Abstract
In second and foreign language (L2) acquisition, formal classroom instruction remains fundamental to achieving comprehensive language development. During classroom learning, foreign language learners experience a range of emotions, including enjoyment, hope, pride, anger, anxiety, boredom, hopelessness, and shame. The affective turn in recent decades has underscored the role of foreign language classroom emotions as equally significant to cognitive factors in shaping language learning outcomes. Despite these emotions’ recognized diversity and importance, research has predominantly focused on anxiety, enjoyment, and boredom, leaving other emotions underexplored. This dissertation addressed the research gap by adopting a comprehensive perspective to investigate foreign language classroom emotions, their antecedents, and their outcomes, guided by the control-value theory of achievement emotions from the field of educational psychology. The theory posits that cognitive antecedents—namely, control and value appraisals—shape students’ emotions and that these emotions affect learning process and performance. To test these theoretical propositions, four quantitative studies were conducted with Chinese university students learning English as a foreign language (EFL).Study 1 validated the short form of the Achievement Emotions Questionnaire for Foreign Language Classrooms (AEQ-FLC-S), 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 EFL courses. The confirmatory factor analysis results supported the hypothesized emotion × component model of the AEQ-FLC-S and its invariance across gender, major, and English proficiency. The AEQ-FLC-S also showed acceptable internal consistency and convergent validity. Additionally, the AEQ-FLC-S scores were significantly related to students’ control-value appraisals of the language class and learning motivation, indicating the measure’s external validity.
Study 2 identified emotional profiles among students learning EFL and examined the relationships between these profiles, control-value appraisals of the language class, and motivation. A sample of 1,514 Chinese university students (848 females, mean age = 18.89, SD = 1.03, range = 17–25) enrolled in English courses was recruited via convenience sampling. Data were analyzed using a person-centered latent profile analysis, revealing four distinct emotional profiles: (1) high positive emotions (42%), (2) moderate positive emotions (30.2%), (3) moderate overall emotions (18.8%), and (4) high negative emotions (9%). Further, membership in a particular emotional profile was significantly predicted by perceived control and intrinsic value of the class but not by attainment or utility value. Students in the high positive emotions group reported the highest intrinsic and extrinsic learning motivation levels.
Study 3 examined the impact of eight foreign language classroom emotions (enjoyment, hope, pride, anger, anxiety, boredom, hopelessness, and shame) on foreign language achievement and assessed the mediating roles of these emotions between control-value appraisals of the language class and language achievement. A sample of 202 Chinese university students (131 females, mean age = 18.82, SD = 0.82, range = 17–24) enrolled in English courses completed an online questionnaire and reported their scores on a national standardized English test. Regression analyses showed that three positive emotions positively predicted English achievement, whereas negative emotions negatively predicted it. Negative emotions were generally more predictive of achievement than positive ones, with hope being the most influential among the positive emotions. Mediation analyses demonstrated that anger, anxiety, boredom, and hopelessness mediated the relationships between control-value appraisals of the language class and English achievement, whereas other emotions (enjoyment, hope, pride, and shame) did not show significant mediation effects. Across all mediation models, perceived control of the class positively predicted English achievement. Specifically, anxiety partially mediated the relationship between perceived control of the class and English achievement and fully mediated the relationships between both intrinsic value and attainment value of the class and English achievement. Both anger and boredom fully mediated the relationship between intrinsic value of the class and English achievement. Hopelessness partially mediated the relationship between perceived control of the class and English achievement.
Study 4 examined the dynamic growth of eight foreign language classroom emotions (enjoyment, hope, pride, anger, anxiety, boredom, hopelessness, and shame) over time. Using latent growth curve modeling analysis, this study assessed these emotions’ initial levels and developmental trajectories, as well as the predictive effects of perceived class control and three types of class perceived value (intrinsic, attainment, and utility) on emotional initial levels and growth. Data were collected from 748 Chinese university students (575 females, mean age = 18.56, SD = 0.615, range = 18–23) learning EFL across three time points, each separated by 6-week intervals (beginning, middle, and end of a semester). Findings revealed that students’ initial emotional levels varied; however, only anxiety showed a significant decrease and pride a significant increase, whereas the other six emotions remained stable over the semester. Because the rates of changes were significant for anxiety and pride, further predictive analyses focused on these emotions. Among control-value appraisals, perceived class control was positively associated with the rate of change in anxiety over time whereas intrinsic value was negatively associated with the rate of change in pride over time.
In conclusion, this dissertation provides a comprehensive analysis of foreign language classroom emotions among Chinese English learners, identifying their distinct roles, predictors, and developmental trajectories while extending support for control-value theory’s generalizability within the foreign language learning context. These insights contribute valuable theoretical and practical implications for fostering emotional well-being and academic success in foreign language classrooms. Future research directions are also discussed.
| Date of Award | 2 Sept 2025 |
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| Original language | English |
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| Supervisor | Na Na Anna HUI (Supervisor) |