Exploring foreign language classroom emotions and their impact on achievement in China: Validating the Achievement Emotions Questionnaire—Short form

Abstract

Achievement emotions are crucial for acqussiring a foreign language, yet reliable tools to measure emotions beyond anxiety, enjoyment, and boredom in foreign language classrooms remain scarce. Furthermore, few studies have examined the different predictive effects of various foreign language classroom emotions on language learning achievement. This article presents two studies that aim to address these research gaps. In Study 1, based on the control-value theory of achievement emotions, we adapted and validated the short form of the Achievement Emotions Questionnaire for Foreign Language Classrooms, a self-report instrument that measures eight achievement emotions: enjoyment, hope, pride, anger, anxiety, boredom, hopelessness, and shame. The questionnaire was administered to 1,063 Chinese university students (567 females, mean age = 18.86, SD = 1.04, range = 17‒24 years) enrolled in English as a foreign language courses. The questionnaire exhibited acceptable psychometric properties including construct validity, reliability, measurement invariance, and external validity. In Study 2, we measured students’ English language learning achievement using their scores on a standardized exam. Scores of 202 students were analysed (131 females; mean age = 18.82, SD = 0.82, range = 17‒24 years). Regression analyses indicated that negative emotions were more predictive of achievement than positive emotions (except hope, which was the most influential predictor among the positive emotions). Theoretical, methodological, and practical implications and limitations were discussed.