Hostname: page-component-6766d58669-7cz98 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2026-05-20T06:44:17.223Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Sources and effects of foreign language enjoyment, anxiety, and boredom: A structural equation modeling approach

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 September 2022

Jean-Marc Dewaele Open the ORCID record for Jean-Marc Dewaele [Opens in a new window] ,
Elouise Botes  and
Samuel Greiff
Jean-Marc Dewaele*
Affiliation:
Birkbeck, University of London, London, UK
Elouise Botes
Affiliation:
University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
Samuel Greiff
Affiliation:
University of Luxembourg, Luxembourg
*
*Corresponding author. E-mail: j.dewaele@bbk.ac.uk
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

The present study is among the first to investigate how three foreign language (FL) emotions, namely FL enjoyment (FLE), anxiety (FLCA), and boredom (FLB), are related to each other. It is the first study to consider how the three FL emotions are shaped by one learner-internal variable (attitude toward the FL), by two perceived teacher behaviors (frequency of use of the FL in class and unpredictability), and how all these variables jointly affect leaners’ FL achievement. Participants were 332 FL learners from all over the world studying a wide variety of FLs who filled out an online questionnaire. A close-fitting structural equation model revealed associations between FLE, FLCA, and FLB. Teacher behaviors positively affected FLE, with no discernible effect on FLB or FLCA. Only FLCA was found to have a (negative) effect on academic achievement. The study confirms the complex relationship between teacher behaviors and positive emotions in the FL classroom.

Information

Type
Research Article
Information
Studies in Second Language Acquisition , Volume 45 , Issue 2 , May 2023 , pp. 461 - 479
Check for updates
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2022. Published by Cambridge University Press

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Article purchase

Temporarily unavailable

References

Artino, A. R. Jr., Holmboe, E. S., & Durning, S. J. (2012). Can achievement emotions be used to better understand motivation, learning, and performance in medical education? Medical Teacher, 34, 240–244.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Becker, E. S., Goetz, T., Morger, V., & Ranellucci, J. (2014). The importance of teachers’ emotions and instructional behavior for their students’ emotions: An experience sampling analysis. Teaching and Teacher Education, 43, 15–26.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Botes, E., Dewaele, J.-M., & Greiff, S. (2020a). The power to improve: Effects of multilingualism and perceived proficiency on enjoyment and anxiety in foreign language learning. European Journal of Applied Linguistics, 8, 1–28.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Botes, E., Dewaele, J.-M., & Greiff, S. (2020b). The Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale and academic achievement: An overview of the prevailing literature and a meta-analysis. The Journal for the Psychology of Language Learning, 2, 26–56.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Botes, E., Dewaele, J.-M., & Greiff, S. (2021). The development and validation of the Short-form Foreign Language Enjoyment Scale (S-FLES). The Modern Language Journal, 105, 858–876.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Botes, E., Dewaele, J.-M., & Greiff, S. (2022). Taking stock: A meta-analysis of the effects of Foreign Language Enjoyment. Studies in Second Language Learning and Teaching 12(2), 205–232.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Byrne, B. M. (1998). Structural equation modeling with LISREL, PRELIS, and SIMPLIS: Basic concepts, applications, and programming. Erlbaum.Google Scholar
Csíkszentmihályi, M. (1990). Flow: The psychology of optimal experience. Harper Collins.Google Scholar
De Smet, A., Mettewie, L., Galand, B., Hiligsmann, P., & Van Mensel, L. (2018). Classroom anxiety and enjoyment in CLIL and non-CLIL: Does the target language matter? Studies in Second Language Learning and Teaching, 8, 47–71.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dewaele, J.-M., & Dewaele, L. (2017). The dynamic interactions in Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety and Foreign Language Enjoyment of pupils aged 12 to 18: A pseudo-longitudinal investigation. Journal of the European Second Language Association, 1, 11–22.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dewaele, J.-M., Chen, X., Padilla, A. M., & Lake, J. (2019). The flowering of positive psychology in foreign language teaching and acquisition research. Frontiers in Psychology. Language Sciences, 10, 2128.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Dewaele, J.-M., & Dewaele, L. (2020). Are foreign language learners’ enjoyment and anxiety specific to the teacher? An investigation into the dynamics of learners’ classroom emotions. Studies in Second Language Learning and Teaching, 10, 4565.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dewaele, J.-M., Franco Magdalena, A., & Saito, K. (2019). The effect of perception of teacher characteristics on Spanish EFL Learners’ anxiety and enjoyment. The Modern Language Journal, 103, 412–427.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dewaele, J.-M., & Li, C. (2021). Teacher enthusiasm and students’ social-behavioral learning engagement: The mediating role of student enjoyment and boredom in Chinese EFL classes. Language Teaching Research, 25(6), 922–945.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dewaele, J.-M., & Li, C. (2022). Foreign language enjoyment and anxiety: Associations with general and domain-specific English achievement. Chinese Journal of Applied Linguistics, 45, 32–48.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dewaele, J.-M., & MacIntyre, P. D. (2014). The two faces of Janus? Anxiety and enjoyment in the foreign language classroom. Studies in Second Language Learning Teaching, 4, 237–274.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dewaele, J.-M., & MacIntyre, P.D. (2016). Foreign language enjoyment and foreign language classroom anxiety: The right and left feet of FL learning? In MacIntyre, P. D., Gregersen, T., & Mercer, S. (Eds.), Positive psychology in SLA (pp. 215–236). Multilingual Matters.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dewaele, J.-M., & MacIntyre, P.D. (2019). The predictive power of multicultural personality traits, learner and teacher variables on foreign language enjoyment and anxiety. In Sato, M. & Loewen, S. (Eds.), Evidence-based second language pedagogy: A collection of Instructed Second Language Acquisition studies (pp. 263–286). Routledge.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dewaele, J.-M., Özdemir, C., Karci, D., Uysal, S., Özdemir, E. D., & Balta, N. (2022). How distinctive is the foreign language enjoyment and foreign language classroom anxiety of Kazakh learners of Turkish? Applied Linguistics Review, 13, 243–265.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dewaele, J.-M., & Pavelescu, L. (2021). The relationship between incommensurable emotions and willingness to communicate in English as a foreign language: A multiple case study. Innovation in Language Learning and Teaching, 15, 66–80.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dewaele, J.-M., & Proietti Ergün, A. L. (2020). How different are the relations between enjoyment, anxiety, attitudes/motivation and course marks in pupils’ Italian and English as foreign languages? Journal of the European Second Language Association, 4, 45–57.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dewaele, J.-M., Saito, K., & Halimi, F. (2022a). How teacher behaviour shapes Foreign Language learners’ enjoyment, anxiety and motivation: A mixed modelling longitudinal investigation. Language Teaching Research Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1177/13621688221089601 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dewaele, J.-M., Saito, K., & Halimi, F. (2022b). How foreign language enjoyment acts as a buoy for sagging motivation: A longitudinal investigation. Applied Linguistics. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1093/applin/amac033 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dewaele, J.-M., Witney, J., Saito, K., & Dewaele, L. (2018). Foreign language enjoyment and anxiety: The effect of teacher and learner variables. Language Teaching Research, 22, 676–697.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Effiong, O. (2016). Getting them speaking: Classroom social factors and foreign language anxiety. TESOL Journal, 7, 132–161.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Elahi Shirvan, M., Taherian, T., & Yazdanmehr, E. (2020). The dynamics of foreign language enjoyment: An ecological momentary assessment. Frontiers in Psychology, 11, 1391.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Elahi Shirvan, M., Taherian, T., & Yazdanmehr, E. (2021). Foreign language enjoyment: A longitudinal confirmatory factor analysis–curve of factors model. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/1080/01434632.2021.1874392 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fuchs, C., & Diamantopoulos, A. (2009). Using single-item measures for construct measurement in management research: Conceptual issues and application guidelines. Die Betriebswirtschaft, 69, 195.Google Scholar
Goetz, T., Lüdtke, O., Nett, U. E., Keller, M. M., & Lipnevich, A. A. (2013). Characteristics of teaching and students’ emotions in the classroom: Investigating differences across domains. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 38, 383–394.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Goldin, G. A. (2014). Perspectives on emotion in mathematical engagement, learning, and problem solving. In Pekrun, R. & Linnenbrink-Garcia, L. (Eds.), International Handbook of Emotions in Education (pp. 391–414). Routledge.Google Scholar
Horwitz, E. K. (2017). On the misreading of Horwitz, Horwitz and Cope (1986) and the need to balance anxiety research and the experiences of anxious language learners. In Gkonou, C., Daubney, M., & Dewaele, J.-M. (Eds.), New insights into language anxiety: Theory, research and educational implications (pp. 31–50). Multilingual Matters.Google Scholar
Horwitz, E., Horwitz, M., & Cope, J. (1986). Foreign language classroom anxiety. The Modern Language Journal, 70, 125–132.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
JASP Team (2020). JASP (Version 0.13.1) [Computer software].Google Scholar
Jiang, Y. (2020). An investigation of the effect of teacher on Chinese university students’ foreign language enjoyment. Foreign Language World, 196, 60–68.Google Scholar
Jiang, Y., & Dewaele, J.-M. (2019). How unique is the foreign language classroom enjoyment and anxiety of Chinese EFL learners? System, 82, 13–25.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kenny, D. A. (2020). Measuring Model Fit. http://davidakenny.net/cm/fit.htm Google Scholar
Kruk, M. (2016). Variations in motivation, anxiety and boredom in learning English in second life. The EuroCALL Review, 24, 25–39.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kruk, M. (2022). Dynamicity of perceived willingness to communicate, motivation, boredom and anxiety in second life: The case of two advanced learners of English. Computer Assisted Language Learning, 35, 190–216.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kruk, M., & Zawodniak, J. (2018). Boredom in practical English language classes: Insights from interview data. In Szymański, L., Zawodniak, J., Łobodziec, A., & Smoluk, M. (Eds.), Interdisciplinary views on the English language, literature and culture (pp. 177–191). Uniwersytet Zielonogórski.Google Scholar
Lee, J. S., & Lee, K. (2021). The role of informal digital learning of English and L2 motivational self system in foreign language enjoyment. British Journal of Educational Technology, 52, 358–373.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lee, M., Na, H. M., Kim, B., Kim, S. Y., Park, J., & Choi, J. Y. (2021). Mediating effects of achievement emotions between peer support and learning satisfaction in graduate nursing students. Nurse Education in Practice, 52, 103003.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lei, H., Cui, Y., & Chiu, M. M. (2018). The relationship between teacher support and students’ academic emotions: A meta-analysis. Frontiers in Psychology, 8, 2288.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Li, C. (2020). A Positive Psychology perspective on Chinese EFL students’ trait emotional intelligence, foreign language enjoyment and EFL learning achievement. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 41, 246–263.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Li, C. (2021). A control–value theory approach to boredom in English classes among university students in China. The Modern Language Journal, 105, 317–334.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Li, C., & Dewaele, J.-M. (2021). How do classroom environment and general grit predict foreign language classroom anxiety of Chinese EFL students? The Journal for the Psychology of Language Learning 3(2), 22–34.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Li, C., Dewaele, J.-M., & Hu, Y. (2020). Foreign language learning boredom: Conceptualization and measurement. Applied Linguistics Review. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1515/applirev-2020-0124 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Li, C., & Han, Y. (2022). The predictive effects of foreign language anxiety, enjoyment, and boredom on learning outcomes in online English classrooms. Modern Foreign Languages《现代外语》, 45, 207–219.Google Scholar
Li, C., Huang, J., & Li, B. (2021). The predictive effects of classroom environment and trait emotional intelligence on foreign language enjoyment and anxiety. System, 96, 102393.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Li, C., & Wei, L. (2022). Anxiety, enjoyment, and boredom in language learning amongst junior secondary students in rural China: How do they contribute to L2 achievement? Studies in Second Language Acquisition. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0272263122000031 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Liu, H. J., & Cheng, S. H. (2014). Assessing language anxiety in EFL students with varying degrees of motivation. Electronic Journal of Foreign Language Teaching, 11, 285–299.Google Scholar
Liu, M., & Huang, W. (2011). An exploration of foreign language anxiety and English learning motivation. Education Research International, 2011, 1–8.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
MacIntyre, P. D. (1992). Anxiety and language learning from a stages of processing perspective (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). The University of Western Ontario.Google Scholar
MacIntyre, P. D. (2017). An overview of language anxiety research and trends in its development. In Gkonou, C., Daubney, M., & Dewaele, J.-M. (Eds.), New insights into language anxiety: Theory, research and educational implications (pp. 11–30). Multilingual Matters.Google Scholar
MacIntyre, P. D., Dörnyei, Z., & Henry, A. (2015). Conclusion: Hot enough to be cool: The promise of dynamic systems research. In Dörnyei, Z., MacIntyre, P. D., & Henry, A. (Eds.) Motivational Dynamics in Language Learning (pp. 419–429). Multilingual Matters.Google Scholar
MacIntyre, P. D., & Gregersen, T. (2012). Emotions that facilitate language learning: The positive broadening power of the imagination. Studies in Second Language Learning and Teaching, 2, 193–213.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Neisi, S., & Yamini, M. (2009). Relationship between self-esteem, achievement motivation, FLCA, and EFL learners’ academic performance. Journal of Psychological Achievements, 16, 153–166.Google Scholar
Ness Evans, A., & Rooney, B. J. (2013). Methods in psychological research. 3rd ed. SAGE Publications.Google Scholar
Pawlak, M., Zawodniak, J., & Kruk, M. (2020). Boredom in the foreign language classroom: A micro-perspective. Springer.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pawlak, M., Zawodniak, J., & Kruk, M. (2021). Individual trajectories of boredom in learning English as a foreign language at the university level: Insights from three students’ self-reported experience. Innovation in Language Learning and Teaching, 15, 263–278.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pekrun, R. (2006). The control–value theory of achievement emotions: Assumptions, corollaries, and im- plications for educational research and practice. Educational Psychology Review, 18, 315–341.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pekrun, R., Goetz, T., Daniels, L. M., Stupnisky, R. H., & Perry, R. P. (2010). Boredom in achievement settings: Exploring control–value antecedents and performance outcomes of a neglected emotion. Journal of Educational Psychology, 102, 531–549.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pekrun, R., & Perry, R. P. (2014). Control–value theory of achievement emotions. In Pekrun, R. & Linnenbrink–Garcia, L. (Eds.), International handbook of emotions in education (pp. 130–151). Routledge.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pekrun, R., & Stephens, E. J. (2010). Achievement emotions: A control-value approach. Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 4, 238–255.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Petrescu, M. (2013). Marketing research using single-item indicators in structural equation models. Journal of Marketing Analytics, 1, 99–117.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Piechurska-Kuciel, E. (2017). L2 or L3? Foreign language enjoyment and proficiency. In Gabryś-Barker, D., Gałajda, D., Wojtaszek, A., & Zakrajewski, P. (Eds.), Multiculturalism, multilingualism and the self (pp. 97–111). Springer.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Resnik, P., & Dewaele, J.-M. (2021). Learner emotions, autonomy and trait emotional intelligence in “in-person” versus emergency remote English Foreign Language teaching in Europe. Applied Linguistics Review. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1515applirev-2020-0096 Google Scholar
Resnik, P., Dewaele, J.-M., & Knechtelsdorfer, E. (2022). Differences in foreign language anxiety in regular and online EFL classes during the pandemic: A mixed-methods study. TESOL Quarterly. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1002/tesq.3177 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rosseel, Y. (2012). Lavaan: An R package for structural equation modeling and more. Version 0.5–12 (BETA). Journal of Statistical Software, 48, 1–36.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shao, K., Pekrun, R., Marsh, H. W., & Loderer, K. (2020). Control-value appraisals, achievement emotions, and foreign language performance: A latent interaction analysis. Learning and Instruction, 69, 101356.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Simonton, K. L., & Garn, A. (2019). Exploring achievement emotions in physical education: The potential for the control-value theory of achievement emotions. Quest, 71, 434–446.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sinatra, G. M., Broughton, S. H., & Lombardi, D. (2014). Emotions in science education. In Pekrun, R. & Linnenbrink-Garcia, L. (Eds.), International handbook of emotions in education (pp. 415–436). Routledge.Google Scholar
Teimouri, Y., Goetze, J., & Plonsky, L. (2019). Second language anxiety and achievement: A meta-analysis. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 41, 363–387.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ullman, J. B., & Bentler, P. M. (2012). Structural equation modeling. Handbook of Psychology. 2nd ed. Wiley.Google Scholar
Wang, Y., Derakhshan, A., & Zhang, L. J. (2021). Researching and practicing positive psychology in second/foreign language learning and teaching: The past, current status and future directions. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, 731721.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wanous, J. P., Reichers, A. E., & Hudy, M. J. (1997). Overall job satisfaction: How good are single-item measures? Journal of Applied Psychology, 82, 247–252.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wei, H., Gao, K., & Wang, W. (2019). Understanding the relationship between grit and foreign language performance among middle school students: The roles of foreign language enjoyment and classroom environment. Frontiers in Psychology, 10, 1508.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Zawodniak, J., Kruk, M., & Pawlak, M. (2021). Boredom as an aversive emotion experienced by English majors. RELC Journal, 0033688220973732.Google Scholar
Zhang, H., Dai, Y., & Wang, Y. (2020). Motivation and second foreign language proficiency: The mediating role of foreign language enjoyment. Sustainability, 12, 1302.CrossRefGoogle Scholar