Positive and negative emotions underlie motivation for L2 learning

Abstract

The role of basic emotions in SLA has been underestimated in both research and pedagogy. The present article examines 10 positive emotions (joy, gratitude, serenity, interest, hope, pride, amusement, inspiration, awe, and love) and 9 negative emotions (anger, contempt, disgust, embarrassment, guilt, hate, sadness, feeling scared, and being stressed). The emotions are correlated with core variables chosen from three well-known models of L2 motivation: Gardner's integrative motive, Clément's social-contextual model, and Dörnyei's L2 self system. Respondents came from Italian secondary schools, and most participants were from monolingual Italian speaking homes. They described their motivation and emotion with respect to learning German in a region of Italy (South Tyrol) that features high levels of contact between Italians and Germans. Results show that positive emotions are consistently and strongly correlated with motivation-related variables. Correlations involving negative emotions are weaker and less consistently implicated in motivation. The positivity ratio, that is, the relative prevalence of positive over negative emotion, showed strong correlations with all of the motivation constructs. analysis supports the conclusion that a variety of emotions, not just one or two key ones, are implicated in L2 motivation processes in this high-contact context.

Advanced learners’ foreign language-related emotions across the four skills

“…The recent shift in focus, to other emotions and positive emotions in particular, can be attributed to the emergence of positive psychology (Seligman & Csíkszentmihályi, 2000) and its focus on positive emotions, for example. Fredrickson's (2003Fredrickson's ( , 2008 theory hypothesizing the crucial role of positive emotions found its way into research on second and foreign language acquisition (Dewaele & MacIntyre, 2014;MacIntyre & Gregersen, 2012;MacIntyre & Mercer, 2014;MacIntyre & Vincze, 2017, Oxford, 2015. More specifically, Fredrickson's (2003Fredrickson's ( , 2008 broaden-and-build theory postulates that negative emotions tend to lead to characteristic thoughts and actions; thus, they result in focusing and narrowing.…”

“…In the educational literature, there is an increasing interest in emotions experienced in connection with academic success and in different academic subjects (Pekrun & Linnenbrink-Garcia, 2014;Schutz & Pekrun, 2007), while in the field of applied linguistics, language learning related enjoyment has gained attention recently (Dewaele & MacIntyre, 2014. However, there seems to be limited research to date that aims to provide a comprehensive picture of the range of emotions students experience in connection with foreign language learning and use in different language learning contexts (for an exception, see MacIntyre & Vincze, 2017). In our exploratory study, our aim is to explore English majors' feelings related to their use of foreign languages in and out of the classroom.…”

Differential Roles of Shame and Guilt in L2 Learning: How Bad Is Bad?

“…The target language and culture may also inhibit explicit measurement of shame and guilt. For instance, MacIntyre and Vincze () encountered difficulty translating the term shame from English to Italian in their questionnaire. In short, researchers are advised to measure shame and guilt indirectly within a context by focusing on their distinctive affective, cognitive, and behavioral features.…”

“…In addition, the need for new theoretical perspectives in emotions research has been highlighted (e.g., Dewaele & MacIntyre, ; Gkonou et al., ; MacIntyre & Vincze, ; Şimşek & Dörnyei, ). For instance, Dewaele and MacIntyre () have cast doubt on the adequacy of the positive versus negative approach underlying emotions research in SLA.…”

Oral Interaction in the EFL Classroom: The Effects of Instructional Focus and Task Type on Learner Affect

“…The adverse effect of anxiety on foreign language (FL) communication has been widely reported in literature (for an overview, see Horwitz, ), but enjoyment, which is seen as a positive emotion that runs parallel to the negative emotion of anxiety (Dewaele & MacIntyre, ) has only recently received attention in research (Dewaele & MacIntyre, ; Dewaele et al., ; MacIntyre & Vincze, ). High levels of foreign language enjoyment are linked to low levels of foreign language anxiety overall (Dewaele et al., ; MacIntyre & Vincze, ), and correlate positively with learners’ self‐confidence (MacIntyre & Vincze, ). Although this relatively new body of research does not focus specifically on the role of enjoyment in FL interaction, it shows that enjoyment is related to self‐confidence, which plays an important role in FL interaction.…”