Abstract
Emotion research in second language acquisition has flourished under the growing influence of Positive Psychology in recent years. The present study focuses on foreign language enjoyment (FLE) and foreign language classroom anxiety (FLCA) of 263 Chinese undergraduates in relation to learner variables as well as the sources of enjoyment and anxiety in the English class. Surveys with scales and open-ended questions were applied to collect data. Quantitative analysis revealed that learner variables, such as participants’ gender and their year of university, affected their FLCA but not FLE, while participants’ perception of their English levels was significantly linked to both FLE and FLCA. Furthermore, the uniqueness of Chinese FL learners’ FLE and FLCA was uncovered from participants’ narratives of their emotional experiences in College English class. The results of open-ended questions clarified that interesting teaching content, students’ good performance and progress, and well-designed classroom activities were effective boosters for foreign language (FL) learners’ enjoyment. Moreover, public speaking, the teacher’s random call, and peer pressure were closely related to spikes in students’ in-class anxiety. This study concluded with implications for EFL teaching, along with directions for further research.
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Research funding: This work was supported by the Project of Hubei Provincial Department of Education (Project No. 21Q012).
| FLE scale |
|---|
| 1. I don’t get bored. |
| 2. I enjoy it. |
| 3. I’ve learnt interesting things. |
| 4. In class, I feel proud of my accomplishments. |
| 5. It’s a positive environment. |
| 6. It’s fun. |
| 7. The teacher is encouraging. |
| 8. The teacher is friendly. |
| 9. The teacher is supportive. |
| 10. There is a good atmosphere. |
| 11. We form a tight group. |
|
|
| FLCA scale |
|
|
| 1. Even if I am well prepared for the English listening and speaking class, I feel anxious about it. |
| 2. I always think that the other students speak English better than I do. |
| 3. I can feel nervous when I’m going to be called on in English class. |
| 4. I worry about making mistakes in English class. |
| 5. I don’t feel confident when I speak English in English class. |
| 6. I get nervous and confused when I am speaking in my English class. |
| 7. I start to panic when I have to speak without preparation in English class. |
| 8. It embarrasses me to volunteer answers in my English class. |
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Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- Introduction
- INTRODUCTION: Worldwide voices of experience in language education
- Research Articles
- Teaching note-taking in EMI: an experimental study in Economics and Business Administration
- Japanese EFL undergraduate students’ use of the epistemic modal verbs may, might, and could in academic writing
- The impact of ChatGPT on learners in English academic writing: opportunities and challenges in education
- An investigation into the relationship between attitudinal and non-attitudinal variables and the utilization of digital technology: the EFL Vietnamese context
- Verbal engagement strategies in Iranian Teachers’ talk: Instagram teaching context
- Sustainable language learning and ePortfolio application
- Learning Chinese and making meaning – ways to develop intercultural citizenship in the foreign language classroom
- Investigating Chinese university students’ foreign language enjoyment and anxiety in the EFL class
- Exploring EFL instructors’ perceptions, conceptual awareness, and actual practices about gamification: an exploratory case study in a Turkish state university
- Harmonious learning: songs in English for ESP
- Training attitudes of primary school foreign language teachers
- Language learning strategies in focus: exploring their utilization by college student-athletes
- Which components of word knowledge do EFL learners learn?
Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- Introduction
- INTRODUCTION: Worldwide voices of experience in language education
- Research Articles
- Teaching note-taking in EMI: an experimental study in Economics and Business Administration
- Japanese EFL undergraduate students’ use of the epistemic modal verbs may, might, and could in academic writing
- The impact of ChatGPT on learners in English academic writing: opportunities and challenges in education
- An investigation into the relationship between attitudinal and non-attitudinal variables and the utilization of digital technology: the EFL Vietnamese context
- Verbal engagement strategies in Iranian Teachers’ talk: Instagram teaching context
- Sustainable language learning and ePortfolio application
- Learning Chinese and making meaning – ways to develop intercultural citizenship in the foreign language classroom
- Investigating Chinese university students’ foreign language enjoyment and anxiety in the EFL class
- Exploring EFL instructors’ perceptions, conceptual awareness, and actual practices about gamification: an exploratory case study in a Turkish state university
- Harmonious learning: songs in English for ESP
- Training attitudes of primary school foreign language teachers
- Language learning strategies in focus: exploring their utilization by college student-athletes
- Which components of word knowledge do EFL learners learn?