Perceptual and Motor Skills最新文献

Recent investigators have illuminated the crucial role of positive psychology in learning English as a Foreign Language (EFL). However, little is known about academic buoyancy as a potential mediator in the relationship between foreign language anxiety and learners' academic engagement in English learning. To address this gap, we adopted a quantitative approach to explore these links. We surveyed 970 Chinese high school EFL students to measure their English learning anxiety, academic buoyancy, and learning engagement. Of the four dimensions of engagement - behavioral, emotional, cognitive, and agentic engagement - we discarded the emotional and cognitive dimensions of academic engagement in factor analyses. Structural equation modelling indicated that English learning anxiety directly predicted behavioral but not agentic engagement, and academic buoyancy partially mediated between English learning anxiety and behavioral engagement and completely mediated between English learning anxiety and agentic engagement. These results provide insights for EFL teachers seeking to enhance students' language learning experiences.

There is substantial research supporting the role of workplace atmospheres in English-as-a Foreign-Language (EFL) teachers' emotions and classroom practices. However, the degree to which (if any) classroom climate may affect teachers' specific emotional exhaustion and/or job attrition has not been addressed. To fill this gap, in this qualitative study, we used a semi-structured interview with 39 Chinese EFL teachers of various backgrounds to better understand the role of classroom climate in its relationship to teachers' emotional exhaustion and attrition, including teachers' perceptions of causative factors in these relationships. Thematic analysis revealed teachers' claims that both emotional exhaustion and attrition were prevented by a positive classroom climate. However, in the context of negative classroom climates, the participants believed that both variables might be worsened. Furthermore, EFL teachers' reported that their emotional exhaustion and job attrition were caused by a wide range of specific teacher-related, work-related, and workplace-related (contextual) factors. We discuss these findings and their implications for EFL practitioners and policy-makers, and we recommend measures to deal with teachers' emotional exhaustion and attrition in the EFL context.

The complex relationships between emotions experienced by learners and learners' personality traits, such as grit, that influence students' willingness to communicate in a second language (L2 WTC) have come under increasing attention. To date, investigators have focused primarily on WTC and the role of emotions in traditional face-to-face settings rather than in blended learning environments. To expand this research, we examined whether grit, foreign language enjoyment (FLE), and foreign language boredom (FLB) among university-level EFL students would be predictive of L2 WTC in a hybrid online and face-to-face learning setting. We studied 345 participants (252 females and 93 males) enrolled in English courses in a blended learning environment from three public universities in Saudi Arabia. We utilized structural equation modeling (SEM) to test a model that combined grit with two emotions (enjoyment and boredom) and L2 WTC. Our results revealed that FLB had the largest relationship to students' L2 WTC followed by FLE and grit, respectively. In this paper, we discuss these results and present some pedagogical implications of these data for teachers and learners of English as a foreign language (EFL).

Teaching for creativity (TfC) has recently received increased attention in English-as-a-foreign-language (EFL) contexts. Previous studies confirmed that TfC links with achievement emotions (AEs) in this context. Additionally, a supportive work environment (SWE) has been shown to be associated with AEs. However, relationships among all three variables - SWE, AEs, and TfC - have not been adequately explored in EFL contexts, nor have the underlying bases for these links been elucidated. In this study, we adopted a mixed-methods approach to investigate the complex associations between SWE, AEs (anxiety, pride, enjoyment, and anger), and TfC as perceived by 441 Chinese EFL teachers. Quantitative results revealed that SWE, four AEs, and TfC were significantly correlated, with small to large effect sizes. Furthermore, the four AEs collectively mediated the relationship between SWE and TfC in our structural equation model. Qualitative interviews with 15 EFL teachers provided nuanced insights into possible reasons for these statistical patterns. We discuss the theoretical and pedagogical implications of these findings and suggest directions for future research.

In language learning, communication is essential, where learners' desire and willingness to interact with others are significant in honing their communication capabilities alongside other necessary competencies. There are many factors that influence students' willingness to communicate (WTC), among which the correlation between emotional intelligence and WTC still needs to be further researched. To investigate the emotional intelligence profiles of Chinese EFL college students and to examine different levels of their willingness to communicate, we recruited 476 Chinese English as a foreign language (EFL) learners across 11 provinces to complete our questionnaire. Through latent profile analysis (LPA) and one way analysis of variance, we found that there were four EI profiles of Chinese EFL college students: Emotionally Challenged (EC), Emotionally Struggling (ES), Emotionally Average (EA), and Emotionally Proficient (EP), among which most students (63%) fell into the EA profile. The EC profile (17%) was the second largest profile. We also found that each of the four profiles had unique WTC characteristics, with and different dimensions of WTC including, speaking, reading, writing, and comprehension. Notably, the EC profile demonstrated the lowest WTC level among the four profiles, whereas the EP profile displayed the highest overall WTC level. These findings are meaningful for comprehending students' emotional intelligence profiles within language learning environments, and they provide valuable insights for educators to address diverse students' needs to enhance their WTC.

While many studies have identified multiple benefits and affordances in using virtual reality (VR) technology in language learning, most have been qualitative, with few providing evidence of factors that may impact VR effectiveness for language learning or of the role of learners' unique psychological, environmental, and emotional experiences in language learning. Against this backdrop, we framed this study within social cognitive theory and surveyed 368 Chinese university students of English who were participating in VR-assisted language instruction to explore whether learners' foreign language learning enjoyment and boredom related to their learning engagement; we also investigated the mediating role of learning self-efficacy in these relationships. Our results suggested that (a) students learning English through VR-assisted instruction experienced a relatively high level of enjoyment but moderate level boredom; (b) foreign language learning enjoyment significantly (positively) predicted foreign language learning self-efficacy and engagement; and (c) foreign language learning boredom significantly (negatively) predicted foreign language learning self-efficacy, but not engagement; and foreign language learning self-efficacy fully mediated the relationship between foreign language learning boredom and engagement, and partially mediated the significant relationship between foreign language learning enjoyment and engagement. Based on these findings, we suggest ways to improve VR-assisted language teaching and learning.

In the present study, we addressed (a) Chinese students' level of enjoyment in studying Japanese; (b) the independent and interactive predictive associations of student attitudes towards the Japanese language and their perceived Japanese proficiency with their Japanese classroom enjoyment; and (c) gender as a potential moderating variable in these relationships. Three hundred participants completed three questionnaires assessing their attitudes towards the Japanese language, perceived Japanese proficiency, and Japanese classroom enjoyment. Descriptive analysis, multiple regression analysis, and path analysis revealed the following: (a) high overall student enjoyment in the Japanese classroom; (b) student attitudes towards both Japanese and their perceived Japanese proficiency were significant positive predictors of their levels of Japanese classroom enjoyment; (c) there was no significant interaction in the relationship between student attitudes towards the Japanese language and their perceived Japanese proficiency and Japanese classroom enjoyment; and (d) gender differences significantly moderated the relationships between perceived Japanese proficiency and Japanese classroom enjoyment, characterized by a stronger relationship among female participants; but gender was not a significant mediator in the relationship between attitudes towards the Japanese language and Japanese classroom enjoyment. We discuss these findings and their pedagogical implications, as well as the limitations of this study and future research directions.

In this study, we present psychometrically validated Turkish versions of four popular foreign language learner emotion scales. They include the Foreign Language Classroom Peace of Mind Scale (Zhou et al., 2023), the Short-Form Foreign Language Enjoyment Scale (Botes et al., 2021), the Short-Form Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (Botes et al., 2022a), and the Foreign Language Classroom Boredom Scale (Li et al., 2023). We collected data from 1202 Turkish to English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners. Cross-validation analyses confirmed the scales' applicability and reliability among these Turkish learners, and, measurement invariance (configural, metric, and scalar) analyses revealed consistency in respondents' emotional experiences across diverse educational levels, enabling valid cross-group comparisons. Although strict invariance across student subgroups was not achieved, our findings provide Turkish researchers with four valid instruments for collecting emotional data from Turkish learners. The scale means and relationships between the four emotions measured with these adapted scales were comparable to those established in previous studies.