Boredom, enjoyment, and emotion regulation among Chinese students majoring in dual foreign languages: a Q method study

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ABSTRACT Research on emotion and language learning has gained broad attention; however, there is insufficient research on students’ negative emotions in LOTE-as-L3 classrooms, especially within multilingual contexts. To fill this gap, this study examines the emotions Chinese students majoring in dual foreign languages exhibit in English and L3 courses, such as boredom, enjoyment, and emotion regulation. The Q method, which integrates qualitative and quantitative research approaches, was used to analyze a sample of 27 students in this study. Retrospective interviews were conducted after data analysis to gain a more profound understanding. Multiple inverted factor analyses and interview results identified three major attitudes among these students: balanced enjoyment, activity-induced boredom, and low emotion regulation ability. The study reveals that varying teaching methods, materials, and activities result in differing levels of boredom and other negative emotions. Additionally, due to the specific nature of the major, students did not prefer either language. This study holds pedagogical significance by incorporating translanguaging backgrounds into teaching strategies and providing recommendations for language teachers and policymakers in China to help alleviate boredom among students majoring in dual foreign languages.