Grounded in Control-Value Theory, this study tested a moderated mediation model to examine the interplay between perceived teacher enthusiasm, foreign language emotions (enjoyment and boredom), language mindsets, and classroom engagement. Data were collected from 1,193 Chinese university students learning English as a foreign language via questionnaires. The results, analyzed using multi-group structural equation modeling, revealed that perceived teacher enthusiasm functioned as an antecedent whose positive relationship with engagement was significantly mediated by learners’ emotions. While the promotive pathway via enjoyment dominated the model, the protective pathway via boredom mitigation was confirmed as a secondary mechanism. Furthermore, this mediation was moderated by language mindsets: growth-mindset learners appeared internally driven, showing a significantly stronger translation of enjoyment into engagement. In contrast, fixed-mindset learners were more externally regulated, relying more heavily on the teacher’s enthusiasm to sustain engagement and mitigate boredom. This study advances the field by moving from universal trends to identifying the boundary conditions of emotional contagion, demonstrating that the role of teacher enthusiasm is contingent on students’ internal belief systems.
This study investigates the impact of rank-based versus score-based reward systems on task-induced emotions and writing performance among young second language (L2) writers, in light of their achievement goals. Participants were 235 Chinese secondary English-as-a-foreign-language students. They completed an achievement goal questionnaire and were assigned to either a rank-based reward, score-based reward, or no-reward condition. Following an English writing task, participants completed a post-task scale assessing their enjoyment and anxiety during the task. One-way ANOVA (Analysis of Variance) results demonstrated that the rank-based reward condition significantly enhanced task enjoyment and reduced anxiety. Structural equation modeling showed that both reward systems improved task performance, with rank-based rewards exerting a stronger positive effect than score-based rewards. Task enjoyment partially mediated the effect of rank-based rewards on writing performance. A series of multiple linear regression analyses indicated that the effect of achievement goals on emotional and performance outcomes was moderated by the type of reward system implemented. These findings yield pedagogical implications for leveraging motivational frameworks and fostering positive emotions in L2 task design from a positive psychology perspective.
Procrastination poses a significant barrier to L2 writing development. Though L2 writing anxiety is a well-established predictor, the potential protective role of positive affective factors remains comparatively underexplored. To our knowledge, no prior research has directly compared the relative predictive power of positive and negative affective-motivational constructs on L2 writing procrastination within a single model. This study investigated unique and joint contributions of L2 writing enjoyment, L2 writing anxiety, and willingness to write (WTW) in predicting L2 writing procrastination among EFL learners. It tested the proposition that fostering positive affect and motivation may complement anxiety reduction in accounting for procrastination. A cross-sectional study was conducted with 160 Iranian undergraduate EFL students. Validated scales measured procrastination, writing enjoyment (English Writing Enjoyment Scale), and writing anxiety (Second Language Writing Anxiety Inventory). A newly developed scale assessed WTW, and its findings should be interpreted as preliminary pending further validation. A theoretically driven hierarchical multiple regression analysis was performed. L2 writing enjoyment was the strongest negative predictor, uniquely explaining 21% of the variance in procrastination (Δ R 2 = 0.21, p < .001; f 2 = 0.27). WTW contributed a further 8% of unique variance (Δ R 2 = 0.08, p < .001; f 2 = 0.09), although its distinctiveness from enjoyment requires further empirical confirmation. In contrast, after accounting for enjoyment and WTW, L2 writing anxiety accounted for a smaller portion of unique variance (Δ R 2 = 0.02, p < .05; f 2 = 0.02). The full model explained 35% of the total variance. The findings suggest positive affect is a stronger statistical predictor of procrastination than negative affect in this context, though causal inferences cannot be drawn from this cross-sectional design. Pedagogically, the results indicate that effectively reducing procrastination may depend not only on mitigating anxiety but also on systematically cultivating writing enjoyment and motivational readiness, pointing toward a more balanced, strength-sensitive approach to L2 writing instruction.
This study investigates the impact of gamification mechanisms on the online learning experiences of third-grade students learning alphabet phonics in Taiwan. The research evaluates three key dimensions: learning outcomes, self-regulation abilities, and learning emotions. A total of 52 students aged 8 to 9 years old were divided into experimental and control groups, using the Starfall Education platform for phonics instruction. The experimental group engaged with gamified features through the ClassDojo system, while the control group used traditional online learning without gamification. The results showed that students in the gamified condition achieved higher post-test learning outcomes than those in the control condition. Analysis of self-regulation abilities revealed that students in the experimental group reported higher levels of goal-setting, help-seeking, environmental management, and personal effort, although no difference was observed in self-directed learning strategies. Additionally, the experimental group reported differences in learning emotions, including higher levels of positive emotions such as enjoyment and pride and differences in negative emotional responses such as boredom and hopelessness. Correlation analysis further demonstrated a strong positive relationship between self-regulation abilities and learning outcomes ( r = .73) and a moderate positive correlation between learning emotions and learning outcomes ( r = .54). These correlations indicate that students with higher self-regulation and more positive learning emotions tended to achieve better learning outcomes, but they do not establish causal relationships. This study underscores the value of integrating gamification mechanisms into online learning platforms to improve student engagement, foster self-regulation, and enhance emotional experiences. These findings provide actionable insights for educators seeking innovative strategies to optimize online learning.
Willingness to communicate (WTC) plays a vital role in second language (L2) education and has attracted growing attention in recent years. Over the past decade, a growing body of research has explored the relationships between WTC and the three components of the L2 motivational self system (L2MSS): the ideal L2 self, the ought-to L2 self, and the L2 learning experience. Although these studies generally report significant positive associations of the ideal L2 self and the L2 learning experience with WTC, the reported effect sizes vary considerably across samples and contexts. Additionally, these studies have yet to reach consensus regarding the association between the ought-to L2 self and WTC, with studies reporting non-significant, significant positive, or significant negative effects. To date, no study has systematically synthesized evidence on the relationship between L2MSS and WTC. To fill in the gaps, this meta-analysis extracted 152 effect sizes (correlation coefficient, r ) from 53 empirical studies. The results indicated that all three components of L2MSS were positively correlated with WTC, with moderate effects for the ideal L2 self ( r = .46) and the L2 learning experience ( r = .46), and a negligible effect size for the ought-to L2 self ( r = .20). The analysis further revealed that the effect size varied across regional contexts, educational levels, target languages, statistical procedures, communicative contexts, and construct validation methods. The findings of this study also provide evidence to support the facilitative role of the L2MSS in enhancing learners’ WTC and offer pedagogical implications for L2 teachers and directions for future research.
