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The mediating roles of resilience and motivation in the relationship between students’ English learning burnout and engagement: a conservation-of-resources perspective
Abstract
Language learning is a dynamic process involving fluctuating resources (e.g. resilience, motivation, and engagement) and stressors (e.g. burnout). With the guidance of Hobfoll’s Conservation of Resources Theory, the current study explored the mediating roles of resilience and motivation between burnout and engagement among 640 Chinese senior high school students. The results show that English learning burnout as a psychological stressor significantly and negatively predicted the psychological resources of engagement; resilience and motivation both mediated the relationship between burnout and engagement; and resilience and motivation jointly mediated the chain between burnout and engagement. Indeed, the mediating process could be deemed a process by which students’ psychological resources fluctuate. In this mediating process, students suffering from stress rely on their resource caravans and employ the resources they possess to avoid the psychological stressor’s consequences and replenish what has been lost.
... Furthermore, Internet addiction is widely recognized as a risk factor for reduced academic engagement [38,39], potentially exacerbated by increased Internet availability and persistent use [19]. Students often use the Internet to chat with friends and play games, even during their class time, while completing homework, which leads to low academic engagement [40]. ...
... The finding demonstrated that the positive effect of Internet addiction among undergraduate students from normal universities on increasing academic burnout may have worked through weakening their academic engagement. Previous investigations have also established a strong correlation between problematic Internet use and reduced engagement in academic activities, such as decreased motivation, lower levels of concentration, and diminished self-regulation, all of which contribute to the development of academic burnout [7, 14,38]. Moreover, previous studies have also highlighted the importance of addressing problematic Internet use in promoting academic engagement and preventing burnout [34]. ...
... It highlights the importance of both academic engagement and academic self-efficacy in influencing the academic outcomes of students [7, 15,39]. Academic engagement and academic self-efficacy have been consistently linked to resilience, well-being, higher levels of confidence, adaptive coping strategies, and academic achievement [15,38,43]. ...
Background
In the hybrid teaching context, the impact of Internet addiction on academic burnout and its underlying mechanism is still unclear. This study aims to investigate the effect of Internet addiction on academic burnout, and the chain mediating effect of academic engagement and academic self-efficacy in the relationship between Internet addiction and academic burnout.
Methods
This study adopted a quantitative and correlational research design. A stratified random sampling method was used and a sample of 534 undergraduates (148 male and 386 female) from three normal universities participated in this study. Instruments used were the Chinese version of the Internet Addiction Test, the Chinese version of the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale-Student, the Chinese version of the Academic Self-efficacy Scale, and the Learning Burnout Scale of Undergraduates. Data were collected through self-report questionnaires and structural equation modeling was adopted to test the hypotheses using AMOS 24.0 software.
Results
The findings revealed that Internet addiction demonstrated a statistically significant positive association with academic burnout among undergraduate students. Analysis of mediating effects indicated that academic engagement served as a significant mediator in the relationship between Internet addiction and academic burnout. However, academic self-efficacy failed to exhibit a significant mediating effect between these variables. Further examination revealed a significant chain mediating effect of academic engagement and academic self-efficacy in the relationship between Internet addiction and academic burnout.
Conclusion
Internet addiction influences academic burnout of undergraduate students both directly and indirectly through academic engagement and academic self-efficacy. Effective interventions could be implemented in universities to mitigate the negative effects of Internet addiction by enhancing academic engagement and academic self-efficacy, which may reduce students’ vulnerability to academic burnout and its associated educational consequences such as course withdrawal, decreased academic performance, or dropping out.
... Research indicates that resilient learners display higher levels of engagement, as they are more likely to persist in their studies, employ adaptive coping strategies, and sustain motivation over time . This heightened engagement, fueled by resilience, not only enhances learners' ability to overcome linguistic obstacles but also contributes to a deeper, more meaningful learning experience (Cena et al., 2023;Liu et al., 2023c). The interplay between resilience and engagement underscores the necessity of fostering a supportive learning environment that cultivates resilience, thereby enhancing learners' engagement and overall language learning success (Ritonga et al., 2023). ...
... 2025, 15, x 5 of 22 strategies, and sustain motivation over time . This heightened engagement, fueled by resilience, not only enhances learners' ability to overcome linguistic obstacles but also contributes to a deeper, more meaningful learning experience (Cena et al., 2023;Liu et al., 2023c). The interplay between resilience and engagement underscores the necessity of fostering a supportive learning environment that cultivates resilience, thereby enhancing learners' engagement and overall language learning success (Ritonga et al., 2023). ...
... Furthermore, resilience has been recognized as a crucial predictor of behavioral, cognitive, and emotional engagement. This relationship resonates with the findings from studies by Liu et al. ( , 2023c and Ritonga et al. (2023), which illustrate resilience's pivotal role in shaping various facets of engagement. Furthermore, resilience serves as a stress buffer, mitigating the impact of anxiety and frustration often associated with mastering a new language. ...
Resilience and flow are crucial in language education, yet most research focuses on formal learning environments, with limited studies on their impact in informal settings. This study explores the relationship between basic psychological needs and engagement in the context of informal digital English learning (IDLE). Using a mixed-methods design, data were collected from 512 Chinese EFL learners. Structural equation modeling and NVivo analysis were applied to quantitative and qualitative data, respectively. The findings reveal that resilience fully mediates the relationship between basic psychological needs and engagement, serving as an adaptability enhancer, persistence promoter, stress buffer, self-efficacy builder, and emotional regulation facilitator. Conversely, flow partially mediates this relationship, though perceived competence does not significantly predict flow in this context. Building on this, flow contributes as an intrinsic motivation driver, positive cycle creator, external pressure mitigator, and efficiency enhancer. This research underscores the important role of resilience and flow in IDLE among Chinese university EFL students. By highlighting these mediating roles, the study provides valuable insights for enhancing the effectiveness of IDLE experiences, contributing to the broader discourse on language education in the digital age.
... With the increasing ubiquity of smartphones, their potential impact on students' attention, engagement, and overall mental health has become a pertinent area of study (Morales Rodríguez et al. 2020). Smartphone addiction (SPA) leads to reduced focus, increased distractions, and heightened stress levels, all of which may contribute to learning burnout across various educational settings (e.g., Chen et al. 2023;Hao et al. 2022;Wang et al. 2023). Learning burnout is a state of emotional, physical, and mental exhaustion specifically related to the educational process, characterized by exhaustion, cynicism, and inefficacy (Zhang et al. 2007). ...
... On one hand, these tools enhance learners' cognitive capacities, motivate learning in both formal and informal settings, bolster autonomy and confidence, and promote personalized learning (Kacetl and Klímová 2019). On the other hand, habitual smartphone use may create an environment conducive to distraction, potentially leading to learning burnout (Chen et al. 2023). However, research exploring the specific link between SPA and FL learning burnout is scarce. ...
... This distraction can reduce their sense of autonomy and control over academic tasks. The constant distractions further make it harder for them to focus on tasks, potentially leading to feelings of helplessness and burnout (Chen et al. 2023;Hao et al. 2022). However, supportive TSR can enhance students' perception of control (Wang and Hu 2022). ...
As smartphone addiction (SPA) among young learners grows, a consequen-tial increase in learning burnout is observed. However, the association between SPA and learning burnout, especially in the context of foreign language (FL) learning, remains underexplored. In particular, the factors that might mitigate this relationship and the potential variations across genders have not been sufficiently examined. Drawing upon control value theory and social capital theory, this study sheds light on the moderating role of teacher-student rapport (TSR) in the SPA-FL burnout nexus, and also explores the potential gender differences. The research involved a total of 4,372 secondary-level students in China (54.3 % boys), using student-reported data on SPA, TSR, and FL learning burnout. The results revealed a positive correlation between SPA and burnout in FL learning. Furthermore, TSR played a crucial moderating role in this relationship. Interestingly, gender differences were identified in the moderating effect of TSR on the SPA-FL burnout link. That is, TSR only mitigated the effects of SPA on FL burnout among male students, but this did not hold true for female students. These findings have theoretical and pedagogical implications for FL education.
... In simpler terms, resilience manifests as the capacity to respond positively to adversity or hardship within a specific context (Masten and Reed 2002;Zhao et al. 2023). Within the realm of language learning, resilience emerges as a pivotal factor that significantly influences learner engagement (Li 2022;Liu et al. 2023;Shen 2022;Yu, Wang, and Xia 2022). Research has shown that resilient learners exhibit higher levels of engagement, characterised by their persistence in studies, utilisation of adaptive coping strategies, and sustained motivation over time (Jang, Seo, and Brutt-Griffler 2023;Li et al. 2022;Liu and Han 2022). ...
... Previous studies have demonstrated that resilience can influence classroom engagement (Kim et al. 2021;Liu et al. 2023;Zarrinabadi, Lou, and Ahmadi 2022). Individuals with higher resilience are more likely to remain engaged in classroom activities, even when faced with challenges or setbacks. ...
... Resilient EFL learners are better equipped to participate actively in language activities, even when faced with challenges. Previous research has established the critical link between resilience and sustained student engagement (Kim et al. 2021;Liu et al. 2023;Zarrinabadi, Lou, and Ahmadi 2022). Our findings support this literature and extend the discussion by examining this relationship in AI-integrated EFL classrooms. ...
The rise of artificial intelligence (AI) has significantly impacted education, yet few scholars have explored AI-assisted classrooms, particularly in English language education in China. Understanding the roles of classroom climate, AI literacy, and resilience is essential, as these factors foster positive learning environments and enhance student engagement. In this sense, this study, grounded in Social Cognitive Theory, employs structural equation modeling to investigate factors influencing classroom engagement in AI-assisted Chinese EFL classrooms. It examines data from 606 university EFL learners to explore the interactions among these variables and the mediating role of resilience. The findings indicate that classroom climate, AI literacy, and resilience all significantly predict classroom engagement, highlighting the importance of both environmental and cognitive factors in fostering active student participation. Furthermore, resilience serves as a crucial mediator, linking classroom climate and AI literacy to engagement. This study provides actionable insights for educators and policymakers, emphasizing the need to cultivate supportive classroom environments, promote AI literacy programs, and strengthen students’ resilience to optimize engagement in AI-assisted educational settings.
... Existing studies have revealed a significant correlation between English learning resilience and burnout [14]. Researchers have also revealed that students' English learning resilience can be affected by English learning burnout [15]. Moreover, the detrimental effect of English learning burnout has been revealed, indicating that students' academic engagement can be negatively affected by their burnout in English learning [14]. ...
... The SEM showed that senior high school students' English learning burnout significantly and negatively predicted resilience, which is consistent with previous studies revealing a significant association between these two variables [14,15]. Furthermore, the results of the current study offer valuable insights into the relatively scarce body of research concerning the impact of English learning burnout on resilience. ...
... Furthermore, the results of the current study offer valuable insights into the relatively scarce body of research concerning the impact of English learning burnout on resilience. The structural equation modeling (SEM) analysis revealed a significant negative correlation between high school students' English learning burnout and resilience, aligning with prior research that has established a substantial link between these two variables [14,15]. In addition, this study revealed the indirect negative impact of English learning burnout on academic achievement through the mediating role of English learning resilience, which is reasonable since previous research has shown a negative association between English learning burnout and resilience [49] and a positive impact of English learning resilience on academic achievement [33]. ...
Although burgeoning research has been conducted on the role of negative emotions (e.g., English learning burnout) in affecting students’ academic achievement, there are limited studies on the intricate working mechanism between these two factors. Academic resilience is an adaptive response to academic adversity and might therefore offer protection against negative emotions (e.g., English learning burnout). Hence, this study focused on the complex interplay among students’ English learning burnout, English learning resilience, and academic achievement. A total of 334 senior high school students were recruited in the current study. The findings displayed that students’ English learning resilience mediated the relationship between English learning burnout and English academic achievement. This study may generate suggestions and implications for English teaching and learning.
... In the past two decades, more positive psychological variables were focused in language education, such as enjoyment [1], flow [2], resilience [3,4], and buoyancy [5]. However, empathy, a crucial psychological factor that enhances well-being [6][7][8] and fosters positive social relationships [9], has received relatively limited attention. ...
... In foreign language learning, teacher support is understood as a multidimensional construct [3]. This multifaceted concept is informed by two theoretical frameworks: selfdetermination theory and social support theory [31]. ...
The positive psychology turn in language education research has sparked increased scholarly interest in positive psychological variables among learners, such as empathy, which may contribute to their well-being and social networks. Empathy, shaped by both personal and environmental factors, can be influenced by a critical element in the learner’s immediate environment, namely, teacher support. However, the role of perceived teacher support (PTS) in fostering learner empathy remains underexplored. To address this gap, the present study investigated the structure of and relationship between the two constructs, with a sample of 748 Chinese high school English-as-a-foreign-language (EFL) students. Results of exploratory structural equation modelling (ESEM) confirmed the trifactorial structure of PTS in EFL students, consisting of academic, emotional, and instrumental support, and the unidimensional structure of learner empathy. Additionally, PTS and its subconstructs were found to be positively correlated with empathy. Multiple linear regression analysis further revealed that emotional and instrumental support together significantly and positively predicted learner empathy. Implications for enhancing teachers’ impact on learners were discussed.
... Previous studies have suggested that these two constructs, though opposing, may be interconnected. For example, research has demonstrated that English learning burnout negatively affects the psychological resources required for engagement, with resilience and motivation mediating this relationship [40]. This suggests that while burnout and engagement are often viewed as separate variables, they may influence each other in a complex manner. ...
... FTP also promotes academic engagement by focusing students on future rewards and encouraging sustained effort and interest in their studies. Aligning future goals with basic psychological needs fosters both academic engagement and resilience [40], equipping students to handle academic demands with reduced burnout and increased enthusiasm. Thus, FTP reduces academic burnout by conserving students' mental and emotional resources while enhancing academic engagement through active learning and goal-directed effort. ...
Future time perspective is closely related to students’ academic achievement, potentially affecting academic achievement through academic emotions. This study examines the relationship between future time perspective and academic achievement, exploring the mediating roles of academic burnout and academic engagement among 686 university students. Using a cross-sectional quantitative design, we investigated both the direct relationship between future time perspective and academic achievement, and the indirect effects mediated by burnout and engagement. Structural equation modeling revealed that future time perspective predicts academic achievement directly, and also indirectly through increasing academic engagement and reducing academic burnout. Notably, the mediating effect of academic burnout was found to be more significant than that of academic engagement. Overall, the results highlight the crucial role of future time perspective and its mediating mechanisms in promoting academic success, suggesting potential interventions to enhance students’ future orientation and academic well-being.
... The regression analyses revealed that L2 resilience was a better predictor of reading comprehension of EFL learners compared to reflectivity. The study by Liu et al. suggested that the predictive effect of English learning resilience on academic achievement highlighted the urgency to promote resilience during language learning process [41]. Therefore, as a determinant of individual variability that influences the process and outcomes of L2 learning, these findings suggested that resilience may be further investigated. ...
Background
In light of the heightened expectations surrounding the development of foreign language professionals in the age of artificial intelligence and the pursuit of academic excellence in Asian culture, Chinese English majors are faced with tremendous academic pressure. Accordingly, as a positive individual trait, second language (L2) resilience has recently received considerable attention in foreign and second language learning research.
Purpose
Based on the hope theory, the broaden-and-build theory, and resilience theory framework, the present study explores the influence of mindfulness and academic hope on Chinese English majors’ L2 resilience.
Methods
We employed descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, and structural equation modeling (SEM) to investigate the relationships among mindfulness, academic hope, and L2 resilience within 351 Chinese English majors.
Results
The study results found that Chinese English majors’ mindfulness positively predicted students’ academic hope and L2 resilience. Their academic hope also had a significant correlation with L2 resilience. Finally, SEM showed that academic hope remarkably mediated the relationship between mindfulness and L2 resilience.
Conclusions
In a word, this paper reveals the important role of mindfulness and academic hope in enhancing students’ L2 resilience. Besides, strengthening Chinese English majors’ mindfulness also can promote their academic hope. At this point, it also underscores the essential mediating role of academic hope between mindfulness and L2 resilience.
Implications
The results of this study have implications for fostering students’ L2 resilience and helping them cope with the challenge of the language learning process. Teachers can implement relevant intervention promoting students’ mindfulness, academic hope, and L2 resilience into language instruction, which conducing to students’ language learning success.
... As the core aspect of academic engagement, behavioural engagement significantly predicts academic motivation [44], academic achievement [45], self-regulation [46], and subjective well-being [47]. Also, empirical studies identified the precursors of behavioural engagement, including social support, teacher-student relationship quality, achievement emotions, academic motivation, and school psychological capital [48,49]. To add to the body of knowledge on the antecedents of behavioural engagement in an EFL environment, one goal of the present study was to examine the predictive effect of academic motivation on behavioural engagement. ...
Inspired by self-determination theory (SDT), the Academic Motivation Scale (AMS) was developed to measure students’ learning motivation. While the AMS has been widely validated and used in educational contexts, it has generally overlooked the domain-specific nature of academic motivation, particularly in learning English as a foreign language (EFL) in China, home to the world’s largest population of EFL learners. This study sought to adapt the AMS and substantiate its validity using both within-network and between-network approaches with a sample of 1,390 Chinese secondary EFL learners. Results from item analysis, internal consistency, and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) showed that the 28-item EFL-specific AMS exhibits robust psychometric properties, characterised by a seven-factor structure, and demonstrates invariance across gender and grade levels. Structural equation modelling (SEM) analyses further indicated that both extrinsic and intrinsic motivations are positively correlated with perceived teacher support, engagement, and achievement, whereas amotivation is inversely associated with these outcomes. Implications, limitations, and directions for future research are also discussed.
... Thus, L2 enjoyment was used as a predicted outcome of L2 grit in this study. Similarly, Liu et al. (2023b) suggest that learners experiencing burnout struggle with engagement unless they build resilience and motivation. Resilience helps individuals stay committed despite setbacks (Eskreis-Winkler et al. 2014), while grit, emphasizing perseverance and overcoming obstacles for long-term goals (Duckworth et al. 2007), correlates positively with engagement and performance among EFL learners (Eren and Rakıcıoğlu-Söylemez 2023). ...
Prior research has demonstrated that in collectivist cultures (i.e., China and the Philippines), a Triarchic Model of Grit, encompassing perseverance of effort, consistency of interests, and adaptability to situations, can be more fitting. This study explores the concept of second language (L2) grit within a collectivist context, investigating its association with positive psychological constructs in L2 learning among Chinese college students studying English as a foreign language (n = 459). In this pursuit, a specialized grit scale tailored for language learning, the L2 Grit Scale in Collective Cultural Context (L2GSC), was developed and validated to assess the domain-specific grit of L2 learners. The findings based on hierarchical regression and machine learning methods revealed that L2GSC positively predicted learners’ enjoyment and engagement in language learning, exceeding the effects found with triarchic model of grit scale, suggesting that L2GSC is suited to collectivist cultures.
... As a critical variable relating to language learning performance [19], learning engagement has attracted considerable attention from SLA researchers. For instance, the factors influencing learning engagement have been extensively researched, exemplified by motivation (e.g [20,21]). and grit (e.g [22,23]). In addition, following the holistic view of foreign language emotion research [4], the impact of negative emotions, such as anxiety [16,18,24], burnout [25] and boredom [9,26,27], on language learning engagement has been a salient focus in SLA (e.g [28,29]). ...
In second language acquisition research, the psychological factors associated with language learning have been a prominent focus. The affective turn in and introduction of positive psychology in this field have further boosted research on the roles of positive learner psychological factors (e.g. motivation) in performance (e.g. engagement). However, the theoretical lens for investigating these variables requires further clarification, and the roles of some variables (e.g. boredom) in language learning have been under-researched. Guided by this background, this study aims to explore the complex relationships between learners’ basic psychological needs, self-determined motivation, boredom and behavioural engagement among 687 Chinese senior high school EFL learners from the perspective of self-determination theory (SDT). Quantitative data collection and analysis revealed that students’ basic psychological needs directly predicted behavioural engagement. Basic psychological needs also indirectly predicted behavioural engagement through the simple mediation of boredom and the chain mediation of self-determined motivation and boredom. However, the simple mediation of self-determined motivation in the relationship between basic psychological needs and behavioural engagement was non-significant. The findings enrich the application of SDT in the language learning engagement research, providing valuable implications for teachers and educators.
... Moreover, there is an opportunity for future research on the development and utilization of cutting-edge assessment methods that can accurately measure EMI students' linguistic proficiencies and academic achievements. Second, with education and linguistics being identified as the primary disciplines contributing to EMI research, this study pinpoints the need for interdisciplinary collaboration between education, linguistics, and other fields, such as psychology, sociology, and technology studies (Liu et al. 2023;Liu and Fan 2024). Such a cross-disciplinary approach could contribute valuable perspectives, especially in understanding the impacts of EMI on students' cognitive development, sociocultural adjustment, and engagement with digital learning tools. ...
This scientometric analysis examines 688 research publications on English medium instruction (EMI) from 2003 to 2022, sourced from the Web of Science database. This investigation employs growth trend analysis, discipline analysis, co-authorship analysis, document co-citation cluster analysis, and document co-citation burstness analysis to unravel the overall state, cooperation network, and foundational and emerging trends of the research themes. Three growth phases are identified: limited interest (2003–2013), fluctuating development (2014–2017), and rapid growth (2018–2022). The fields of education and linguistics dominate the disciplinary landscape. Six research clusters are identified from the analysis, encompassing the following topics: (1) English learning affordance, (2) policy, realities, and challenges, (3) language support, (4) stakeholders’ perspectives, (5) academic success, and (6) global Englishes. Citation bursts indicate emerging trends, including global English integration, multilingualism advocacy, and innovative language assessment. Geographically, international research collaboration is encouraged, while temporally, the maturation and evolution of each EMI research specialty (cluster) is observed. In conclusion, future research on EMI should adopt a multidisciplinary approach, provide nuanced language support, conduct continuous policy analysis, and comprehensively investigate academic and stakeholder success.
... PP has stimulated inquiry into a spectrum of positive factors, including institutional aspects, personal attributes, and emotional states, that are conducive to language proficiency [2]. A pivotal concept within PP, engagement, is particularly instrumental in fostering effective L2 learning [3][4][5]. Engaged learners are typically associated with superior academic achievements [6][7][8], a phenomenon that is highly relevant for L2 learners. In settings where the L2 does not hold official status or widespread usage, learners often encounter a scarcity of genuine opportunities to utilize the L2 in authentic contexts [9,10]. ...
Recent research has integrated positive psychology with the Second Language Motivational Self System (L2MMS) to explore how enjoyment, L2 self-guides (including ideal L2 self and ought-to L2 self), and engagement interact among school-aged second-language (L2) learners. However, there is a significant gap in understanding these dynamics among adult learners, particularly those who primarily learn a second language online—a group that has been largely overlooked. To address this gap, our study examined the underlying mechanisms connecting these constructs. We employed a sequential mixed-methods approach with 367 adult L2 learners enrolled in online language courses at three universities in China. Quantitative data were analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM) with Amos 24, revealing several key findings. Enjoyment was found to directly and positively predict engagement. However, contrary to existing literature, ideal L2 self did not directly predict either enjoyment or engagement. In contrast, ought-to L2 self directly and positively predicted both enjoyment and engagement, and it indirectly influenced engagement through enjoyment. Qualitative data, gathered through semi-structured interviews with five participants and analyzed using MAXQDA 2022, provided deeper insights into these statistical trends. This study concludes by discussing its implications and suggesting directions for future research.
... Although the COR theory is initially employed in the field of organizational research, its flexibility has initiated studies on foreign language learners (Fu and Qiu 2024;Liu et al. 2023;Wu et al. 2024). As claimed by the COR theory, individuals strive to obtain, retain, protect, and foster those things that they value (Hobfoll 2012: 128) or could be used to help attain their goals (Halbesleben et al. 2014;Hobfoll et al. 2018) when in a world that they see as innately threatening and requiring a constellation of their personal strengths, social attachments, and cultural belonging (Greenberg et al. 1986). ...
L2 (second language) grit, an essential personal resource involving perseverance of effort and consistency of interest, has been well documented via a variable-centred method. The current study employed latent profile analysis (LPA), a person-centred approach, to identify the potential profiles of L2 grit, moving beyond previous studies by recognizing student heterogeneity. Drawing on the conservation of resources (COR) theory, this study also examined the relationship between L2 grit, foreign language anxiety, and achievement within the identified profiles of L2 grit. Three profiles of L2 grit were disclosed, namely, “medium effort and interest”, “great effort but weak interest”, and “great effort and interest”. The facilitative function of foreign language anxiety on achievement was realised only for those within the “great effort and interest” profile, which was interpreted as the optimal configuration of personal resources from the lens of COR theory. This study generated insights for future studies on this topic.
... Notably, previous studies have primarily conceptualized resilience as an independent variable [23,25,29] or as a moderator/mediator [22,30,31], rather than examining it as a dependent variable. This limited perspective has obscured our understanding of how PIU might affect resilience. ...
Background
Resilience is crucial for medical college students to thrive in the highly stressful environment of medical education. However, the prevalence of problematic internet use (PIU) in this population may negatively impact their resilience. This study investigated the influence of problematic online gaming (PG) and problematic social media use (PSMU) on the resilience of medical college students in China.
Methods
A sample of 5075 first-year medical college students from four Chinese universities was studied. PG served as the independent variable, resilience as the dependent variable, fatigue as the mediator, and PSMU as the moderator. Structural equation modeling was conducted using LISREL 8.80. Additionally, a moderated mediation model was evaluated using the jAMM module in jamovi 2.6.13.
Results
The study’s findings revealed significant negative correlations between resilience and the variables of PG, PSMU, and fatigue. Fatigue mediated the relationship between PG and resilience (B = −0.04, 95% CI = [−0.05, −0.03]). PSMU moderated the direct relationship between PG and resilience with the interaction term PG × PSMU significant (B = −0.004, t = −6.501, p < 0.001) and the first stage (PG → fatigue) of the mediation with PG × PSMU significant (B = 0.055, t = 8.351, p < 0.001). The detrimental effects of PG on resilience were more pronounced among individuals with lower levels of PSMU.
Conclusion
This study concluded that addressing PIU, particularly PG, is essential for fostering resilience in medical college students. While PSMU itself is maladaptive, the underlying social media engagement may serve a protective role through social support in mitigating the adverse effects of PG on resilience.
... However, grit is malleable and can be strengthened through deliberate practice, maintaining interest, and other measures [57]. Liu et al. [58] further explored the mediating role of grit and motivation in the relationship between learning fatigue and engagement, clarifying that EFL learning fatigue among Chinese high school students negatively predicts learning engagement, motivation, and resilience. At the same time, grit and motivation have significant positive predictive effects on learning engagement. ...
Introduction: Grit is a crucial predictive factor for language learners to successfully master a second language (L2).
Method: Through random sampling, data analysis, and establishing structural equation models, this study explores the relationship between the grit level and academic achievements of international students in China, as well as the mediating effects of learning engagement factors (N = 186).
Results: (1) The demographic manifestations of L2-Grit and academic achievements are significantly different, and perseverance of effort, consistency of interests, and learning engagement are all positively correlated with academic achievements; (2) within learning engagement, behavioral engagement and cognitive engagement play partial mediating roles between L2-Grit and academic achievements, while emotional engagement does not produce a mediating effect; (3) the grit and learning engagement of Chinese language learners have an absolute predictive effect on academic achievements, and lack of engagement negatively affects academic achievements. From the perspective of positive psychology, the study confirms the importance of L2-Grit, behavioral engagement, and cognitive engagement in enhancing academic achievements, providing more scientifically effective strategies and guidance for L2 teaching. It is suggested that future research includes factors such as cognitive load to further explore the functioning mechanisms of grit.
... The interaction between motivated behaviours and negative emotions is complex but can be mutually reinforcing. Liu et al. (2023) reported that this mutual interaction is particularly effective for learners as it involves the ability to manage and overcome difficulties in both the past and present learning processes. By persisting through challenges and managing negative emotions effectively, learners can develop strong motivational currents (Yu & Liu, 2023). ...
This comparative case study looked closely at the language learning motivation and identity construction of Indonesian and Thai university students in multilingual contexts. In this study, 158 Indonesian and 113 Thai university students from 19 universities were voluntarily recruited. Informed by a mixed-methods design, data were collected through a close-ended questionnaire and semi-structured interviews and then analysed using inferential statistics and thematic content analysis. The main findings identified include (1) the predictive roles of L2 motivation and the social environment in the identity construction of Indonesian and Thai university students; (2) the predictive role of the social environment in sustaining Indonesian and Thai students’ motivation to learn English; and (3) multiple dimensions of English language learning. The implication of this study is that language teachers should provide meaningful learning environments promoting sustained motivation and identity construction among language learners.
... In response to the phenomenon of academic procrastination, the present study found a negative correlation between it and learning engagement, a finding that is consistent with the results of several previous studies (Closson and Boutilier, 2017;. The findings support the Resource Conservation Theory, a model that suggests that the process of learning engagement is itself a process of resource accumulation (Alarcon et al., 2011;Liu et al., 2023). Students continue to construct knowledge frameworks and enhance language skills in the process of active learning, and these resources become a solid backbone for them to cope with learning challenges and mitigate academic procrastination (Martínez et al., 2019). ...
Objective
Academic procrastination is negatively associated with English classroom anxiety among non-English major college students. However, current research has less explored the underlying mechanisms. The present study aims to investigate the relationship between academic procrastination and college students’ English classroom anxiety as well as the mediating role of learning engagement and the moderating role of appraisals of intrinsic values.
Methods
The academic procrastination scale, English classroom anxiety scale, learning engagement scale and appraisals of intrinsic values scale were used to measure 1,079 non-English majors in Jiangsu Province, China.
Results
(1) There was a significant positive correlation between academic procrastination and English classroom anxiety of non-English majors. (2) Learning engagement plays a part of mediating role between academic procrastination and English classroom anxiety; (3) When the appraisals of intrinsic values are high, the impact effect of learning engagement on English classroom anxiety is greater.
Conclusion
Academic procrastination can affect university students’ English classroom anxiety through learning engagement, and this relational pattern is modulated by appraisals of intrinsic values. This finding provides an important theoretical basis and practical insights for understanding and intervening in academic procrastination and classroom anxiety among college students.
... Burnout is one of the sources of stress for EFL students. Students may reduce their personal involvement to minimize the loss of individual resources when they perceive that the effort is not proportional to the gain during learning (Liu et al., 2023). This circumstance also explains why academic burnout is inversely proportional to the learning engagement among English majors. ...
... The analysis also unveiled a notable and beneficial impact of academic resilience on EFL learners' perceived proficiency in the English language. This finding is similar to the results of previous studies [35,36]. Academic resilience refers to the ability to rebound from setbacks and maintain motivated in the face of challenges [12]. ...
This study aims to examine and analyze a research model comprising three latent variables (academic expectation stress, adaptive coping, and academic resilience) to gain insights into the perceived English proficiency of EFL (English as a foreign language) learners. These variables have been overlooked in previous literature despite their importance in understanding learning outcomes. A total of 395 undergraduate students from a Taiwanese university participated in this study. Through the use of structural equation modeling, the hypotheses in the research model were tested. The findings of this research are as follows: (1) Academic expectation stress has a significant and negative impact on EFL learners’ perceived English proficiency; (2) Academic resilience positively predicts EFL learners’ perceived English proficiency; (3) Academic resilience mediates the relationship between academic expectation stress and perceived English proficiency; (4) Adaptive coping mediates the relationship between academic expectation stress and academic resilience. These results add valuable insights to the existing literature in EFL teaching and learning, shedding light on the dynamics of these variables.
... Autonomy support within the classroom, when combined with the development of competence and relatedness, can mitigate feelings of burnout (Cakir, 2015;Dewaele et al., 2019). The study by Liu et al. (2023) further enriches our understanding by examining the mediating roles of resilience and motivation between burnout and engagement. They found that burnout significantly and negatively predicted engagement, with resilience and motivation serving as mediators. ...
To explore the relationship between resilience, engagement, and burnout among Chinese senior high school students learning English as a Foreign Language (EFL), this study delves into relatively lesser-examined aversive emotions in language education. It sheds light on how these learners experience and manage these emotions in the in the Chinese senior high school EFL education context. Grounded in Self-Determination Theory (SDT), this study acknowledges the spectrum of emotional experiences in language learning, ranging from positive states like engagement to negative states like burnout and disengagement. The rationale for combining these three variables—burnout, resilience, and engagement—lies in their interconnected nature in the emotional landscape of language learning. Through semi-structured interviews with 25 senior high school students and subsequent analysis using MAXQDA software, this study uncovers how learning environment factors, course content, teacher-student interactions, and individual motivations significantly influence these emotional states. This study not only advances our understanding of the emotional dynamics of senior high school EFL learners, but also offers practical insights for educators and policymakers, which may contribute to a comprehensive exploration of how resilience, engagement, and burnout shape the learning experiences of Chinese senior high school EFL learners.
The wave of positive psychology in second language acquisition has highlighted the need to pay more attention to language learners’ psychological well-being (MacIntyre et al. in Mod Lang J 103(1):262–274, https://doi.org/10.1111/modl.12544, 2019). The present study aimed to examine the level of foreign language learning burnout, a significant marker of individual well-being, as well as the role played in it by environmental resources (i.e., teacher support and peer support) and personal resources (i.e., ideal L2 self and ought-to L2 self) among EAP (English for Academic Purposes) learners. A convenience sample of 1105 EAP learners completed an online survey measuring these five variables. Structural equation modelling (SEM) was performed to test the hypothesized relationships among the variables. Results revealed that teacher support and peer support as well as ideal L2 self significantly and negatively predicted foreign language learning burnout, while ought-to L2 self was not a significant predictor. In addition, both teacher and peer support indirectly influenced foreign language learning burnout via the mediation of ideal L2 self. Implications for foreign language learning and teaching as well as suggestions for future research are discussed.
The study aims at a deeper understanding of English classroom environment (CE) and foreign language enjoyment (FLE) in the context of a Chinese university and further explores the relationship among CE, FLE, and students’ performance in learning English as a foreign language. The 336 participants in this study were mostly from science departments, and about one-third of them came from Tibet and Xinjiang Autonomous Region. The findings indicate that the participants’ CE and FLE were at a moderate level and that significant positive correlations were detected among CE, FLE and English performance. The study has some practical implications for EFL (English as a foreign language) teaching and learning: (a) The establishment of a good healthy CE can effectively promote students’ performance; (b) The students’ FLE can help them learn English better; (c) Teachers and students should attach importance to the process of English learning, where teachers ought to actively play their part in building a healthy CE and enhancing students’ sense of FLE in English learning.
It has long been researched on the differences in motivation profiles between English learners in urban and rural schools to promote educational equity. However, important stakeholders such as students in developing cities and rural-urban-migrant students have been overlooked. Additionally, the moderating roles of regional variables between motivation and behaviors are understudied. To address these gaps, we investigated 503 high school students from four cities in China through questionnaires. Drawing on self-determination theory, we explored the differences in English learning motivational factors, motivation, and behaviors between students in developed and underdeveloped cities, and between rural-urban-migrant students and local students within the same urban school. Furthermore, we examined the moderating roles of regional variables between motivation and behaviors. Independent-samples t-tests revealed that students in the underdeveloped city had significantly lower levels of emotion-related factors and English learning behaviors. Among students attending the same urban school, it was found that rural-urban-migrant students reported higher levels of negativity across all dimensions surveyed. Moreover, moderation analysis suggested the positive impact of motivation on English learning behaviors was weaker among rural-urban-migrant students. We discussed potential reasons for these results and provided implications for teachers, parents, and policymakers.
This research explored the link between teacher-student relationships and learning engagement, considering perceived social support as a mediator and academic self-efficacy as a moderator. A total of 930 college students completed the Academic Self-Efficacy Scale, Teacher-Student Relationships Questionnaire, Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support, and College Student Learning Engagement Questionnaire. Mediating and moderating effects were investigated using SPSS19.0 and one of its process plugins 3.5. The findings indicated (1) teacher-student relationships positively predicted learning engagement; (2) perceived social support mediated the link between teacher-student relationships and learning engagement; and (3) academic self-efficacy moderated the initial phase of the pathway to the mediating role of perceived social support. Moreover, the mediating effect was more significant at elevated academic self-efficacy levels. Establishing harmonious relationships between teachers and students, nurturing students’ confidence in their academic abilities , and expanding students’ access to social support were essential to boosting the educational involvement of college students. The study findings will help educators enhance college students’ engagement in learning and provide recommendations for educators to conduct educational and teaching activities.
This study leverages the Stimulus‐Organism‐Response (S‐O‐R) framework to investigate the effects of teacher and technical support (TCHS) on learners' willingness to communicate (WTC) in artificial intelligence (AI)‐enhanced English as a foreign language (EFL) contexts, considering the mediating effects of learners' artificial intelligence literacy (AIL) and foreign language enjoyment (FLE). A quantitative survey encompassing 637 non‐English major university students across four institutions was conducted. Structural equation modelling (SEM) results demonstrated that teacher support (TEAS) exerts a direct influence on learners' WTC, whereas TCHS does not. The study also revealed that AIL and FLE significantly mediate the relationship between teacher and TCHS and learners’ WTC. The findings underscore the pivotal role of cognitive and affective factors, emphasising the substantial impact of TEAS and the value of nurturing learners’ AIL and enjoyment of foreign languages. This research offers strategic implications for educational practitioners and policymakers, advocating for the integration of innovative educational technologies and fostering sustainable growth in artificial intelligence in education.
The current research aimed to examine the relationships among three key aspects of the language learning process, namely foreign language boredom (FLB), English language engagement (ELE), and academic buoyancy (AB), utilizing data collected from 2,992 Chinese language learners. In order to strengthen the precision and quality of the outcomes, we initially performed primary analyses to determine the most effective measurement solution for the three variables. As a result, we decided to use a bifactor exploratory structural equation modeling (ESEM) solution for FLB, a partial bifactor-ESEM solution for ELE, and a unidimensional confirmatory factor analysis solution for AB. The primary analysis demonstrated that the global factor of FLB strongly and negatively influenced the global levels of ELE. Both global and specific factors of FLB predicted different facets of specific ELE differently. The mediation-moderation analysis further confirmed the significance of the specific factors of emotional ELE as mediators and AB as a moderator in the relationships between global and specific levels of FLB and global and specific levels of ELE. The findings offer a basis for theoretical and pedagogical implications.
Objective
External events affect individuals through their cognitive process, a model on how and when negative life events are associated with depressive symptoms was tested by considering individuals’ internal and external factors based on the conservation of resource theory (COR).
Methods
We conducted a survey to test our hypotheses. Participants were college students who were selected with the cluster sampling method and were asked to complete the scales measuring negative life events, perceived social support, psychological capital (PsyCap), rumination, and depressive symptoms in the classroom with a unit of class. A total of 764 questionnaires were distributed and returned, and 703 valid data were obtained finally.
Results
The present study found that (1) the relationship between negative life events and depressive symptoms was moderated by perceived social support negatively, such that the relationship was stronger with low perceived social support; (2) the relationship between negative life events and depressive symptoms was mediated by rumination; (3) the relationship between rumination and depressive symptoms was moderated by PsyCap negatively, such that the relationship was stronger with low PsyCap; (4) the indirect relationship between negative life events and depressive symptoms through rumination was moderated by PsyCap negatively, such that the indirect relationship got stronger with low PsyCap.
Conclusion
Rumination is an essential process for negative life events to affect depressive symptoms, PsyCap and perceived social support help alleviate the detrimental effect of negative life events from internal and external perspectives, respectively. Our research conclusion has a theoretical and practical implementation for reducing depressive symptoms in college students.
Mindfulness has been overlooked in previous studies of second or foreign language learning. This study aims to explore the relationship between mindfulness, anxiety, burnout and self-perceived foreign language proficiency among a sample of 492 learners. Further, it seeks to make up for the deficiency in the current empirical literature regarding the mediation roles of anxiety and burnout in the relationship between mindfulness and students’ self-perceived foreign language competence. The findings were as follows: (1) students have a moderate level of mindfulness and foreign language anxiety, low level of perceived proficiency and foreign language learning burnout; (2) an increased level of mindfulness was associated with higher perceived foreign language competence and lower levels of anxiety and burnout; (3) anxiety and burnout mediated the relationship between mindfulness and students’ self-perceived FL proficiency. It is suggested in the implications that school administrators and policymakers might need to provide space and time to integrate mindfulness practices into the curricula. Language instructors could also incorporate brief and accessible interventions in classrooms to enhance students’ level of mindfulness. Limitations and future directions are discussed for further investigations.
While there has been considerable research on learning burnout in educational psychology, it has received little attention in language education. To fill this gap, the present study aims at exploring the construct of English learning burnout (ELB) and examining the levels of this complex construct in a large sample of 1,213 Chinese senior high school students utilizing a 15-item Senior High School English Learning Burnout Scale. A two-dimensional structure of ELB comprising exhaustion and demotivation was extracted by exploratory factor analysis and validated by confirmatory factor analysis. A descriptive analysis showed low levels of global ELB and exhaustion and a moderate level of demotivation. The findings suggest that teachers should be mindful of fostering students’ self-regulated strategies to alleviate their ELB.
For several decades, there has been an increase in studies on second language motivation, one of the most salient topics in individual difference research in second language acquisition, guided by theories and methods from related fields. Self-determination theory (SDT) is one of the most influential theories to provide a comprehensive framework for investigating language learning motivation. To date, numerous SDT-related studies have been performed to explore ways to develop more self-determined types of motivation. However, research on the relationship between self-determined types of motivation and other psychological variables has been limited. To address this gap, the present study investigated the complex relationships between autonomous motivation, buoyancy, boredom, and engagement in a sample of 561 Chinese senior high school English as a foreign language (EFL) learners. Data were collected through a composite questionnaire measuring students’ autonomous motivation, buoyancy, boredom, and engagement in EFL learning. Chain mediation analysis was used to test the complex relationships among these variables. The results show that autonomous motivation directly affected student engagement in EFL learning and autonomous motivation also indirectly affected student engagement in EFL learning through the separate mediation of buoyancy and boredom in EFL learning as well as the chain mediation of both mediators. The results support SDT and offer some pedagogical implications for teachers and educators.
Relatively few studies in the field of second language acquisition have undertaken to investigate the interrelationships of constellations of individual difference variables. This is certainly true of how complexes of ID factors impact motivation to learn an additional language. In order to address this gap, the paper reports a study that examined the ways in which enjoyment, anxiety, boredom, L2 grit and self-perceived competence interact with each other and affect motivated learning behaviour in the case of 238 Iranian students majoring in English. The data were collected through an online questionnaire and, following confirmatory factor analysis, were subjected to path analysis. Among other things, the results showed that intended effort was the consequence of a complex interplay of factors, with the combined impact of these factors not always being obvious. It was also revealed that L2 motivation may in some circumstances be positively influenced by academic emotions that are generally considered to have a detrimental effect on L2 learning (i.e. anxiety, boredom).
One of the growing area of interest in the educational area is student engagement which is the major construct of positive psychology (PP) vital in growing energetic, innovative, and pleasurable learning, but unluckily, all students are not engaged in terms of cognition, emotion, and behavior in learning. Another concept in the PP literature is resilience which emphasizes institutes' and people's powers and self-constraint to conform to accidental conditions. Furthermore, mindfulness as a significant term in PP has critical benefits such as improving working memory, improving wellbeing, and lowering tension. Considering the importance of mindfulness and engagement in academic environments and that such a notion in foreign language learning is neglected, the current study attempts to inspect the effect of mindfulness and resilience on the engagement of Chinese foreign language students. To meet this objective, 1,693 EFL learners participated in this study. They responded to the mindfulness scale, resilience scale, and engagement questionnaire. Subsequently, the Spearman Rho test was exploited to shed light on probable relationships. The findings indicated that there was a significant correlation among the variable of the study. Moreover, a linear multiple regression analysis was run to examine the predictor roles of mindfulness and resilience in learners' engagement. The findings revealed that both mindfulness and resilience are positive and reliable predictors of engagement. In a nutshell, the central position of resilience and mindfulness in language learning was verified, and based on the findings; a few suggestions are made considering the results of the research.
With the recent adoption of Positive Psychology in foreign language education, academic motivation and resilience as secondary components of positive psychology have started to receive academic attention. Undoubtedly, students require constant motivation because learning a foreign language is a long-term effort especially in the first stage that they usually lose their interest and motivation. When students are academically motivated, they can put high effort to learn the language. This study aims to inspect the relationship between Chinese EFL learners’ resilience and academic motivation. To this end, 482 students from different colleges and universities in China were selected and they completed the resilience and academic motivation questionnaires. Spearman’s rho index and multiple regressions were run for data analyses. Results of the study indicated that there is a positive and significant association showing a relationship between these two constructs. Moreover, two components of motivation, namely interjected regulation and external regulation by attendance proved to be the best predictors of learners’ resilience. The paper concludes with some pedagogical implications; for instance, motivation can be considered as a primary point for the progress of resilience for the next steps of language success.
The present study focused on differences in intensity of Foreign Language Enjoyment (FLE), Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety (FLCA), and proportion of time in a state of flow among 761 English FL learners and 825 FL learners of Languages Other Than English (LOTE). Participants in the LOTE group reported significantly higher levels of FLE and a higher proportion of class time in a state of flow, as well as lower levels of FLCA than the EFL group - although the effect size was very small. This suggests that the global status and prestige of English does not mean that learners around the world enjoy the classes more, spend more time in a state of flow or experience less anxiety. The relationships between FLE, FLCA and proportion of class time in a state of flow were also found to be higher in the LOTE group, suggesting stronger emotional involvement.
KEYWORDS:
Foreign Language Enjoyment; Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety; Flow; English; Languages Other Than English (LOTE)
Abstract Background Burnout is a psychological condition induced by work-related chronic interpersonal stressors. Interventions creating a sense of belonging and collegiality have been proposed as approaches for alleviating burnout. The current study aimed to: (1) explore the relationships between burnout, sense of belonging (relatedness with others), and work engagement; and (2) identify the key elements perceived by undergraduate medical students as positively contributing to collegiality, engagement, and a sense of belonging, in an undergraduate medical training setting. Methods An exploratory sequential mixed-methods design using questionnaires and semi-structured individual interviews collected quantitative and qualitative data among undergraduate medical students at Mahidol University, Thailand. The Maslach Burnout Inventory-Student Survey questionnaire was used to measure burnout. The Basic Psychological Need Satisfaction at Work Scale (BPNSS-21) and the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale-Student Version (UWESS-9) measured students’ basic psychological needs satisfaction at work and work engagement, respectively. Descriptive statistical analysis and confirmatory factor analysis were performed on BPNSS-21 and UWESS-9 data. Spearman’s correlation coefficient was used to identify the correlation between burnout and other factors. Twenty undergraduate medical students participated in the qualitative study. Qualitative analysis was conducted iteratively using constant comparison and the standard principles of primary, secondary, and tertiary coding for thematic analysis. Results Thai versions of the BPNSS-21 and UWESS-9 showed an acceptable fit for the Thai cultural context. Burnout had significant weak inverse associations with engagement (r = − 0.39, p
Background
Research shows that there are connections among academic burnout, resilience, and life satisfaction in medical students. However, no study has yet examined the temporal relationships between academic burnout, resilience, and life satisfaction among medical students. This longitudinal study aimed to examine the temporal associations between academic burnout, resilience, and life satisfaction and to explore the possible mediating role of resilience in the relationship between academic burnout and life satisfaction among medical students.
Methods
This is a three-wave longitudinal study covering the preclinical education period of 20 months. From October 2018 to June 2020, a total of 190 students majoring in clinical medicine filled out the Chinese College Student Academic Burnout Inventory (CCSABI), the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC) and the Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS) three times. Cross-lagged models were constructed to examine the temporal relationships between academic burnout, resilience, and life satisfaction and longitudinal mediation models were constructed to explore the possible mediating role of resilience in the association of academic burnout with life satisfaction.
Results
Among medical students, resilience uni-directionally and positively predicted life satisfaction, while academic burnout uni-directionally and negatively predicted life satisfaction. However, the temporal association between resilience and academic burnout was negative and somewhat bidirectional. Resilience had a significant mediating effect on the relationship between academic burnout and life satisfaction in medical students.
Conclusions
Medical educators need to identify and take effective measures to combat academic burnout problems which can lead to reduced life satisfaction among medical students. Resilience-based interventions may be promising in buffering the negative impacts of academic burnout and improving life satisfaction. It is recommended that effective resilience-promotion interventions be developed and implemented in medical education to help enhance medical students’ psychological well-being.
While academic resilience has been a hot topic in positive psychology, there is still scope for researchers to explore it in the field of applied linguistics. Drawing on the framework of L2 (second language) learners’ resilience proposed by T. Y. Kim and Y. K. Kim (2017), the current study aims to examine senior high school students’ English academic resilience (EAR) and its relationship to their English achievement (EA). This study comprises a survey of 454 senior high school students. Follow-up interviews were carried out to triangulate the quantitative findings. The descriptive results demonstrate that students’ EAR is above the average, and its five subscales obtain medium to medium-higher levels due to the mean scores. It shows that students have good EAR that enables them to deal with academic adversity. The correlational analysis shows a low positive correlation between EAR and EA in general, and the subscales share medium to low correlations with students’ EA. EAR has a certain influence on EA, but the correlation may be influenced by other learner variables. Based on the results, suggestions on improving students’ EAR are provided.
In the context of English as a Foreign Language (EFL), burnout study dominantly revolves around teachers but learners’ academic burnout is largely underexplored. Academic burnout is a concerning issue worldwide that is particularly predicted by academic motivation. However, we know little about the association between motivation and burnout among EFL learners and whether maladaptive emotion regulation strategies (ERS) could moderate their association. To fill this research gap, we recruited 841 EFL undergraduates from two universities in China. Descriptive analysis showed that participants reported high levels of language learning burnout. Correlational and bootstrapped moderation analysis found that motivation and maladaptive ERS were significantly correlated with burnout in opposite directions and the correlation between motivation and burnout was significantly influenced by students’ use of two maladaptive ERS (avoiding and venting). The more frequently students chose to avoid and vent unpleasant feelings, the protective role of motivation on burnout was weaker. The implications of these findings are discussed.
At the turn of the new millennium, in an article published in Language Teaching Research in 2000, Dörnyei and Kormos proposed that ‘active learner engagement is a key concern’ for all instructed language learning. Since then, language engagement research has increased exponentially. In this article, we present a systematic review of 20 years of language engagement research. To ensure robust coverage, 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 attempted 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.
Objectives:
To assess the correlations between extrinsic and intrinsic motivation, personal growth and quality of life with learning environment perceptions, perceived academic rank and burnout among medical students.
Methods:
Cross-sectional questionnaires were administered to medical students at three medical schools in Israel, Malaysia, and China, at the end of one academic year. Surveys included demographic data, students' perceived academic rank, two learning environment perceptions scales, and scales for personal growth, goal orientation, burnout and quality of life. Comparative analyses were made to determine the significance of relationships between the outcome measures and control variables, using a series of t-tests. Pearson correlation coefficients were used to test the hypothesis.
Results:
Sixty-four percent (400/622) of the students responded. Significant correlations were found between: intrinsic motivation (r(398) =.37, p<.001); personal growth (r(398)=.62, p<.001); and quality of life (r(398)= .48, p <.001) with higher learning environment perceptions, intrinsic motivation (r(398)= .21, p<.001); personal growth (r(398) =.21, p< .001); and quality of life (r(398)=.18, p<.001) with perceived academic rank, and negative correlation between personal growth (r(398) =-.38, p<.001); and quality of life (r(398) =-.42, p<.001) with burnout.
Conclusions:
Intrinsic motivation, personal growth and quality of life are correlated with higher learning environment perceptions and perceived academic rank. Burnout is influenced by personal growth and quality of life. We suggest focusing on motivation profiles before acceptance to medical school and during studies.
Background
University academic setting consists of specific life stressors such as burnout that influence a student’s psychological well-being. Previous literature has shown the role of social support and learning motivation, but little research is known about how these variables, of social support and learning motivation, can mediate the relationship.
Methods
We recruited 486 participants from three Chinese universities with an age range of 18–35 years. Measures in the study include Maslach Burnout inventory (MBI) for college students, Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS), motivation strategy learning scale, and psychological well-being by Ryff. Ethical approval was gained from the respondents.
Results
Findings suggest that social support plays a significant role in the link between burnout and subjective well-being. Indeed, the chain mediation model of social support and learning motivation significantly indicated the link between burnout and psychological well-being. These findings show that an increase in social support at an educational institute reduces the effects of burnout and enhances psychological well-being.
Conclusion
The study indicates a sound interpretation of psychological well-being and reducing the level of burnout. Subsequent research has found that social support and learning motivation could be an essential variable in calculating the educational success and learning motivation of the students.
Engagement represents the goal most teachers seek when imagining the ideal classroom. When teachers speak of motivating their students, they refer to getting them on task, inducing them to pay attention, helping them complete assignments, and stimulating them towards asking probing questions. All the while, students feel relaxed, energized, joyous in their learning. Numerous theoretical frameworks have been tied to engagement, indicating its importance as a construct beyond any one single paradigm. Some models treat engagement as an outcome, others a dynamic pivot in the motivational process, and reciprocally related to student and teacher interactions. The topic has wide coverage in first language studies, and has been a topic of growing interest in education and educational psychology, but has had only limited adoption as a topic of study in language education. As a construct more easily recognizable to teachers, discussing engagement may help bridge the “black box” world of the classroom, the “impractical” world of educational theory, and the “uninformed” perspective of lay theorists. The current review covers the basic theoretical and methodological issues in measuring and using engagement as a construct for understanding second and foreign language learning in classrooms.
Self-determination theory (SDT; Deci & Ryan, 1985) is an established macro-theory of human motivation, and differentiates two broad motivational orientations: intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. SDT is comprised of 6 mini-theories, each designed to address questions about human motivation and the process that facilitate and harm it. For foreign language researchers, these theories offer a clear, integrated framework for understanding motivation that translates across disciplines. For language teachers, SDT offer integrated principles for how to improve motivational quality. For language learners in formal education settings, these mini-theories offer a comprehensive set of ideas for generating internally regulated motives. This article will provide a comprehensive, up-to- date overview of SDT and how it can be applied to relevant issues in language education research and pedagogy.
Research on emotions and second language (L2) learning has proceeded for four decades, and L2 scholars have made important contributions in this overshadowed research area. However, advances in the field have failed to match the more general research on emotion and learning in psychology and education that has proven beneficial for understanding a broad range of emotions experienced in educational settings and has direct implications for classroom teaching. Specifically, the control-value theory (CVT) of achievement emotion, which addresses the origins and functions of diverse emotions in education, has gained strong momentum and emerged as a useful theoretical framework, although it is largely unknown and unused by L2 researchers. The present article aims to introduce the concept of achievement emotions into the L2 context and bridge the gaps between these two fields of emotion research. We first review research on emotions in second language acquisition (SLA) and identify crucial areas for improvement. Then, we discuss theory, measurement, and empirical studies related to the construct of achievement emotions. In conclusion, we call for an integration of research on achievement emotions with the field of emotions and instructed SLA and highlight the potential benefits of such an endeavor.
The present study explores the relationship between Foreign Language Enjoyment
(FLE) and Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety (FLCA) and a number of teachercentered
variables within the Spanish classroom context. Participants were 210
former and current EFL learners from all over Spain who filled out an online
questionnaire with Likert scale items. A moderate negative relationship emerged
between FLE and FLCA. Participants who had a L1 user of English as teacher
reported more FLE and less FLCA than those with a foreign language user of
English. Teacher characteristics predicted close to 20% of variance in FLE but only
8% of variance in FLCA. The strongest positive predictor of FLE was teacher’s
friendliness while teacher’s foreign accent was a weaker negative predictor.
Teacher-centered variables predicted much less variance for FLCA. Participants
experienced more FLCA with younger teachers, very strict teachers and teachers
who did not use the FL much in class. The findings confirm earlier research that FLE
seems to be more dependent on the teachers’ pedagogical skills than FLCA
(Dewaele & MacIntyre, 2019a; Dewaele et al., 2018).
Interest in the effect of positive and negative emotions in foreign language acquisition has soared recently because of the positive psychology movement (Dewaele & MacIntyre, 2014, 2016; MacIntyre, Gregersen & Mercer, 2016). No work so far has been carried out on the differential effect of positive and negative emotions on foreign language performance. The current study investigates the effect of foreign language enjoyment (FLE) and foreign language classroom anxiety (FLCA) on foreign language performance in a group of 189 foreign language pupils in two London secondary schools and a group of 152 Saudi English as a foreign language learners and users of English in Saudi Arabia. Correlation analyses showed that the positive effect of FLE on performance was stronger than the negative effect of FLCA. In other words, FLE seems to matter slightly more than FLCA in foreign language (FL) performance. Qualitative material collected from the Saudi participants shed light on the causes of FLCA and FLE and how these shaped participants’ decisions to pursue or abandon the study of the FL.
An increasing number of culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) students from migrant and refugee backgrounds are enroling in schools in the West. These students are exposed to challenges that may influence their mental health and wellbeing. At the same time, schools tend to play a critical role in promoting these students’ social relatedness through a sense of support, connectedness, and an adaptation to the new setting. The aim of the study was to assess the role of social relatedness in promoting mental wellbeing. Resilience was hypothesised as a facilitator process enhancing the relationship between social relatedness and the mental wellbeing of CALD students. Recently arrived CALD students (N = 221) enroled at a specialised high school in Australia completed a battery of measures assessing: social support, school connectedness, acculturation, resilience, and mental wellbeing. A series of hierarchical regression analyses indicated that the three social relatedness factors (social support, school connectedness, and acculturation) were related to mental wellbeing. However, their variance decreased when resilience was added. Mediation analyses indicated that resilience was a partial mediator for the relationship between each of the social relatedness elements and mental wellbeing. Resilience was also shown to play a significant role in the relationship between social relatedness and mental wellbeing. School-based mental health services for CALD students from migrant and refugee backgrounds may benefit by further understanding the unique factors that influence the mental wellbeing of children.
A culture of engagement may help to build and sustain young children's motivation to
learn a new language. In this study, we sought to investigate the link between engagement
and motivation over the course of a semester in a naturally occurring Japanese elementary
school classroom environment. Four-hundred and twenty-three fifth-year students in
public elementary schools in western Japan agreed to participate in the research. Students
completed surveys at two time points, first at the beginning of the semester regarding
their in-class engagement, and again at the end of the semester regarding their motivation.
A structural equation model was constructed using engagement and gender as predictors
and motivational regulations as outcome variables. Observer rating of each class was used
to triangulate. Engagement strongly predicted more adaptive intrinsically regulated mo-
tives and negatively predicted more extrinsic motives. Male students showed a tendency
toward lower engagement, lower internally regulated motives, and higher externally
regulated motives. Observer rating showed that students' reported engagement was
visible to outside observers. Findings indicate that students' in-class engagement may be
an important variable when investigating the long-term dynamics of foreign language
learning in a classroom setting. Practical and theoretical implications are discussed
The present study aims at delving into English as foreign language students’ demotivation, burnout, mastery goal orientation, and perceptions of classroom activities. This is accomplished by building a causal structural model through which the associations among the constructs are estimated. The Persian version of the 'de-motivation scale’ designed by Sakai and Kichuki (System 37:57-69, 2009) is used to assess demotivation. It measures six constructs: teachers, characteristics of classes, experiences of failure, class environment, class materials, and lack of interest. To gauge burnout, student version of ‘Maslach Burnout Inventory’ (Schaufeli et al., Psychology, 33(5):464-481, 2002) is employed. It measures three dimensions of burnout, namely, emotional exhaustion, cynicism, and academic inefficacy. The Persian version of the ‘Students Perceptions of Classroom Activities’ scale designed by Gentry and Gable (My class activities: A survey instrument to assess students’ perceptions of interest, challenge, choice, and enjoyment in their classrooms, 2001) is utilized in determining student perceptions of their classes. The scale assesses four perceptions: interest, challenge, choice, and joy. Students’ goal orientation is measured by the translated version of ‘Achievement Goal Orientation Inventory’ designed by Midgley et al. (Contemporary Educational Psychology, 23 (2):113-31, 1998). The results display a good overall fit of the proposed model with the empirical data. In particular, demotivators positively and significantly predict student burnout and the two internal demotivators namely, ‘lack of interest’ and ‘experiences of failure’ negatively and significantly impact on student mastery goal orientation. The results also indicate that student burnout negatively and significantly predict student mastery goal orientation and positive perceptions of classroom activities. Student perceptions of interest and joy, on the other hand, positively and significantly play an important role in mastery goal orientation. Student perceptions and mastery goal orientation have positive effects on student achievement.
This exploratory study focused on the factors that constitute second language (L2) learners’ resilience, and how these factors are related to L2 learning by investigating what relation resilience may have to motivated behaviour and proficiency in English learning. A total of 1620 secondary school learners of English participated in a questionnaire survey. By analysing the quantitative data, five resilience factors were extracted: perceived happiness, empathy, sociability, persistence, and self-regulation. Confirmative factor analysis using AMOS proved that these five factors are distinctive constructs. Among the factors, persistence was identified to play the most influential role in L2 learning. Persistence showed the highest correlations with, and the strongest explanatory power for, motivated behaviour and English proficiency. It is suggested that resilience can be further explored as an individual differences factor in L2 learning, which is involved in L2 learning process and outcomes.
The experience of burnout has been the focus of much research during the past few decades. Measures have been developed, as have various theoretical models, and research studies from many countries have contributed to a better understanding of the causes and consequences of this occupationally-specific dysphoria. The majority of this work has focused on human service occupations, and particularly health care. Research on the burnout experience for psychiatrists mirrors much of the broader literature, in terms of both sources and outcomes of burnout. But it has also identified some of the unique stressors that mental health professionals face when they are dealing with especially difficult or violent clients. Current issues of particular relevance for psychiatry include the links between burnout and mental illness, the attempts to redefine burnout as simply exhaustion, and the relative dearth of evaluative research on potential interventions to treat and/or prevent burnout. Given that the treatment goal for burnout is usually to enable people to return to their job, and to be successful in their work, psychiatry could make an important contribution by identifying the treatment strategies that would be most effective in achieving that goal.
Conservation of resources (COR) theory has become one of the two leading theories of stress and trauma in the past 20 years, along with the pioneering theory of Lazarus and Folkman (1984). COR theory emphasizes objective elements of threat and loss, and common appraisals held jointly by people who share a biology and culture. This places central emphasis on objective reality and greater focus on circumstances where clear stressors are occurring, rather than a focus on personal appraisal. Although originally formulated to focus on major and traumatic stress, COR theory has also become a major theory in the field of burnout and the emerging field of positive psychology. This chapter reviews the principles of COR theory and covers new ground by examining more closely aspects of resource gain cycles and how they might contribute to resilience.
This study examined a process model of relations among children's perceptions of their parents, their motivation, and their performance in school. Children's perceptions of their parents on dimensions of autonomy support and involvement were measured with the new children's perceptions of parents scale. Three motivation variables-control understanding, perceived competence, and perceived autonomy-were hypothesized to mediate between children's perceptions of their parents and their school performance. Analyses indicated that perceived maternal autonomy support and involvement were positively associated with perceived competence, control understanding, and perceptions of autonomy. Perceived paternal autonomy support and involvement were related to perceived competence and autonomy. In turn, the 3 motivation variables, referred to as inner resources, predicted children's performance. Structural equation modeling generally supported the mediational model.
During the past two decades, the nature of work has changed dramatically, as more and more organizations downsize, outsource and move toward short-term contracts, part-time working and teleworking. The costs of stress in the workplace in most of the developed and developing world have risen accordingly in terms of increased sickness absence, labour turnover, burnout, premature death and decreased productivity. This book, in one volume, provides all the major theories of organizational stress from the leading researchers and writers in the field. It is a guide to identifying the sources of pressures in jobs and the workplace so that we may be able to intervene to change and manage the growing problem of organizational stress.
To promote internationalization in Taiwan's higher education system, one initiative is to create international programs that accommodate both international and domestic students and that use English as the medium of instruction (EMI). Most EMI studies have focused on program results; however, the current study investigates the factors that lead students to participate in EMI programs in the first place, particularly the relationship between motivation and engagement. An instrument based on Self-Determination Theory was used to collect data about second language (L2) motivation and engagement from 276 Taiwanese college students. Data analysis using MANOVA indicated significant differences in both intrinsic motivation and English learning engagement between the students participating in EMI and non-EMI programs. Multiple regressions reveal significant predictive power of both intrinsic motivation and external regulation on English learning engagement. The results suggest gradual implementation of EMI that supports faculty and student adjustment is most effective. Inclusion of practical aspects, such as internships and service learning, into EMI programs may also enhance motivation in academic engagement.
Learning a second language (L2) is a prolonged process full of challenges and struggles. Resilience is an important capacity to help learners to deal with challenging situations and cope with daily setbacks and struggles. This study examined the antecedents and consequences of resilience in language learning contexts. The participants of the study were 300 Iranian EFL learners at a state university (63.3% females). The participants answered a self-report questionnaire of their resilience, mindsets, psychological well-being, L2 selves, and perceived competence. The data were analyzed through structural equational modeling. The results showed that resilience was an important factor in predicting engagement (both in-class participation and effort) and well-being (high flourishing and positive affect, and low negative affect). That is, resilient learners are not only engaged learners, but also happy learners. The results also indicated that growth language mindsets and ideal L2 self independently predicted resilience and indirectly predicted engagement and well-being via resilience. These findings suggest that promoting resilience is an important aspect of learners’ well-being and engagement in second language education.
Based on the Conservation of Resources theory (COR) and the Job Demands-Resources theory (JD-R), we propose a model in which intrinsic motivation mediates the relation between teacher’s support and study-related well-being (engagement, burnout, and boredom). We tested the model in two different ways, with two different samples. 377 High School students and 322 University students completed questionnaires at the beginning (T1), the middle (T2), and at the end of the second semester (T3). The proposed model was fully supported by the cross-sectional analysis of data collected in the first wave. However, analysis of the longitudinal data revealed that, while intrinsic motivation mediated the relationship between teacher’s support and student well-being in the high school sample, in the case of university students, intrinsic motivation mediated only the path from teacher’s support to student burnout. The study shows that accumulation of resources across the semester predicts engagement at the end of the semester, and lack of resources predicts burnout and boredom among students. Also, increasing and encouraging supportive behaviours from the teachers in high school can positively impact study-related well-being.
In this editorial introduction we present what motivated us to organise this collection of studies on international students in the Chinese context. As a follow-up to the 2006 special issue entitled ‘The Chinese Learner in Higher Education’ in this journal, this collection of studies problematise the domination of studies on international students in English medium universities, and extends our understanding of cross-border students’ experiences by focussing on international students in Chinese universities. This brief editorial introduction gives an overview of the studies included in this special issue, and ends with a call for further research on international students in China and contexts other than English-medium universities.
We examined the effect of estimation methods, maximum likelihood (ML), unweighted least squares (ULS), and diagonally weighted least squares (DWLS), on three population SEM (structural equation modeling) fit indices: the root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA), the comparative fit index (CFI), and the standardized root mean square residual (SRMR). We considered different types and levels of misspecification in factor analysis models: misspecified dimensionality, omitting cross-loadings, and ignoring residual correlations. Estimation methods had substantial impacts on the RMSEA and CFI so that different cutoff values need to be employed for different estimators. In contrast, SRMR is robust to the method used to estimate the model parameters. The same criterion can be applied at the population level when using the SRMR to evaluate model fit, regardless of the choice of estimation method.
Aims and objectives. To investigate the prevalence and extent of burnout on nurses and its association with personal resilience.
Background. With the worldwide shortage of nurses, nurse burnout is considered one of the main contributing factors and has been the subject of studies in recent years. Given the well-documented high level of burnout among nurses, resilience is expected to be a significant predictor of nurse burnout. The association between burnout and resilience has not previously been investigated extensively.
Design. A cross-sectional survey design was selected.
Methods. 1061 nurses from 6 separate three-level hospitals in Hunan Province, China returned self-reported questionnaires from March to June 2015. Data was collected using a socio-demographic sheet, Maslach Burnout Inventory-General Survey (MBI-GS) and the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC).
Results. Nurses experienced severe burnout symptoms and showed a moderate level of resilience. Three metrics of burnout had significantly negative correlations with the total score and following variables of resilience. Linear regression analysis showed resilience, especially strength, demographic characteristics (exercise, alcohol use and marital status) and job characteristics (income per month, ratio of patients to nurses, shift work and professional rank) were the main predictors of the three metrics of burnout.
Conclusion. The findings of this study may help nurse managers and hospital administrators to have a better understanding of nurse burnout and resilience. The significantly negative relationship between burnout symptoms and resilience has been demonstrated, and this informs the role of resilience in influencing burnout.
This paper reports a study that investigated the dimensions underneath
the construct of foreign language classroom enjoyment and explored
the pattern in which these enjoyment dimensions affect foreign language achievement. To this end, 320 first language Chinese senior high school students, who were learning English as a foreign language (EFL), were invited to complete an adapted version of the Foreign Language Enjoyment Scale. These students’ mid-term English examination scores were collected as a measure of foreign language achievement. Factorial analysis revealed a 3-factor solution for the adapted scale, including Enjoyment of Teacher Support, Enjoyment of Student Support, and Enjoyment of Foreign Language Learning. Path analysis showed that Enjoyment of Foreign Language Learning had a direct effect on mid-term scores. Enjoyment of Teacher Support and Enjoyment of Student Support indirectly affected language achievement via Enjoyment of Foreign Language Learning. There was no significant difference in the indirect effect of enjoyment of teacher and student support on English achievement. The findings are discussed and
pedagogical implications are suggested
Psychology has increasingly turned to the study of psychosocial resources in the examination of well-being. How resources are being studied and resource models that have been proffered are considered, and an attempt is made to examine elements that bridge across models. As resource models span health, community, cognitive, and clinical psychology, the question is raised of whether there is overuse of the resource metaphor or whether there exists some underlying principles that can be gleaned and incorporated to advance research. The contribution of resources for understanding multicultural and pan-historical adaptation in the face of challenge is considered.
Using structural equation models, with gender, parent education, and prior grade point average (GPA) as control variables, we examined the relationships among intrinsic motivation to learn, learning goals, behavioral engagement at school, and academic performance (measured by GPA) in 1,575 students in an ethnically and racially diverse high school. Intrinsic motivation to learn was indirectly and positively related to academic performance via classroom engagement. Seventy-five percent of the variance in engagement and 33% of the variance in GPA were explained by variables in the study. Results were generally replicated when the model was tested separately with the 336 African American students and the 311 Latin@ students. The significant indirect effect of intrinsic motivation to learn on GPA via engagement, as well as the positive direct association between learning goals and academic performance, suggest that students will benefit from schools fostering intrinsic motivation to learn and learning goals.
The current study examines the relationships of students’ grades and goal achievement to changes in three personal resources (hope, self-efficacy and optimism), before and following participation in a focused hope intervention. According to Hobfoll’s (Am Psychol 44:513–524, 1989) conservation of resources paradigm, people attempt to amass and protect personal resources (i.e., aspects of the self linked to resiliency), and existing resources can be mobilized in pursuit of further resources and achievements. The goal of the study was to identify individual differences related to changes in these resources and their relationships with academic achievement over time. Based on Snyder’s (The psychology of hope. Free Press, New York, 1994) Hope Theory, and augmented by concepts drawn from self-efficacy and optimism theories, 83 first-year college students participated in a focused hope intervention workshop. The results highlight individual differences in hope levels. Particularly, we found an interaction of time and hope levels on academic achievement. Students who achieved higher levels of hope following the workshop attained higher grades in the semester following the intervention, even though mean grades were not statistically different before the intervention. Optimism and self-efficacy scores both increased immediately following the workshop, but displayed different trajectories at follow-up. Hope manifested more consistent relationships than optimism or self-efficacy with grades over time. The implications of these changes for future research as well as for intervention in educational systems are discussed.
A four-wave longitudinal study tested the demands-resources model in the school context.
To examine the applicability of the demands-resources to the school context.
Data of 1,709 adolescents were gathered, once during the transition from comprehensive to post-comprehensive education, twice during post-comprehensive education, and once 2 years later.
The hypotheses were supported, path analysis showing that study demands were related to school burnout a year later, while study resources were related to schoolwork engagement. Self-efficacy was positively related to engagement and negatively to burnout. School burnout predicted schoolwork engagement negatively 1 year later. Engagement was positively related to life satisfaction 2 years later, while burnout was related to depressive symptoms. Finally, burnout mediated the relationship between study demands and mental health outcomes.
The demands-resources model can usefully be applied to the school context, including the associations between school-related burnout and engagement among adolescents. The model comprises two processes, the energy-depleting process and the motivational process.
African American college students tend to obtain lower grades than their White counterparts, even when they enter college with equivalent test scores. Past research suggests that negative stereotypes impugning Black students' intellectual abilities play a role in this underperformance. Awareness of these stereotypes can psychologically threaten African Americans, a phenomenon known as “stereotype threat” (Steele & Aronson, 1995), which can in turn provoke responses that impair both academic performance and psychological engagement with academics. An experiment was performed to test a method of helping students resist these responses to stereotype threat. Specifically, students in the experimental condition of the experiment were encouraged to see intelligence—the object of the stereotype—as a malleable rather than fixed capacity. This mind-set was predicted to make students' performances less vulnerable to stereotype threat and help them maintain their psychological engagement with academics, both of which could help boost their college grades. Results were consistent with predictions. The African American students (and, to some degree, the White students) encouraged to view intelligence as malleable reported greater enjoyment of the academic process, greater academic engagement, and obtained higher grade point averages than their counterparts in two control groups.
The concept of school engagement has attracted increasing attention as representing a possible antidote to declining academic motivation and achievement. Engagement is presumed to be malleable, responsive to contextual features, and amenable to environmental change. Researchers describe behavioral, emotional, and cognitive engagement and recommend studying engagement as a multifaceted construct. This article reviews definitions, measures, precursors, and outcomes of engagement; discusses limitations in the existing research; and suggests improvements. The authors conclude that, although much has been learned, the potential contribution of the concept of school engagement to research on student experience has yet to be realized. They call for richer characterizations of how students behave, feel, and think—research that could aid in the development of finely tuned interventions
This article reports on an interpretative inquiry into 14 tertiary vocational students' educational experiences on the Chinese mainland with a focus on their strategy use in learning English. Using sociocultural theory, the inquiry reveals the profound impact that the learning context had on the research participants' strategy use. The data reveal that the participants' exam-oriented learning strategies were at the core of their efforts to pursue desirable identities in a competitive academic environment. They also indicate that the participants' strategy use was closely associated with an internalized sociocultural discourse that conceived learning as the means to achieve social mobility. Pedagogic practices that often imposed markers on the participants and tense peer relationships that prevented the participants from adopting alternative strategies were found to be 2 important motivators for the participants' adoption of their exam-oriented learning strategies.