Developing and validating a well-being scale for foreign language learners

This study illuminated the association between negative emotions such as anxiety and boredom and subjective well-being among foreign language (FL) learners and further examined the moderation of teacher-student relationships (TSR) in these associations, as conceptualised within attachment theory, control-value theory, and self-determination theory. The study involved 4,900 secondary school students from China, of whom 54.3% were male. Data on FL anxiety, FL boredom, subjective well-being, and TSR were collected using student self-report measures. Linear regression analysis indicated that anxiety and boredom were negatively correlated with subjective well-being of FL learners. Moderation analysis further revealed that supportive TSR mitigated these correlations. That is, supportive TSR acts as a buffer, reducing the adverse effects of anxiety and boredom on subjective well-being of FL learners. This research emphasises the crucial necessity of diminishing anxiety and boredom and cultivating supportive TSR in FL learning, with the goal of enhancing the well-being of FL learners.

A STUDY ON THE CORRELATION BETWEEN PSYCHOLOGICAL ANXIETY, SELF-EFFICACY AND FOREIGN LANGUAGE LEARNING ACHIEVEMENT

Unraveling the dynamics of teacher-student relationships, emotions, and socioeconomic status in shaping subjective well-being among FL learners

Family context has been found to influence achievement emotions, but the factors that might moderate this association remain relatively unexplored. To address this gap, this research examined the moderation of teacher–student relationships (TSR) in the link between family socioeconomic status (SES) and emotions in foreign language (FL) learning drawing on control-value theory of achievement emotions and attachment theory. The research involved 4,155 eighth-grade students from China, who completed scales reporting their SES, FL enjoyment, FL anxiety, and FL burnout. The moderating effect model demonstrated that TSR played a moderating role in the relationship between SES and negative emotions in FL learning such as anxiety and burnout. However, no significant moderation was observed between SES and FL enjoyment. Specifically, a warm TSR was found to alleviate the negative impact of low SES on negative emotions in FL learning, such as anxiety and burnout. Conversely, TSR did not demonstrate the capacity to enhance the positive emotions associated with FL learning, such as enjoyment, among students from higher SES backgrounds. This research suggests the necessity to intervene with low SES students, with the aim of fostering supportive TSR and ultimately alleviating negative emotions in FL learning.

While self‐regulation (SR) in student and teacher interactions in online environments, foreign language enjoyment (FLE), and foreign language anxiety (FLA) are significant issues in the English as a foreign language (EFL) learning process, research on SR in student and teacher interactions in online environments seems scarce in the EFL research context. This descriptive and correlational study aims to determine the levels of SR in student and teacher interactions in online learning environments, FLA, and FLE, and examine whether SR in student and teacher interactions in online learning environments predicts FLA and FLE. The sample group in the current study consisted of 312 students enrolled at the Department of English Language Teaching (ELT) of state universities. Data was collected using a background questionnaire, the Scale for Self‐regulation in Student and Teacher Interactions in Online Environments, the Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (FLCAS), and the Foreign Language Enjoyment Scale (FLES). Descriptive statistics, regression analysis, and the Pearson correlation were preferred for data analysis. The study concluded that EFL learners exhibit high levels of SR in student and teacher interactions in online environments and FLE while experiencing a moderate level of FLA. It was also concluded that SR in student and teacher interactions in online learning environments predicts FLE and FLA among EFL learners. Context and implicationsRationale for this study:Online learning that has gained sustainability offers flexibility and interactivity and brings opportunities to enhance SR among foreign language learners, while FLE and FLA as emotional factors may impact SR in online interactions. However, no scientific evidence indicates the direction of FLE and FLA in online interactions between teachers and students in the context of foreign language learning. Moreover, research on SR is scarce in foreign language learning contexts regarding both traditional and online learning environments. Thus, a comparison of positive and negative emotions in the context of a foreign language seems necessary to clarify their effects in accordance with SR in online interactions.Why the new findings matter?The findings in the current study are significant for a better and deeper understanding of SR in interactions between students and teachers in online environments since it concludes that SR correlates negatively with FLA and positively with FLE. The study differs from prior studies since it finds that SR in student and teacher interactions in online environments predicts FLA and FLE in the EFL learning context.Implications for researchers, teachers, and policy makers:Researchers should focus on the relationships among SR in student and teacher interactions in online environments, FLA, and FLE, considering individual, social, psychological, and cultural differences in different research contexts and settings, designing longitudinal, qualitative, and experimental research. Teachers should adopt innovative instructional designs, tools, environments and applications to promote SR regarding their interactions with their students. Policy makers and curriculum developers should integrate and implement the mentioned issues into the pre‐service and in‐service teaching programmes and current language learning curricula and programmes that aim at equipping teachers with theoretical and practical knowledge of SR, FLA and FLE.

BackgroundNowadays, wechat applications are very popular in China. Through the text, pictures, sound and video on the wechat official account platform, all-round communication between individuals and between individuals and the media has been realized. Wechat official account platform is an important functional module of wechat application. On this platform, enterprises and individuals can create an official account to communicate and interact with specific users. Its forms of communication and interaction are very diverse, including text, sound, pictures, pictures, text messages and videos. This paper applies the wechat official account platform to foreign language (English) teaching for primary school students. Developed foreign language (English) learning resources suitable for wechat official account platform.Subjects and Methods330 public primary school teachers were investigated by stratified sampling, including the experimental primary school in F City, the First Affiliated Primary School of s Normal University and the experimental primary school in district a of F City. From the deep understanding of the wechat official account platform, the strong support for the wechat official account platform, the diverse forms of the wechat official account platform, the diverse contents of the wechat official account platform, and the diversity of the wechat official account platform, we conducted a questionnaire survey, and realized the implementation of the wechat official account and the practical teaching resource platform from the perspective of psychology. In addition, the study also found that foreign language anxiety was negatively correlated with foreign language achievement. Similarly, there is a significant negative correlation between foreign language anxiety and self-efficacy. State anxiety, trait anxiety and foreign language learning anxiety are all positively correlated. The “anxiety” component of learners' personality characteristics plays a great role in the generation of foreign language learning anxiety. The correlation coefficient between LCAS and trait anxiety was 0.408, while the correlation coefficient between LCAS and state anxiety was 0.395. Both reached a significant level (P < 0.01). Self efficacy is positively correlated with foreign language achievement. Research shows that foreign language anxiety, gender and self-efficacy can be used as comprehensive variables to measure foreign language learning achievement.ResultsBased on the teaching concept of “teacher led and student-centered”, the traditional classroom teaching and network assisted learning were combined. Through the primary school foreign language (English) learning resource platform based on wechat official account platform \\ primary school foreign language (English) reading resource platform based on wechat official account platform \\ primary school foreign language (English) counseling and Q & a platform based on wechat official account platform, Let students realize resource-based autonomous learning in order to achieve the best effect of foreign language learning.ConclusionFrom the survey data, the teachers of the surveyed schools have realized the advantages of oral English teaching on wechat public platform. Wechat public platform has built a bridge for communication between teachers and students and realized free dialogue between teachers and students. Therefore, the platform has become an oral English training base. Carry out students' English teaching and develop English learning resources suitable for wechat public platform. Based on the concept of “double master”, these two teaching methods are combined with traditional classroom teaching and network assisted learning. Based on wechat public primary school English learning resource platform, wechat public primary school English reading resource platform or wechat public primary school English counseling platform, let primary school students realize autonomous learning and optimize primary school English learning.AcknowledgementsThis project is supported by Zhejiang Industry-Education Integration Engineering Base (Zhejiang Development and Reform Commission society [2020] No. 319).

The study examines whether already knowing several languages and feeling proficient in a new foreign language (FL) has an effect on positive and negative emotions during the learning. The emergence of positive psychology in language acquisition studies has led to the examination of positive emotions in the FL learning process, such as Foreign Language Enjoyment (FLE). FLE is a positive emotional state where psychological needs are met and was introduced as the positive emotion counterpart to the oft studied negative emotion, Foreign Language Anxiety (FLA). A international sample of 1622 FL learners were analysed utilising multivariate tests of variance, examining the level of multilingualism and the level of self-perceived FL proficiency as independent variables, with FLE and FLA as dependent variables. Results indicated a very small, but statistically significant interaction effect between the level of multilingualism and self-perceived FL proficiency on the FLA of the language learner, but not on FLE. In addition, higher levels of multilingualism were associated with higher levels of enjoyment and lower levels of anxiety in FL learners. In turn, more self-perceived proficient FL learners indicated higher levels of enjoyment and lower levels of anxiety. Although effect sizes were in some cases very small, the results do indicate the benefits multilinguals and higher proficiency FL learners have when learning a FL.

This meta‐analysis investigated the relationship between foreign language (FL) anxiety and FL performance. Fifty‐five independent samples with more than 10,000 participants were surveyed. It was found that the overall correlation between FL anxiety and FL performance was −.34 (p &lt; .01). FL listening anxiety had the strongest correlation with FL listening performance. Both FL reading anxiety and test anxiety had a weaker correlation with FL performance as compared to other types of anxiety. The anxiety–performance correlation remained stable across groups with different FL proficiency levels, suggesting that the role of FL anxiety should not be ignored regardless of the FL learners’ proficiency level. As compared to language family, lexical similarity was found to have a more decisive modulating effect on the anxiety–performance correlation. However, language family and lexical similarity may interact to affect the anxiety–performance correlation. Finally, a metaregression analysis showed that age could affect the correlation between FL anxiety and performance.

Learners’ willingness to communicate in a foreign language is regarded as a critical issue in educational contexts, so the role of emotional factors in learners’ willingness to communicate has drawn the attention of investigators. This review investigated the studies on the relationship between English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners’ grit, foreign language anxiety, and willingness to communicate. This review showed a significant relationship between learners’ grit and willingness to communicate. The earlier studies showed that gritty learners with incessant inspiring efforts are more likely to communicate in a foreign language. This review also indicated that lower anxious learners tend to have more willingness to communicate. Earlier studies also indicated that the theories, such as broaden-and-build, positive psychology, dynamic system, affective filter, and attentional control can justify the relationships between these constructs. Moreover, the study has some pedagogical implications and suggestions for teachers, learners, syllabus designers, material developers, teacher educators, policy-makers, and advisors. The ideas can improve their awareness of teachers’ willingness to communicate, grit, and foreign language anxiety in educational environments.

The present study investigates the relationship between foreign language anxiety and beliefs towards foreign language learning, considering personal and social-environmental factors that may influence language learners' beliefs. The participants consisted of 431 college students (M = 19.99, SD = 4.57 years) enrolled in language preparatory classes in Türkiye, focusing on Arabic, Chinese, English, German, Russian, and Spanish. The students provided self-reports on their levels of foreign language anxiety, including speech anxiety, failure anxiety, and low self-confidence, as well as their beliefs towards foreign language learning. The results of hierarchical regression analysis revealed that failure anxiety was positively associated with students' beliefs towards foreign language learning, indicating that higher levels of failure anxiety were linked to less favorable beliefs. On the other hand, low self-confidence was negatively associated with beliefs towards foreign language learning, suggesting that lower levels of self-confidence were associated with more negative beliefs. Speech anxiety, however, speech anxiety showed no significant association with students' beliefs towards foreign language learning. Furthermore, it was observed that foreign language anxiety and beliefs towards foreign language learning differed based on the specific foreign language being learned. These findings underscore the importance of examining foreign language anxiety in relation to beliefs towards foreign language learning, particularly within diverse language learner populations.

With the positive turn in the field of foreign language learning, researchers have gradually noticed the role of foreign language learners’ emotions, especially positive emotions, in promoting language learning. The present study reviewed theoretical and empirical research on emotions in foreign language classes at home and abroad. The results showed that the research on emotions in foreign language learning can be divided into three stages. The first stage primarily focused on negative emotions, especially on foreign language anxiety. The second stage laid emphasis on the interrelationship between foreign language enjoyment and foreign language anxiety, and the third explored multiple emotions, in addition to enjoyment and anxiety. The study offered insights into future research directions and provided recommendations to enhance the study of emotions in foreign language learning.

Learning a language through another language is trivialto any type of language learning, whether it is the learning of a local or a foreign language. South Africa’s language policy for higher education recommends the study of foreign languages (FLs) and indigenous languages.A decade after its adoption, the learning of a foreign or indigenous language in that foreign or that indigenous language, respectively, at universities has been overlooked. In essence, the learning of foreign languages at the country’s universities dates back to the 19th century, when the first higher education institution,the South African College was established. At that College a Department of General Literature that offered Dutch, English, Latin and Ancient languages was established. English and Dutch teachers provided instruction in the English and Dutch language, respectively. The instructions involved theory, history and practice of English grammar and literature or Dutch grammar and literature. The learning of indigenous languages at the country’s universities began in the 20th century under the departments of Bantu Studies. They were learnt through English, and then later through English andAfrikaans. The instructions involved theory, history and practice of English grammar and literature. The aim of this study is to gain knowledge on the different approaches that may be used to learn a foreign language and an indigenous language. The study focuses on the complex challenges facing the country’s universities to adopt new, different and best models for the teaching of foreign and indigenous languages after many decades of using English and Afrikaans mediums. A case study method is used for this study. The emphasis is on the learning of foreign versus indigenous languages in South African universities (SAUs). The paper consists of an introduction, the theory of Grammar Translation Method (GTM), a case study on the learning of foreign versus South African indigenous languages (SAILs) at the SAUs, and a conclusion. Keywords: foreign language, indigenous language, learning, English, Afrikaans

In the past half century, the research on emotions of foreign language learners (FLL) has shifted the focus from an exclusive analysis of negative emotions to a more holistic study of both negative emotions and positive emotions, and currently to mediators of multiple emotions. Of the FLL’s negative emotions, foreign language anxiety (FLA) attracts the most attention. Researchers have widely discussed the relationship between FLA and foreign language achievement, the influencing factors of FLA, the dynamicity of FLA as well as regulation and intervention strategies of FLA. Foreign language enjoyment (FLE) is the most heavily studied research subject on FLL’s positive emotions. Researchers generally focus on the influencing factors of FLE, the dynamicity of FLE and the relationship between FLE and FLA. With the implementation of holistic education, emotional intelligence (EI), a mediator of multiple emotions of FLL, has been becoming a newly hot topic in the field of FLL’s emotions. By reviewing the previous studies, this paper proposes that the future research on FLL emotion needs to expand the research perspectives, enrich the research topics, and innovate the research methods.

The present study aimed to apply Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) treatment to foreign language (FL) anxiety, a complex and multidimensional phenomenon that has been found to exert profound effects on many aspects of FL learning and performance. EMDR originally emerged as a treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and a great number of studies demonstrated empirically its potential for treating and coping with various psychological disorders. The present study used the Single-Case Design (SCD). EMDR was given to two volunteer adult EFL (English as a Foreign Language) learners experiencing severe FL anxiety. The effect of the treatment on FL anxiety was tracked and measured by using two separate scales of FL anxiety and obtaining self-reports of distress from the subjects. The long-term effects of EMDR were checked through two separate follow-up assessments. The results clearly demonstrated that EMDR was effective in reducing FL anxiety and increasing subjects’ positive cognition.

&lt;p style="text-align:justify"&gt;The purpose of this research was to investigate the relationship between foreign language anxiety, shyness, language learning strategies, speaking scores and academic achievement of university preparatory students learning German. In addition, it was aimed to determine how the independent variables predict the speaking scores and academic achievement. The research sample consisted of 110 students (75 female and 35 males). Three instruments used in the study were: Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale; Strategy Inventory of Language Learning and Shyness Scale. The results of this study revealed that a moderate significant negative relationship (r= -.434) was present between the students' foreign language learning anxiety and academic achievement. Besides, a significant and negative relationship (r= -.290) was found between foreign language anxiety and speaking scores of students. According to the correlation analysis, no significant relationship was identified between shyness, academic achievement and speaking scores of students. According to the analysis, a significant positive relationship was found between the students' language learning strategies and their academic achievements (r= .275). Namely, these data showed that, the level of academic achievement increases as the use of strategy increases. Similarly, shyness and foreign language anxiety show a moderate positive correlation (r= .419). According to these findings, it may be stated that shyness increases as speaking anxiety rises. Besides, it was determined that students' shyness, foreign language anxiety and language learning strategies predicted 26.4 % of their academic achievement. The results indicated that independent variables were positive predictors of students’ academic achievement&lt;strong&gt;.&lt;/strong&gt; Finally, suggestions were made for German teachers to reduce the effects of shyness and anxiety in the process of foreign language learning.&lt;/p&gt;