The Relationship Between Chinese EFL Learners’ Learning Anxiety and Enjoyment in a Blended Learning Environment
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17507/jltr.1402.09Keywords:
Chinese EFL learners, positive psychology, foreign language enjoyment, foreign language anxiety, blended learningAbstract
For the past two decades, learner psychology in relation to second language acquisition (SLA) has been a hot topic, and negative emotional variables in students’ language learning have attracted a lot of attention. More recently, focus has shifted to a positive emotion, enjoyment, and its relationship with anxiety. The present mixed-method study investigated the levels of FLCA and FLE of 228 Chinese EFL learners, the correlations between the two and the sources evoking these two emotions in a blended learning environment. Considering the questionnaire’s findings, participants reported relatively high levels of FLE (Mean=3.53, SD=.61) and low levels of FLCA (Mean=3.12, SD=.42). There was no significant correlation between FLCA and FLE, according to correlation analysis. Additionally, a qualitative investigation of students’ emotional experiences found that FLCA was more closely tied to learner-internal factors while FLE was to the teacher. The conclusions have pedagogical ramifications for EFL teaching in China’s educational system.
References
Arnold, J. (2011). Attention to Affect in Language Learning. Online Submission, 22(1), 11-22.
Boudreau, C., MacIntyre, P., & Dewaele, J. M. (2018). Enjoyment and anxiety in second language communication: An idiodynamic approach. Studies in Second Language Learning and Teaching, 8(1), 149-170.
Bonk, C. J., & Graham, C. R. (2012). The handbook of blended learning: Global perspectives, local designs. John Wiley & Sons.
Cui, G.Y. (2014). An Experimental research on blended learning in the development of listening and speaking skills in China. Southern African Linguistics and Applied Language Studies, 32(4), 447-460. https://doi.org/10.2989/16073614.2014.999989
Dewaele, J. M., & MacIntyre, P. D. (2014). The two faces of Janus? Anxiety and enjoyment in the foreign language classroom. Retrieved June 2, 2022, from https://www.ceeol.com/search/article-detail?id=79515.
Dewaele, J. M. (2015). On emotions in foreign language learning and use. The Language Teacher, 39(3), 13-15.
Dewaele, J. M., & MacIntyre, P. D. (2016). 9 Foreign language enjoyment and foreign language classroom anxiety: the right and left feet of the language learner. In Positive psychology in SLA (pp. 215-236). Multilingual Matters.
Dewaele, J. M. (2017). Psychological dimensions and foreign language anxiety. In The Routledge handbook of instructed second language acquisition (pp. 433-450). Routledge.
Dewaele, J. M., & Dewaele, L. (2017). The dynamic interactions in foreign language classroom anxiety and foreign language enjoyment of pupils aged 12 to 18. A pseudo-longitudinal investigation. Journal of the European Second Language Association, 1(1), 12-22.
Dewaele, J. M., & Alfawzan, M. (2018). Does the effect of enjoyment outweigh that of anxiety in foreign language performance? Studies in Second Language Learning and Teaching, 8(1), 21-45.
Dewaele, J. M., & Dewaele, L. (2018). Learner-internal and learner-external predictors of willingness to communicate in the FL classroom. Journal of the European Second Language Association. http://doi.org/10.22599/jesla.37
Dewaele, J. M., Witney, J., Saito, K., & Dewaele, L. (2018). Foreign language enjoyment and anxiety: The effect of teacher and learner variables. Language teaching research, 22(6), 676-697.
Dewaele, J. M., & MacIntyre, P. D. (2019). The predictive power of multicultural personality traits, learner and teacher variables on foreign language enjoyment and anxiety. In Evidence-based second language pedagogy (pp. 263-286). Routledge.
Dewaele, J. M., Magdalena, A. F., & Saito, K. (2019). The effect of perception of teacher characteristics on Spanish EFL learners’ anxiety and enjoyment. The Modern Language Journal, 103(2), 412-427.
Dewaele, J. M., & Dewaele, L. (2020). Are foreign language learners' enjoyment and anxiety specific to the teacher? An investigation into the dynamics of learners' classroom emotions. Studies in Second Language Learning and Teaching, 10(1), 45-65.
Dewaele, J. M., Özdemir, C., Karci, D., Uysal, S., Özdemir, E. D., & Balta, N. (2022). How distinctive is the foreign language enjoyment and foreign language classroom anxiety of Kazakh learners of Turkish?. Applied Linguistics Review, 13(2), 243-265.
Dörnyei, Z., & Murphey, T. (2003). Group dynamics in the language classroom (Vol. 10). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Dörnyei, Z., & Muir, C. (2019). Creating a motivating classroom environment. Second handbook of English language teaching, 719-736.
Dulay, H., & Burt, M. (1977). Remarks on creativity in language acquisition. Viewpoints on English as a second language, 2, 95-126.
Fang, F., & Tang, X. (2021). The relationship between Chinese English major students' learning anxiety and enjoyment in an English language classroom: a positive psychology perspective. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, 1-12. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.705244
Fredrickson, B. L. (2003a). The value of positive emotions. American Scientist, 91, 330-335.
Fredrickson, B. L. (2003b). The value of positive emotions: The emerging science of positive psychology looks into why it’s good to feel good. American Scientist, 91(4), 330–335.
He, K. K. (2004). Viewing the New Development of Educational Technology Theory from Blending Learning. China Educational Technology, (3), 5-10.
Horwitz, E. K., Horwitz, M. B., & Cope, J. (1986). Foreign language classroom anxiety. The Modern language journal, 70(2), 125-132.
Jiang, Y., & Dewaele, J. M. (2019). How unique is the foreign language classroom enjoyment and anxiety of Chinese EFL learners?. System, 82, 13-25. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2019.02.017
Jin, Y., & Zhang, L. J. (2018). The dimensions of foreign language classroom enjoyment and their effect on foreign language achievement. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism. https://doi.org/10.1080/13670050.2018.1526253
Krashen, S. (1982). Principles and practice in second language acquisition. Oxford: Pergamon Press.
Li, K. D., & Zhao, J. H. (2004). The Theory and Applied Model of Blended Learning. E-Education Research, (7):1-6, 2004. DOI: 10.14004/j.cnki.ckt.2016.2083.
Li, C., Jiang, G., & Dewaele, J. M. (2018). Understanding Chinese high school students’ foreign language enjoyment: validation of the Chinese version of the foreign language enjoyment scale. System, 76, 183-196. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2018.06.004
Liu, H. (2019). New insights into language anxiety: Theory, research and educational implications (Vol. 73, No. 1, pp. 105-107). UK: Oxford University Press.
Liu, X. H. (2009). The Construction of College English Teaching Model Based on Blended Learning. In 2009 First International Workshop on Education Technology and Computer Science (Vol. 1, pp. 773-777).
Liu, X.Y and Guo, J. D. (2021). Teacher Support, Interaction Engagement and Learning Enjoyment in On-line EFL Teaching. Journal of PLA University of Foreign Languages (05), 34-42+160. doi:CNKI:SUN:JFJW.0.2021-05-005.
Lv, S. (2004). Educational Game Industry Research Report. Distance Education in China, 22, 44-47.
Ma'arop, A. H., & Embi, M. A. (2016). Implementation of blended learning in higher learning institutions: A review of the literature. International Education Studies, 9(3), 41-52.
MacIntyre, P. D. (2002). Motivation, anxiety and emotion in second language acquisition. Individual differences and instructed language learning, 2, 45-68.
MacIntyre, P.D., & Gregersen, T. (2012). Emotions that facilitate language learning: The positive broadening power of the imagination. Studies in Second Language Learning and Teaching, 2, 193–213. Doi: 10.14746/ssllt.2012.2.2.4
MacIntyre, P. D. (2017). An overview of language anxiety research and trends in its development. New insights into language anxiety: Theory, research and educational implications, 11-30.
Rovai, A. P., & Jordan, H. M. (2004). Blended learning and sense of community: A comparative analysis with traditional and fully online graduate courses. International Review of Research in Open and Distributed Learning, 5(2), 1-13.
Seligman, M. E., & Csikszentmihalyi, M. (2014). Positive psychology: An introduction. In Flow and the foundations of positive psychology (pp. 279-298). Springer, Dordrecht.
Sevinç, Y. (2020). Anxiety as a negative emotion in home language maintenance and development. Handbook of home language maintenance and development: Social and affective factors, 84-108.
Schumann, J. (1978). The acculturation model for second-language acquisition. In R. Gingras (Eds.), Second-Language Acquisition and Foreign Language Teaching (pp. 27-50). Arlington, Virginia: Center for Applied Linguistics.
Smith, K., & Hill, J. (2019). Defining the nature of blended learning through its depiction in current research. Higher Education Research & Development, 38(2), 383-397.
Wang, K. C. (2003). The Adaptation and Validation of the Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale When Applied to Chinese College Students. Journal of Psychological Science, 2003(02): 281-284. DOI: 10.16719/j.cnki.16716981.2003.02.022.
Yao, C. (2018). How a blended learning environment in adult education promotes sustainable development in China. Australian Journal of Adult Learning, 58(3), 480-502.
Yao, C. (2019). An investigation of adult learners’ viewpoints to a blended learning environment in promoting sustainable development in China. Journal of cleaner production, 220, 134-143.
Zhao, L. J. (2004). Reviewing English Higher Education through Blended Learning. China Educational Technology, (11), 47-51.
Zhang, W., & Han, C. (2012). A case study of the application of a blended learning approach to web-based college English teaching platform in a medical university in eastern China. Theory and Practice in Language Studies, 2(9), 1961.
Zhang, W., & Zhu, C. (2018). Comparing Learning Outcomes of Blended Learning and Traditional Face-to-Face Learning of University Students in ESL Courses. International Journal on E-Learning, 17(2), 251-273.
