Examining Emotional Profiles in Chinese EFL Classrooms: A Latent Profile Analysis of Learners’ Emotions and Their Relations to Control-Value Appraisals and Motivation

Objectives: This study aimed to identify emotional profiles among students learning English as a foreign language (EFL) and explore the relationships between these emotional profiles, control-value appraisals, and motivation, drawing upon the control-value theory of achievement emotions.
Cross-sectional design: Participants’ emotional profiles are assessed at a single point, providing a snapshot of their emotional experiences in the EFL classroom. Methods: A total of 1,314 Chinese university students enrolled in EFL courses were recruited using convenience sampling. They completed online questionnaires assessing eight foreign language classroom emotions, control-value appraisals of the English class, and English learning motivation. The collected data was analysed utilizing a person-centred latent profile analysis (LPA).
Results: The LPA revealed four distinct emotional profiles: (1) the high positive emotions group (45.5%), (2) the moderate positive emotions group (31.4%), (3) the moderate emotions group with moderate overall emotions (18.6%), and (4) the high negative emotions group (4.5%). Furthermore, the membership in a specific emotional profile was significantly predicted by perceived control and intrinsic value of the class, rather than attainment and utility value. Individuals in the high positive emotions group demonstrated the highest scores in both intrinsic and extrinsic learning motivation.
Conclusions: Despite adopting the cross-sectional design, this study had implications for EFL teachers in providing personalized support for students with diverse emotional profiles and promoting positive emotions by fostering students’ sense of control and intrinsic value in the classroom. Furthermore, the study demonstrated the applicability of emotion theory from educational psychology to the acquisition of foreign languages.