A model of classroom social climate, foreign language enjoyment, and student engagement among English as a foreign language learners

Abstract

With the advent of positive psychology in second language (L2) learning, some researchers have undertaken empirical studies to explore emotional variables affecting L2 learning and how positive emotions can enhance the engagement of L2 learners. As an attempt to contribute to this research domain, this project sought to test a model of student engagement based on classroom social climate (CSC) and foreign language enjoyment (FLE) among English language learners in Iran. A sample of 386 intermediate English as a foreign language (EFL) learners took part in this survey by completing the online battery of questionnaires. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was employed for the analysis of the gathered data. The results showed that both CSC and FLE were significant predictors of student engagement, with FLE acting as a stronger predictor. Furthermore, CSC exerted a slight influence on FLE. The findings of the present study verify the contributions of positive psychology to L2 pedagogy, implying that pleasant perceptions of learning context and positive emotions can lead to further student engagement.

Psychological wellbeing in Chinese university students: insights into the influences of academic self-concept, teacher support, and student engagement

“…Often conceptualized as multidimensional construct, student engagement has to do with students behavioral, cognitive, and emotional involvement within the learning process ( Kahu and Nelson, 2018 ; Tight, 2020 ; Mohammad Hosseini et al, 2022 ). It is suggested that student engagement is embedded in four main dimensions, of behavioral engagement, cognitive engagement, emotional engagement, and social engagement ( Appleton et al, 2006 ; Paloş et al, 2019 ; Bowden et al, 2021 ).…”

Unpacking the relationships between emotions and achievement of EFL learners in China: Engagement as a mediator

“…L2 engagement is defined as the extent to which a language learner is involved in doing a language learning task ( Hiver et al, 2021b ). Studies have connected engagement to foreign language classroom environment ( Sulis and Philp, 2021 ; Mohammad Hosseini et al, 2022 ), learning and communication mode ( Carver et al, 2021 ), learner-related variables ( Mercer and Dörnyei, 2020 ; Dewale and Li, 2021 ; Guo, 2021 ; Derakhshan et al, 2022 ; Zhao and Yang, 2022 ), and foreign language achievement ( Masgoret and Gardner, 2003 ; Eren and Rakıcıoğlu-Söylemez, 2020 ; Kang and Wu, 2022 ). Nevertheless, the sources and effects of this important construct in foreign language learning still have not been explicated in depth.…”

“…Previous studies have demonstrated that engagement was a mediator between learners’ emotions and their academic learning and achievement ( Pekrun, 2006 ; Linnenbrink, 2007 ). In language education, although studies showed that emotions were associated with engagement ( Dewaele and Li, 2021 ; Mohammad Hosseini et al, 2022 ), which was recognized as one of the strongest predictors of language achievement ( Masgoret and Gardner, 2003 ), only a handful of studies have expounded on the relationships between emotions, engagement, and achievement in a single study ( Dewaele and Li, 2021 ; Khajavy, 2021 ; Feng and Hong, 2022 ).…”

Examining the Complexity between Boredom and Engagement in English Learning: Evidence from Chinese High School Students

“…Although ELE is a multidimensional concept, these dimensions do not exist in isolation but overlap and interact with each other [35,36]. Many researchers have found the reciprocal relationship between language learners' engagement and other psychological factors, for example, motivation [18,37], emotion [18,27,28,38] and language mindsets [27,39]. Hosseini et al [38] examined the predictive role of classroom social climate and enjoyment in Iranian EFL learners' learning engagement involving behavioral, cognitive, affective and agentive engagement.…”

“…Many researchers have found the reciprocal relationship between language learners' engagement and other psychological factors, for example, motivation [18,37], emotion [18,27,28,38] and language mindsets [27,39]. Hosseini et al [38] examined the predictive role of classroom social climate and enjoyment in Iranian EFL learners' learning engagement involving behavioral, cognitive, affective and agentive engagement. They presented results showing that both predictors significantly influenced students' engagement and the predictive role of enjoyment was stronger than that of the classroom social climate.…”