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Perceived Teacher Support and EFL Achievement: The Mediating Roles of Academic Enjoyment and Self-concept

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Perceived teacher support, the primary social support that students receive in classroom settings, is positively associated with students’ academic achievement. However, limited studies have explored whether academic enjoyment and self-concept mediated the relationship between perceived teacher support and academic achievement in the learning English as a foreign language (EFL) context in China. The aim of the present study was to investigate the chain-mediating role of academic enjoyment and self-concept in the association between perceived teacher support and EFL achievement. Survey data were gathered from a cross-sectional study of secondary EFL learners in Guangdong Province, China (N =517). Results demonstrated that perceived teacher support was positively correlated with EFL achievement. Moreover, academic self-concept and the chain mediating effects of academic enjoyment and behavioral engagement mediated the relationship between perceived teacher support and EFL achievement. Implications, limitations, and suggestions for future research are discussed.
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International Journal of Linguistics and Translation Studies
38
International Journal of Linguistics and Translation Studies
Volume 4, Issue 2, 2023
Homepage: http://ijlts.org/index.php/ijlts/index
DOI: https://doi.org/10.36892/ijlts.v4i2.320
Perceived Teacher Support and EFL Achievement: The Mediating Roles
of Academic Enjoyment and Self-concept
Yajun Wu (Corresponding Author)
School of Humanities and Education, Foshan University, Foshan, China
wuyajun1225@163.com
ORCID 0000-0002-3174-7575
Xia Kang
School of Mathematics and Big Data, Foshan University, Foshan, China
Kangxia15618@163.com
How to cite:
Wu, Y. & Kang, X (2023). Perceived Teacher Support and EFL Achievement: The Mediating Roles of Academic
Enjoyment and Self-concept. International Journal of Linguistics and Translation Studies 4(2).38-53.
https://doi.org/10.36892/ijlts.v4i2.320
1. INTRODUCTION
According to the social support theory, teacher support and peer support are the main
resources that students could gain academic assistance (e.g., academic evaluation and
information support) and psychological counselling (e.g., concern and liking of teachers and
peers), which would positively affect students’ academic achievement (Ghaith, 2002). Zhang
and Li (2019) compared the predictive effect of teacher support and peer support on students’
academic performance. They found that perceived teacher support had a significant direct
effect on academic achievement, which could also indirectly affect academic achievement via
the mediators of academic self-efficacy and learning engagement. In contrast, the influence of
peer support on academic performance was not significant, indicating that perceived teacher
support rather than peer support was the primary social support within the classroom. In the
past decades, a growing number of empirical studies have been conducted to investigate the
linkage between teacher support and students’ academic achievement as well as the mediating
Abstract
Perceived teacher support, the primary social support that students receive in
classroom settings, is positively associated with students’ academic achievement.
However, limited studies have explored whether academic enjoyment and self-concept
mediated the relationship between perceived teacher support and academic
achievement in the learning English as a foreign language (EFL) context in China.
The aim of the present study was to investigate the chain-mediating role of academic
enjoyment and self-concept in the association between perceived teacher support and
EFL achievement. Survey data were gathered from a cross-sectional study of
secondary EFL learners in Guangdong Province, China (N =517). Results
demonstrated that perceived teacher support was positively correlated with EFL
achievement. Moreover, academic self-concept and the chain mediating effects of
academic enjoyment and behavioral engagement mediated the relationship between
perceived teacher support and EFL achievement. Implications, limitations, and
suggestions for future research are discussed.
KEYWORDS
Perceived teacher
support, academic
enjoyment,
academic self-
concept, EFL
achievement, serial
mediation
ARTICLE
HISTORY
Received: 25/02/2023
Accepted: 15/04/2023
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International Journal of Linguistics and Translation Studies
39
mechanisms (e.g., academic self-efficacy, learning motivation, achievement emotions and
academic engagement) between these two variables (Affuso et al., 2022; Ahmed et al., 2010;
Klem & Connell, 2004). Few studies, however, have explored the association between the
constructs of teacher support, academic enjoyment, academic self-concept, and academic
achievement in the context of EFL learning. On the one hand, existing studies mainly
concentrated on the domains of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM),
and relatively few studies have focused on the linkage between perceived teacher support and
academic achievement, especially in the EFL learning context in Mainland China (Ma et al.,
2018).
On the other hand, although a growing number of researchers have begun to pay attention
to the mediating effect of achievement emotions in the link between teacher support and
academic achievement, most of the existing research has focused on negative achievement
emotions (e.g., academic anxiety and boredom) and less on positive achievement emotions
(e.g., academic enjoyment) (Teimouri et al., 2019). To fill these gaps, this study examined
whether perceived teacher support is positively related to students’ academic performance.
Meanwhile, the present study would also test whether positive achievement emotion (i.e.,
academic enjoyment) and self-concept mediate between the constructs of perceived teacher
support and academic achievement.
2. LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1.Perceived Teacher Support and Academic Achievement
From a self-determination theory perspective, perceived teacher support could be seen as
students’ feelings that their views are supported and recognized by the teacher and the
opportunities provided by teachers to access information and make choices (Lei et al., 2018;
Mageau & Vallerand, 2003). For adolescents, teachers, like parents and peers, are important
others of adolescents, serving as both a source of knowledge and a source of emotional support
for them (Chen et al., 2003; Szumski & Karwowski, 2019). In a comparative study of teacher
support, Conner et al. (2014) found that those students who could feel care and support from
their teachers were less prone to depression, and their academic anxiety was lower than that of
students who did not receive care and support from teachers. Given the multifaceted nature of
the functions of teacher support to adolescents’ development, it is significant to
comprehensively examine the predictive effect and mechanisms of perceived teacher support
on academic achievement.
Previous studies have extensively explored how perceived teacher support affects key
academic and well-being indices (Jelas et al., 2016; Reddy et al., 2003; Suldo et al., 2009). For
example, Jelas et al. (2016) found that teacher support positively correlated with academic
achievement, and academic engagement mediated these two variables. In a longitudinal study
with secondary school students, Reddy et al. (2003) documented that the higher the perceived
teacher support, the lower the adolescent students’ depression levels, indicating that teacher
support is an important factor for adolescent students to maintain good mental health. Prior
studies have confirmed the predictive effect of perceived teacher support on students’ academic
performance. However, further studies are needed to explore the mediating mechanisms
between these two constructs, especially in the EFL learning context. Accordingly, this study
endeavoured to fill this gap by examining whether perceived teacher support affects academic
Perceived Teacher Support and EFL Achievement: The Mediating Roles of Academic Enjoyment and Self-
concept
International Journal of Linguistics and Translation Studies
performance. Moreover, this study will determine whether academic enjoyment and self-
concept mediate perceived teacher support and academic performance.
2.2.The Potential Mediating Effect of Academic Enjoyment
Academic enjoyment refers to the sense of pleasure that students experience while
studying a subject that they favourite (Boliver & Capsada-Munsech, 2021). The domain-
specificity of achievement emotions means that academic enjoyment should be explored in a
particular domain (Goetz et al., 2010; Goetz, Frenzel, et al., 2006). Thus, in this study, EFL
enjoyment was defined as the sense of pleasure experienced by students in the process of EFL
learning. Furthermore, Pekrun (2006) demonstrates that academic enjoyment can be described
from the dimensions of valence, activation, and object focus. Specifically, EFL enjoyment is a
positive, activating, and activity-related emotion. Previous studies have highlighted the
importance of academic enjoyment for adolescents, suggesting that enjoyment is integral to
achieving superior academic outcomes (Goetz et al., 2006; Lumby, 2011; Shernoff et al., 2003).
Existing studies have examined the antecedents and consequences of academic
enjoyment, which provide empirical evidence for constructing the theoretical model. For
example, Boliver and Capsada-Munsech (2021) found that the negative effect of ability
grouping on academic enjoyment in elementary school was stronger than its positive effect. In
another study with mathematics students, Aldridge et al. (2013) documented that teacher
support was an influential predictor of academic enjoyment. Dewaele and Li (2022)
investigated the linkage between EFL enjoyment and English achievement and found that EFL
enjoyment had a significant predictive effect on English achievement. In a study conducted
among eighth-grade students, Westphal et al. (2018) documented that the predictive effect of
academic enjoyment on self-concept was also significant. To sum up, we can form the
hypothesis that perceived teacher support positively affect academic self-concept, and
academic enjoyment mediate these two constructs (i.e., perceived teacher support and
academic self-concept).
2.3.The Potential Mediating Effect of Academic Self-Concept
Academic self-concept can be defined as students’ perception of their behaviors, abilities,
and unique characteristics in the learning context (Bailey, 2003). Self-concept is malleable,
especially that of adolescents, because they are experiencing self-discovery and identity
discovery (Markus & Kunda, 1986). Researchers identified a set of antecedental factors of
academic self-concept (e.g., Pesu et al., 2016; Prince, 2015). For example, Pesu et al. (2016)
documented that the more teachers believe in students’ abilities, the higher the students’ self-
concept. Prince (2015) explored the contributive role of environment to students’ self-concept
development and found that significant places actively contribute to the formation of an
individual’s future self-concept. In field of education, academic self-concept is important
because it affects a student’s motivations, attitudes, and behaviors (Mercer, 2012).
For the positive function of academic self-concept to students’ optimal functioning,
antecedents and consequences of academic self-concept in school settings are gaining traction
(Perinelli et al., 2022; Verschueren et al., 2012; Wu et al., 2021). For instance, in a study
conducted with 113 children, Verschueren et al. (2012) documented that teacher-child
relationship quality would positively affect the development of a child’s self-concept. A meta-
analysis conducted by Wu et al. (2021) found that there was a reciprocal relationship between
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these two variables. When taken together, this study formed the second hypothesis that teacher
support might affect academic achievement via the mediator of academic self-concept.
2.4.The Potential Chain-Mediating Role of Academic Enjoyment and Academic
Self-Concept
Kang and Wu (2022) documented that academic enjoyment could affect EFL achievement
via the mediator of academic self-concept. Westphal et al. (2018) examined the relationship
between teacher diagnostic skills, achievement emotions, and academic self-concept in a
sample of 1803 German eighth-grade students. They found that academic self-concept
moderated the relationship between teacher diagnostic skills and academic enjoyment.
Therefore, it could be inferred that the chain-mediating effect of academic enjoyment and self-
concept might significant in the linkage between perceived teacher support and EFL
achievement.
2.5.The Present Study
Perceived teacher support would positively influence academic achievement (Affuso et
al., 2022; Conner et al., 2014; Roorda et al., 2017). Meanwhile, the mediating effects of
academic enjoyment and self-concept between perceived teacher support and academic
achievement were also confirmed (Jelas et al., 2016; Li et al., 2020; Wu et al., 2021). However,
limited studies have examined the relationships between the study variables in the EFL learning
settings. Based on the literature above, we formed the proposed model (see Fig. 1). That is, the
present study aimed to answer the following four hypotheses:
H1: Perceived teacher support (independent variable) would positively affect EFL
achievement (dependent variable).
H2: Academic enjoyment mediates the association between the independent and
dependent variables.
H3: Academic concept mediates the relationship between the independent and dependent
variables.
H4: Academic enjoyment and academic self-concept play a chain-mediating role between
the independent and dependent variables.
Figure 1. Proposed model
3. METHODOLOGY
3.1.Participants and Procedures
Participants came from one public middle school in Guangdong Province, China. 535
participants took part in the questionnaire survey. 18 questionnaires with incomplete answers
were deleted, and the effective rate of the questionnaires was 96.64%. Among the 517 valid
Perceived Teacher Support and EFL Achievement: The Mediating Roles of Academic Enjoyment and Self-
concept
International Journal of Linguistics and Translation Studies
questionnaires, there were 275 male participants (53.19%) and 242 female participants
(46.81%). The participants consisted of seventh and eighth grade students, including 246
seventh grade students (41.78%) and 301 eighth grade students (58.22%). Participants ranged
in age from 11 to 15 (M = 13.64, SD = 0.61).
With the assistance of participants’ English teachers, the participants took part in the
questionnaire survey in one English class. Before conducting the questionnaire survey, written
informed consent was obtained from participants and English teachers; also, oral informed
consent was gained from participants’ parents or legal guardians. In addition to the basic
demographics, participants were required to respond to all measures on a five-point Likert
scale. Participants were given enough time to answer the questionnaire survey, and were free
to decide whether to continue the survey. It would not affect them even if they quit the
questionnaire survey halfway. Roughly the questionnaire survey took about twenty minutes.
3.2.Instruments
3.2.1. Perceived Teacher Support
Four items that adapted from the Child and Adolescent Social Support Scale (CASSS)
(Malecki & Demaray, 2002) were used to measure participants’ perceived teacher support in
their EFL learning process. On example, the item is “My English teacher takes care of my
feeling”. The internal consistency of the perceived teacher support scale was good, with
Cronbach’s alpha equal to 0.836.
3.2.2. Academic Enjoyment
Participants’ English class-related academic enjoyment was measured by the five items
were adapted from the Achievement Emotions Questionnaire (AEQ) (Pekrun et al., 2011). Note
that the domain specificity of achievement emotions items was adapted to suit the EFL learning
context. One example of the academic enjoyment scale was “I like English class”. The internal
reliability coefficient of the academic enjoyment construct was good, with Cronbach’s alpha =
0.865.
3.2.3. Academic Self-Concept
Participants’ academic self-concept was measured by the self-concept scale adapted from
PISA 2015 (OECD, 2017). Goetz et al. (2010) documented that academic self-concept was a
domain-specific construct, which means that the academic self-concept scale needs to be
adapted to be EFL-related (e.g., “I get good marks in English”). The internal consistency of the
EFL-related self-concept was high, with Cronbach’s alpha = 0.866.
3.2.4. EFL Achievement
To present participants’ EFL achievements, their English scores in the final examination
were gathered from their English teachers. The district education bureau developed the
examination paper and aimed to assess students’ basic skills in English. The English
examination paper included items on vocabulary, grammar, reading comprehension, and
composition. The full remarks are 120 points, and higher achieving students had higher English
scores.
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3.3.Data Analysis
In this study, SPSS 23.0 and Mplus 8.3 (Muthén & Muthén, 2013) was employed to
analyze the data. There are two steps for data analysis. First, confirmatory factor analyses
(CFA) were conducted to assess the reliability and validity of the study constructs. Second,
latent SEM was conducted to test the path coefficients. Specifically, the mediating effects of
academic enjoyment, academic self-concept, and chain mediators of academic enjoyment and
self-concept were estimated by employing the bootstrap approach with bootstrapped
confidence intervals of 95%.
The maximum likelihood (ML) estimation in the Mplus 8.3 program was used to test the
parameters. The model fits well when comparative fit index (CFI) and Tucker-Lewis index
(TLI) 0.95, root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA)≤ 0.06, standardized root
mean square residual (SRMR) ≤ 0.08 (Hu & Bentler, 1999).
4. RESULTS
4.1.Common Method Bias
Harman’s single-factor test was conducted to assess the possibility of common method
bias (Podsakoff et al., 2003). The indicators were as follows: 󰇛󰇜RMSEA
=0.154, CFI = 0.716, TLI = 0.669 and SRMR =0.111, indicating that model fit was poor. Thus,
it could be seen that bias caused by common method was not a serious concern in the dataset.
4.2.Preliminary Analysis
Results of CFA of perceived teacher support, academic enjoyment, and academic self-
concept are demonstrated in Table 1. Factor loadings of the three latent variables ranged from
0.56 to 0.87, which were higher than 0.5, indicating that no item needed to be removed (Hair
et al., 2019). Also, CFI and TLI are greater than 0.95, RMSEA and SRMR are less than 0.08,
suggesting that the constructs of perceived teacher support, academic enjoyment, and academic
self-concept fit well.
Table 1
Model Fit Indices from CFA and SEM Analysis
Factor loading
󰇛󰇜
CFI
TLI
RMSEA
SRMR
Teacher support
0.66-0.79
18.7055
0.985
0.970
0.074
0.022
Enjoyment
0.56-0.86
15.3105
0.992
0.983
0.063
0.022
Self-concept
0.60-0.87
9.4595
0.996
0.992
0.042
0.014
Note. Factor loadings are standardized.
Perceived Teacher Support and EFL Achievement: The Mediating Roles of Academic Enjoyment and Self-
concept
International Journal of Linguistics and Translation Studies
Descriptive statistics and correlations for the study variables are presented in Table 2. Results
demonstrated that the correlations between perceived teacher support and academic enjoyment
(r = 0.576, p < 0.01), perceived teacher support and academic self-concept (r = 0.281, p <
0.01), and perceived teacher support and EFL achievement (r = 0.189, p < 0.01) were
statistically significant at the expected direction.
Table 2
Descriptive Statistics, Cronbach’s Alpha, and Correlations for the Variables
Teacher
support
Enjoyment
Self-concept
EFL
achievement
Teacher support
-
Enjoyment
0.576**
-
Self-concept
0.281**
0.620**
-
EFL achievement
0.189**
0.339**
0.575**
-
Mean
4.363
3.759
2.588
90.620
SD
0.562
0.714
0.614
21.908
Cronbach’s
0.836
0.865
0.866
-
Note. **p < 0.01.
4.3.Total Effect Modelling Analysis
To test hypothesis H1, we first tested the total effect between teacher support and EFL
achievement without considering the intermediate variables of EFL-related enjoyment and self-
concept. Results of regression analysis demonstrated that unstandardized regression coefficient
was significantly different from zero (= 8.378, p < 0.01). In addition, the standardized
regression coefficient was equals to 0.205, which also showed that perceived teacher support
could positively affect EFL achievement. This meant that H1 was supported in the present
study.
4.4.Test for Mediation
The proposed model (Fig. 1) was verified using the latent variable SEM. The indicators
were as follows: 󰇛󰇜  ,   
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  , suggesting that the model fit the data well. That is, the proposed
model in Fig.1 had acceptable fit indices.
Results of point estimation of the unstandardized mediation effect of the paths are
demonstrated in Table 3. First, the point estimates of the unstandardized mediation effect of
perceived teacher support→enjoyment→EFL achievement” was -5.061, and 95% percentile
bootstrap confidence intervals (95% CI) were [-11.876, 0.369] and [-12.090, 0.180],
respectively, demonstrating that the academic enjoyment’s mediating effect was insignificant
because zero was included in the confidence intervals. For Path Two (perceived teacher
support→academic self-concept→EFL achievement), the point estimates of unstandardized
mediation effect were -8.111, and bias-corrected and 95% CI were [-14.204, -4.048] and [-
14.053,-3.983], respectively, showing that self-concept’s mediating effect was significant for
zero was not contained. For Path Three (perceived teacher support→academic
enjoyment→academic self-concept→EFL achievement), the point estimates of unstandardized
mediation effect was 17.750, and bias-corrected and 95% CI were [12.899, 25.075] and
[12.804, 24.873], respectively, suggesting that the chain mediating effect of academic
enjoyment and self-concept was significant for zero was not included.
In addition, this study compared the mediating effects of Path Three and Path Two. For the
Path of Mediating effect 3 Mediating effect 2, bias-corrected and 95% CI were [17.761,
39.147] and [17.399, 38.598], respectively, demonstrating that the mediating effect of Path
Three was different from that of Path Two. Specifically, Path Three’s mediating effect was
stronger than Path Two. Table 3
Mediating Effects of Academic Enjoyment and Self-Concept between Perceived Teacher
Support and EFL Achievement
Note. Point estimation of effects was unstandardized.
5. DISCUSSION
Taking Chinese secondary school students as participants, the present study aimed to
investigate the linkage and the mediating mechanisms between perceived teacher support and
EFL achievement. Although set studies in STEM fields have demonstrated that perceived
teacher support positively affects learning outcomes, limited studies have been conducted to
explore the relationship between these two constructs in the EFL context. Furthermore, studies
that aimed to explore the mediating effects of EFL-related enjoyment and self-concept between
Path
Point
estima
te
Parameters
bootstrap 5000 times 95% CI
bias-corrected
percentile
S.E.
Est./S.E.
Lower
Upper
Lower
Upper
1. Teacher support→academic
enjoyment→EFL achievement
-5.061
3.146
-1.609
-11.876
0.369
-
12.090
0.180
2. Teacher support→self-concept→EFL
achievement
-8.111
2.578
-3.146
-14.204
-4.048
-
14.053
-3.983
3. Teacher support→enjoyment
→ self-concept→ EFL achievement
17.75
0
3.098
5.728
12.899
25.075
12.804
24.873
Total indirect effect
4.577
2.757
1.660
-1.158
9.555
-1.557
9.316
Mediating effect 3 vs. Mediating effect 2
25.86
1
5.427
4.765
17.761
39.147
17.399
38.598
Perceived Teacher Support and EFL Achievement: The Mediating Roles of Academic Enjoyment and Self-
concept
International Journal of Linguistics and Translation Studies
the two variables of teacher support and academic performance were limited, especially those
studies that were based on Chinese secondary EFL learners. This study made up for the
limitations of the existing research y examining the predictive effect of perceived teacher
support on EFL achievement and how perceived teacher support affects EFL achievement.
First, this study found that perceived teacher support was positively correlated with EFL
achievement, indicating that H1 was supported. This finding is in line with the existing studies
(Jelas et al., 2016; Perry et al., 2010; Reddy et al., 2003). The present study contributed to the
literature y offering empirical evidence that perceived teacher support would positively affect
EFL achievement in the non-Western context of Confucian heritage culture, which confirmed
the relationship between these two constructs in a broader situational and cultural contexts. The
positive correlation between these two constructs suggested that the more teachers’ support
students perceived, the better their EFL achievement.
Second, the mediating effect of academic enjoyment between perceived teacher support
and EFL achievement was insignificant, indicating that H2 was not supported. Different from
previous studies that argued that academic enjoyment mediated the relationship between
perceived teacher support and academic performance (Ahmed et al., 2010; años et al., 2020;
Ma et al., 2021), the present study did not support the path model of “perceived teacher
support→ academic enjoyment→ EFL achievement”. One possible reason is that the mediating
effect of academic enjoyment between teacher support and EFL achievement was shunted
away y other mediators (e.g., academic self-concept).
Third, this study found that the mediating effect of academic self-concept between the
independent and dependent constructs was significant, showing that H3 was supported. This
finding is consistent with the conclusions of prior research (Erkman et al., 2010; Ma et al.,
2021). This study was the first endeavour to check whether self-concept mediates the link
between teacher support and academic performance in the EFL context in China. This finding
suggested that when EFL learners perceived more teacher support, they were more confident
in their competency in learning EFL well, which then affected their EFL achievement (Zhao et
al., 2019). Therefore, this finding reminds English teachers that they should provide support
and encouragement to their students, which could help boost their confidence in learning EFL
and, thus, their EFL achievement was enhanced.
Fourth, it was found that the mediating chain effects of academic enjoyment and academic
self-concept were significant, indicating that H4 was supported. This model indicated that
perceived teacher support influenced academic self-concept y first affecting academic
enjoyment and then influencing EFL achievement. This finding showed the order for the
influence of academic enjoyment and self-concept, consistent with prior studies (Guay et al.,
2019; Westphal et al., 2018). Results reported y Aldridge et al. (2013) suggested that students’
academic enjoyment was influenced y their prior learning experience and could e enhanced y
the impact of significant others (e.g., teachers). Also, Westphal et al. (2018) documented that
students’ subject-related self-concept was positively correlated with their enjoyment in
learning this particular subject. Thus, it is of significance for teachers to provide more support
to improve the levels of students’ enjoyment, stimulate their academic self-concept levels in
learning EFL, and then achieve performance improvement in EFL learning.
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6. IMPLICATIONS, LIMITATIONS AND DIRECTION FOR FUTURE
RESEARCH
This study found that the more teachers’ support students perceive, the better their EFL
achievement. Specifically, there are three practical implications of the present study. First,
English teachers are advised to increase their support levels. For example, students could
experience more teacher support if their English teachers gave more positive feedback during
the EFL learning process, such as praise, affirmation, and nodding (Reigel, 2008). Second, the
significant mediating effect of academic self-concept between the two constructs demonstrated
that improving students’ EFL-related self-concept could better exert the productive influence
of teacher support on their achievement. For instance, English teachers could utilize praise and
feedback (Pinxten et al., 2010), raise their academic expectations, especially for those with
poor achievement (Chen et al., 2011), and embrace a growth mindset (Zarrinaadi et al., 2022)
are the possible strategies to boost students’ academic self-concept. Third, the chain-mediating
role of academic enjoyment and academic self-concept suggested that in addition to providing
academic support, English teachers, as students’ psychological coordinators, are suggested to
create a positive and active English learning atmosphere for EFL learners. For example,
integrating mindfulness and compassion into EFL education (Huang, 2022), offering respect
or concern (Gorard & See, 2011), and emphasizing the value of learning English and teaching
English with an open, outgoing, and easy-going attitude (Magidson et al., 2014; Pekrun, 2006)
are the possible strategies for English teachers to increase students’ EFL-related enjoyment and
self-concept of ailities in learning English.
There are three limitations that are important to note. First, the present study is conducted
in a cross-sectional design, which precludes us from interpreting the causal relationships among
study variables. Future studies are suggested to adopt a longitudinal design to verify the causal
inferences between the study variables. Second, this study merely explored the mediating
effects of academic enjoyment and academic self-concept. However, other factors such as
academic engagement (Jelas et al., 2016), interest (Zhao et al., 2019), academic self-efficacy
and achievement goal orientations (Liu et al., 2022) might also mediate the relationship
between the independent and dependent variables of the present study. Therefore, future studies
are recommended to take other psychological mechanisms that might play mediating effects in
the relationship between the independent and dependent variables into consideration. Third,
participants were drawn from one public school; thus, the conclusions may not fit the situation
in private schools. Hongoontri and Keawkhong (2014) documented that school culture was a
crucial predictor of teachers’ beliefs, behaviours, and instructional practices. Therefore, future
research are suggested to take school contexts and differences between public and private
schools into consideration.
7. CONCLUSION
In this study, the predictive effect of perceived teacher support on EFL achievement as
well as the mediating mechanism between these two variables, were studied in a sample of 535
Chinese secondary school students. First, we found that teacher support productively affects
EFL achievement. Second, academic self-concept mediated the association between perceived
teacher support and EFL achievement. Third, the chain mediating effects of academic
Perceived Teacher Support and EFL Achievement: The Mediating Roles of Academic Enjoyment and Self-
concept
International Journal of Linguistics and Translation Studies
enjoyment and self-concept were also significant between perceived teacher support and EFL
achievement. The findings contribute to our understanding of the importance of perceived
teacher support in the promotion of students’ EFL achievement and how perceived teacher
support affects EFL achievement. EFL educators are recommended to provide students with
more academic and emotional support, which benefits students’ emotions, self-concept and
academic achievement in learning EFL.
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About the Authors
Yajun Wu received his doctoral degree in foreign language education from Southwest
University. He is a Senior Lecturer at the School of Humanities & Education at Foshan
University, Guangdong Province, China.
Xia Kang is a Senior Lecturer at the School of Mathematics and Big Data at Foshan
University, Guangdong Province, China
... This is an important factor that promotes effective learning and enhances students' ability to concentrate and actively participate in the lesson. Studies have shown that PTS has a positive relationship with students' AEJ Sadoughi & Hejazi, 2021;Wu & Kang, 2023b;Zhao & Yang, 2022). Students feel more comfortable, confident and interested in the learning process when there is enthusiasm (Dewaele & Li, 2021), friendliness (Dewaele et al., 2019) and especially direct support from teachers (Sadoughi & Hejazi, 2021). ...
... Students feel more comfortable, confident and interested in the learning process when there is enthusiasm (Dewaele & Li, 2021), friendliness (Dewaele et al., 2019) and especially direct support from teachers (Sadoughi & Hejazi, 2021). This support from teachers contributes to a positive learning environment Wu & Kang, 2023b). Students can reduce their feelings of stress and helplessness when they feel cared for and supported by teachers, which facilitates the development of positive emotions such as AEJ. ...
... This result is in line with hypothesis H2 and previous findings on Chinese adolescents (Zhao & Yang, 2022) and Iranian university students (Sadoughi & Hejazi, 2021); however, these findings were found in the context of foreign language learning (Sadoughi & Hejazi, 2021;Zhao & Yang, 2022). Previously, it was also revealed that there is a positive relationship between PTS and AEJ Sadoughi & Hejazi, 2021;Wu & Kang, 2023b;Zhao & Yang, 2022) as well as between AEJ and AEG Sadoughi & Hejazi, 2021;X. Zhang et al., 2024;Zhao & Yang, 2022). ...
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... Given that teacher support is domain-specific (Chai & Gong, 2013), these four items were modified to measure participants' perceived support from their English teachers (e.g., "My English teacher will help me when I encounter problems in English learning"). The psychometric properties of this scale have been confirmed to be good in prior studies (e.g., Wu & Kang, 2023b;Yildirim, 2012). In this study, the teacher support scale demonstrated good reliability with Cronbach's α equal to 0.84. ...
... Since academic self-concept is also a domain-specific construct (Burns et al., 2018), we adapted the five items to measure participants' EFL-related self-concept (e.g., "In English class, I can understand even difficult content"). This scale demonstrated good psychometric properties in previous studies (e.g., Kang & Wu, 2022;Wu & Kang, 2023b). The internal consistency of the EFL-related self-concept scale was good in the present study (Cronbach's = 0.86). ...
... First, teacher support was positively correlated with EFL-related self-concept, showing that H1 was supported. On the one hand, this finding is in line with the previous studies (Ma et al., 2021;Wu & Kang, 2023b;Zhao et al., 2019). On the other hand, this finding provides new evidence from the field of EFL education to the model of "teacher support → academic self-concept". ...
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... After proving its crucial role in L2 learning success, several studies began examining the role of teacher-emotional support in different psycho-emotional states of English as a foreign language (EFL) students (Guo, Wang, and Ortega-Martín 2023;Liu and Guo 2021;Liu and Li 2023;Solhi, Derakhshan, and Ünsal 2023;Sun and Shi 2022). Most of the current studies, however, focused on the relationship between perceived teacher support and EFL students' academic achievement as mediated by positive achievement emotions and constructs like engagement, buoyancy, enjoyment, self-efficacy, self-concept, and achievement goal orientation (Feng, He, and Ding 2023;Li, Dewaele, and Jiang 2020;Liu, Du, and Lu 2023;Wu and Kang 2023). Additionally, the measurement and components of perceived teacher support in L2 education have been examined recently . ...
... The results revealed that the variables are significantly correlated and ICT self-efficacy could mediate the relationship among other factors, too. Furthermore, Wu and Kang (2023) argued that Chinese EFL students' academic enjoyment and self-concept could mediate the bond between perceived teacher support and achievement. Research also shows that perceived teacher support influences different indices of well-being (Jelas et al. 2016). ...
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... Apart from their direct roles, proof exists of the mediating role of these emotions. For instance, Achievement emotions (AE) mediate the relationship between teacher support and AEG (Sadoughi & Hejazi, 2021) and between perceived teacher support and AEG (Wu & Kang, 2023). Moreover, researchers are encouraged to address the emotions of learners in the context of online language learning due to the evergrowing interest in online technology. ...
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Studies and models of academic self-concept (ASC) have mostly relied on its stability over time, but recent research advancements on individual differences have shown that the majority of psychological constructs tend to change over time. Drawing on literature regarding personality trait change and the RI/EM, we conducted a study aimed at investigating characteristics of the changeability of math and verbal self-concepts across junior high school, and examined their relationships with academic performance. The sample consisted of 1674 students, who filled in a self-report questionnaire on math and verbal self-concept at T1 (10 yrs) and T2 (13 yrs), whereas math and verbal achievement at T1 and T2 were measured by standardized test scores. Results attested (a) that both math and verbal self-concept, on average, decrease significantly over the course of junior high school; (b) that a large variability exists in the way students change; (c) that the way students change in one academic self-concept is not related to changes in the other academic self-concept. In regards to academic achievement, we found reciprocal positive longitudinal effects in matching domains and low-positive or non-significant longitudinal relationships in non-matching domains. In sum, the ability to contrast the overall negative trend of ASCs is associated with amelioration in academic achievement at the end of junior high school. From a practical standpoint, these findings suggest the importance of (a) assessing and intervening on ASCs during junior high school; (b) intervening in math and verbal self-concept separately; (c) taking into account the student’s own way of changing.
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The reciprocal relationship between academic self-concept (ASC) and academic achievement has been documented in multiple studies. However, this relationship has not been investigated fully from a developmental perspective. In the present meta-analysis, 240 effect sizes were aggregated from 68 longitudinal studies to examine the longitudinal relationship between ASC and achievement. The results found that achievement significantly predicted ASC (β = 0.16, p < 0.01) and vice-versa (β = 0.08, p < 0.01) after controlling for the initial level of outcome variables, which provided further evidence for the reciprocal effects model (REM). Moderator analyses found that the effect of achievement on ASC was significantly moderated by student age, whereas the effect of ASC on achievement was significantly moderated by student age, achievement level, and types of achievement measurement. Combining the significant moderating effect of age on the paths leading from ASC to achievement and from achievement to ASC, the relationship between ASC and achievement was found to demonstrate a trend from a strong skill-development effect to a pronounced reciprocal effect with age within the framework of the REM.
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