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Engagement in Language Learning: A Systematic Review of 20 Years of Research Methods and Definitions

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Abstract

VIDEO: https://youtu.be/Ivf_8G7NctI - PUBLISHED PAPER: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/350159322_Engagement_in_language_learning_A_systematic_review_of_20_years_of_research_methods_and_definitions - ABSTRACT: At the turn of the new millennium, Dörnyei and Kormos (2000) proposed that ‘active learner engagement is a key concern’ for all instructed language learning. Since then, language engagement research has increased exponentially, becoming a new strand of PLL research. In this talk, we present a systematic review of 20 years of language engagement research. Our first aim was to look back at the methodological characteristics of previous empirical L2 engagement research to note trends and tendencies in designs and analytical choices. We were also interested in the definitions and operationalizations of engagement across subdomains of language education. We searched 21 major journals on second language acquisition (SLA) and applied linguistics and identified 112 reports satisfying our inclusion criteria. The results of our analysis of these reports highlighted the adoption of heterogeneous methods and conceptual frameworks in the language engagement literature, as well as indicating a need to refine the definitions and operationalizations of engagement in both quantitative and qualitative research. Based on these findings, we attempt to clarify some lingering ambiguity around fundamental definitions, and to more clearly delineate the scope and target of language engagement research. We also discuss future avenues to further advance understanding of the nature, mechanisms, and outcomes resulting from engagement in language learning.
Engagement in Language Learning: A
Systematic Review of 20 Years of
Research Methods and Definitions
Phil Hiver, Ali Al-Hoorie, & Joseph S. Yamazaki
phiver@fsu.edu
1. look back at the methodological characteristics of previous empirical L2
engagement research in SLA and applied linguistics
Objectives of this systematic review:
2. explore whether there were limitations and potential areas to clarify lingering
ambiguity around fundamental definitions of L2 engagement
Engagement is “the holy grail of learning(Sinatra et al., 2015, p. 1)
Specifically in language learning, learner action for learning
(e.g., language use, interaction) is critical for language development.
Engagement: Characteristics & Dimensions
1. Action
2. Context-dependent
3. Object
4. Dynamic
Characteristics
Dimensions
1. Behavioral engagement
the amount and quality of learners’ active participation in learning
(e.g., time on task, voluntary involvement in speaking)
Engagement: Characteristics & Dimensions
Dimensions
2. Cognitive engagement
learners’ mental effort and mental activity in the process of learning
(e.g., language-related episodes, private speech)
3. Emotional engagement
learners’ personal affective reactions as they participate in target language-
related activities or tasks (e.g., enjoyment, enthusiasm)
4. Social engagement
social forms of activity and involvement that are prominent in communities of
language learning and use (e.g., turn-taking, willingness to listen to others)
Importance of Engagement for Language Learning
Engagement is a meta-construct that unites many separate lines of research
e.g., awareness, attention, interaction
Engagement is intertwined with many other individual and situational factors
e.g., persistence, achievement, dropout rate
Engagement brings together teaching and learning perspectives
Research Questions
1. What are the methodological characteristics of engagement studies in
the field (including trends in study design and analytical choices)?
2. What conceptual definitions and operationalizations of engagement are
adopted in empirical reports?
3. What, if any, areas for improving engagement study quality are
apparent?
over 20 years (2000-2020) of published work
Report Pool Criterion
Coding
Ambiguous L2 engagement report (k= 73)
Bona fide L2 engagement report (k= 39)
ambiguity or no specific information regarding how engagement is
conceptualized, operationalized, and/or measured
a low bar concerning what forms of learner participation/behavior are
indicative of ‘engagement’ or ‘engaging’
adopts a specific definition of engagement as deliberate attention to and
volitional action for language learning that is operationalized and measured
through (among others) behavioral, cognitive, affective, or social indicators
Descriptive markers for coding
e.g., study aim, unit of analysis, indicators included in operational measurement
RQ1: Methodological Characteristics
RQ1:
Methodological
Characteristics
RQ1: Methodological Characteristics
RQ1: Methodological Characteristics
RQ1: Methodological Characteristics
RQ2:
Operationalization
Discussion: Methodological Issues
The inclusion of multiple measurements and complementary data sources
Group-based and cross-sectional designs
1. skill- and domain-specific measures
2. dynamics of engagement
3. implicit measures
4. big data
Research potential
Research potential
1. individual-based work (e.g., intra-individual variability)
2. fine-tuning the level of granularity (agent, task, time)
Discussion: Methodological Issues
Very little work on the malleability of engagement, the dynamics of its
development, and re-engaging disengaged and disaffected students
1. investigating the role of teachers, peers, and learning tasks on the
development of engagement over time
2. examining how classroom learning opportunities, assessments, and
extramural interests and experiences influence learners’ engagement
Example design
Discussion: Operational & Definitional Issues
fewer than 35% of studies reviewed featured a clear definition and/or
operationalization of engagement
unable to ascertain which operational domain of engagement had
been adopted or was the area of focus in over 15% of reports
only roughly 20% of the measures adopted were skill- or language
learning-specific
e.g., preparation, sense-making ??
Discussion: Operational & Definitional Issues
distinction between engagement and other constructs
engagement = the intensity and the quality of student involvement in the
learning activity or environment
many indicators of engagement were ambiguous and fell outside
the scope of the engagement construct
e.g., goal-directed behavior = goal-setting (cognitive) + strategic pursuit (behavioral)
e.g., satisfaction, interest vs. flow
e.g., engagement vs. motivation
motivation = the forces that energize and direct that behavior
Pedagogical Implications
language pedagogy must sharpen its focus on the necessary
conditions for engagement
establishing clear definitions and toolkits for assessment
e.g., task characteristics (support provided, sequencing)
use of technology
e.g., video games, CMC, social media
identifying disaffected learners and disengaging learning environments
Conclusion
Areas to be addressed in future research
The purpose was to take stock of empirical work in the field and
draw conclusions across the subdomains of language education
1. longitudinal and individual-based investigation
2. uncover the dynamic nature of engagement
3. conceptual and definitional precision
Article
Full-text available
This study aimed to better understand the extent of subject specificity in students’ engagement across three engagement subdimensions (emotional, behavioral, and cognitive) and over time. We assessed students’ engagement in two school subjects (math and German as the language of instruction) at the beginning and end of the first year of upper secondary school (N = 1,324). The results of our longitudinal bifactorial modeling showed that the subdimensions had both subject-specific and subject-independent aspects. Emotional engagement was the most subject-specific, and behavioral engagement was the most subject-independent. Subject specificity was higher for math than German and increased over the school year. Furthermore, students’ self-concept, self-efficacy beliefs, interest, and grades were more related to subject-specific than subject-independent aspects, especially in math. Our results suggest that it is essential to consider the increasing subject specificity and the variability in subject specificity across dimensions when developing strategies to strengthen students’ engagement.
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Perezhivanie, i.e., emotional lived experience, is a psychological structure for understanding dynamic influences derived from personal and social sources. In this study, two Japanese university students' perezhivaniya (plural) of English learning in their final year of high school and first two years of university studies were examined using a dataset containing a semi-structural interview, informal interviews and a series of classroom observation. This paper describes these students' perezhivanyia of English learning and explains their engagement as 1. in-the-moment responses anchored in personally significant events or moments; and 2. beyond-the-moment refractions during re-visitation of these events. Language learning engagement is therefore experiential, situated and reflective from a perezhivanie perspective. The findings indicate that students' changing engagement in English learning cannot be fully understood if it is removed from the irreducible unit of perezhivanie.
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Although research on student engagement with peer feedback in second and foreign language (L2) writing has attracted some attention in recent years, there has been little emphasis on the dynamic changes in and factors influencing student engagement. Drawing on multiple data sources, we explored how six undergraduate students affectively, cognitively, and behaviorally engaged with receiving peer feedback across three writing cycles in an online TOEFL writing course. The findings revealed that L2 students’ engagement with peer feedback was complex, dynamic, and nonlinear. Affectively, the students experienced fluctuating emotions across tasks, which directly contributed to changes in their behaviors, as positive emotions promoted feedback implementation, while negative emotions hampered it. Cognitively, the students showed dynamic difficulties in understanding peer feedback across tasks, which triggered negative emotions and inappropriate revisions, and noticing/understanding feedback did not guarantee the use of cognitive strategies. Behaviorally, the students manifested different trends of implementing peer feedback and deployed a variety of observable revision strategies across the three writing cycles. Overall, the dynamics of student engagement with receiving peer feedback were found to be influenced by a number of individual and contextual factors, indicating the malleability of L2 students’ engagement with peer feedback.
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Article
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Burnout impairs English as a foreign language (EFL) learning, while engagement enhances it. However, most relevant studies have focused on college students, neglecting senior high school students. To address this gap, this mixed-methods study used two scales to assess the levels of burnout and engagement among 1234 Chinese senior high school EFL students. We also applied a person-centered approach with a statistical software (Mplus 8.7) to identify their latent profiles. Then, we conducted semi-structured interviews with 30 students and analyzed the data using thematic analysis with a qualitative software (MAXQDA 2022) to investigate the antecedents of their burnout and engagement. The statistical analysis revealed three profiles: high burnout-low engagement (16.0%), moderate burnout-moderate engagement (61.8%), and low burnout-high engagement (22.2%). The profiles were associated with demographic characteristics such as gender, age, and grade. The thematic analysis identified four major antecedents: high academic stress and low academic support for burnout, and high external support and high internal support for engagement. Each major antecedent consisted of several categories and subcategories. This study could inform the design of effective interventions to reduce Chinese EFL students’ burnout and increase their engagement.
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