence on foreign language learning. Myriad studies have examined how foreign language learners cope with foreign language anxiety. However, few studies have addressed the particular moments when students feel the most anxious and how they…