Foreign Language learning and teaching Enjoyment: Teachers’ Perspectives

Abstract

Aim. The primary objective of the present study was to investigate the level of Foreign Language learning Enjoyment and Foreign Language teaching Enjoyment experienced by foreign language teachers in Poland. The secondary aim of the study was to investigate the sources of FLE from the perspective of FL teachers.
 Methods. The informants of the study were Polish educators teaching foreign languages at different educational levels (from primary to tertiary education). To compute the obtained quantitative data, the statistical program STATISTICA was used. Standard descriptive and inferential statistics were used to report means, median and standard deviation for sociodemographic and baseline characteristics of the sample. The t-Test and one-way ANOVA were used to show mean differences in the score data.
 Results. The results of the study revealed that foreign language teachers experienced a relatively high lvel of both Foreign Language learning Enjoyment) and Foreign Language teaching Enjoyment (FL teaching Enjoyment), regardless of independent variables (e.g. place of residence, level of education, language being taught, the years of experience). The result revealed a significant gender difference in FL learning Enjoyment in favor of females, while there was no gender difference in FL teaching Enjoyment. A qualitative analysis of participants’ emotional experiences in FL classroom confirmed previous research on FLE to a certain degree. That is, FLE is more related to learner-internal and teacher-specific variables than to the behavior of the peers and the atmosphere created in the FL classroom.
 Conclusion. The originality of the present study lies in the choice of a mixed method approach (both of a qualitative and quantitative nature) using a relatively large sample in a field characterized by case studies. To the best of my knowledge, this is the first study on foreign language enjoyment among teachers within the Polish educational context.

EFL Enjoyment of Saudi English Majors and its Relation to their Achievement, Autonomy and Self-Efficacy

“…Reading itself is an enjoyable activity. This possibility of self-development and pride in accomplishments were reported by students in other studies as sources of FL enjoyment (Li, Jiang, & Dewaele, 2018;Mierzwa, 2019).…”

“…No significant differences were found between male and female students in EFL enjoyment. This finding is inconsistent with all the studies that the researcher surveyed (e.g., Dewaele & MacIntyre, 2014 , 2016;Mierzwa, 2019). A possible explanation for this is different study populations.…”

“…The level of FL learning enjoyment and FL teaching enjoyment experienced by FL teachers in Poland was investigated by Mierzwa (2019). The informants of the study were Polish educators teaching foreign languages at different educational levels.…”

“…The researcher reviewed related literature to develop the questionnaire probing students" EFL enjoyment (Pekrun, Goetz, Frenzel, Barchfeld and Perry, 2011;Dewaele and MacIntyre, 2014;Mierzwa, 2019), autonomy (Cotterall, 1995(Cotterall, , 1999 and self-efficacy (Henk & Melnick, 1995;Seeger, 2009). Items of the enjoyment subscale related to attitudes towards learning English, learning activities, the learning environment (teachers and peers), improvement in using the FL, and pride in own performance and accomplishments.…”

Researching and Practicing Positive Psychology in Second/Foreign Language Learning and Teaching: The Past, Current Status and Future Directions

“…MacIntyre and Gregersen ( 2012 ) introduced the concept of foreign language enjoyment (FLE), arguing that enjoyment, as an instance of positive achievement emotion (Pekrun, 2006 ), can help learners build resources for better language learning, broaden their perspectives, and increase their engagement in the language learning process (Jin and Zhang, 2019 ). It is conceived as a desirable experience happening when learners feel capable of successfully completing the task at hand (i.e., the control element) and appreciating the learning content (i.e., the positive appraisal element) (Mierzwa, 2019 ). Enjoyment stimulates sustainment in action, which leads to flourishment and development in life.…”