Modeling the associations between L2 teacher support and EFL learners’ reading motivation: The mediating impact of reading enjoyment, anxiety, and boredom

The present study aimed to explore the association between 302 (93 males and 209 females) English as a foreign language (EFL) learners’ perceived teacher support (i.e., personal support and academic support) and their reading motivation. This inquiry also sought to assess the potential mediating influences of second or foreign language (L2) boredom, anxiety, and enjoyment on the interplay between the constructs under investigation. The results indicated a significantly strong and positive relationship between personal and academic teacher support and reading motivation. While L2 reading boredom and anxiety exhibited strong negative correlations with the two facets of teacher support, L2 enjoyment was positively correlated. Additionally, L2 reading enjoyment displayed a strong association with reading motivation. The results also revealed that over half of the variance in L2 reading motivation could be predicted by teacher support, along with the mediating influences of learner emotions. The findings are discussed in connection with educational theories, and implications are drawn for teaching

Promoting equity in study abroad: A focus on first-generation and students of color in the USA

Education abroad is considered a high-impact practice with short-term benefits such as intellectual development and higher retention and university graduation rates, along with more long-term benefits such as personal and professional development. Thus, it is important to ensure that all students have an equal opportunity to study abroad; however, research shows that this is not the case. For example, in the United States, the majority of study abroad participants are white (68% according to Institute of International Education [IIE], 2022), and the racial and ethnic diversity of study abroad participants is well below the percentage of undergraduate students of color overall. First-generation college students also make up a small proportion of the students who study abroad, with some coming from racial and ethnic minoritized backgrounds as well. This lack of diversity in study abroad should be a major concern for institutions of higher education. To address this issue at our own university, we surveyed 137 first-generation and students of color to gather data on their interests, opinions, and reservations about study abroad. Results demonstrate that they are overwhelmingly positive about study abroad but are concerned about cost, fitting it into their degree plan, and not knowing languages other than English. Additionally, 81% reported that they did not know where to start or how to get involved in study abroad. These results suggest that a more equity-minded approach with targeted interventions is needed to increase study abroad participation among first-generation and students of color

Revisiting the relationship between global and specific levels of foreign language boredom and language engagement: A moderated mediation model of academic buoyancy and emotional engagement

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 accuracy and robustness of the results, 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

Modelling trait and state willingness to communicate in a second language: An experience sampling approach

This study investigates whether demographics, L2 enjoyment, L2 anxiety, psychological well-being, or Informal Digital Learning of English (IDLE) affected willingness to communicate in L2 (L2 WTC) at trait and state levels. Across two weeks, 16 Hong Kong EFL students completed pre-and post-trait-level surveys and generated 1,120 state-level responses via the experience sampling method (ESM). The survey findings revealed that students who were older, had higher language proficiency, or had higher pre-WTC digitally reported higher L2 WTC in the classroom. Students who studied English longer, had higher language proficiency, had higher pre-psychological well-being, had a higher standard deviation L2 WTC over 14 days, or had higher teacher appreciation showed higher L2 WTC outside of class. Students with higher language proficiency, higher pre-WTC digitally, or higher post-psychological well-being reported higher L2 WTC in digital settings. The ESM findings revealed that students with higher teacher appreciation, currently engaged in productive IDLE or both receptive and productive types of IDLE, currently experienced greater L2 enjoyment, or currently experienced greater well-being had higher L2 WTC now. Our findings contribute to (a) L2 WTC, informal language learning, and positive psychology theories, and (b) teachers’ strategies to enhance students’ L2 WTC overall and in the moment

The role of critical experiences, positioning, and agency in the dynamic, emergent construction of heritage speaker selves

Previous research has proposed a crucial role for critical experiences in language learning to better understand how learners understand and discursively construct their self-concept (Mercer, 2011, 2016; Serafini, 2020a; Thompson, 2020). However, studies have mainly explored critical experiences in the narratives of foreign language learners of English with little attention to how heritage speakers of languages other than English (LOTE) draw on critical experiences in discursive constructions of self. To address this gap, this study aims to explore the impact of critical experiences in university heritage Spanish speakers’ self-narratives. Twenty heritage Spanish students completed a background questionnaire and peer-facilitated, video-recorded interview. Emergent, recurring themes were identified in transcribed interview data following tenets of grounded theory (Charmaz, 2006; Glaser & Strauss, 1967). Findings underscore the key role of positioning (Davies & Harré, 1990) in dynamic conceptions of self, particularly how heritage speakers (re)imagine and discursively construct past, current, and future self-states. Positioning was also linked to agency (Ahearn, 2001) in relation to students’ critical reflections on experiences of racialization and resistance to, or reproduction of, dominant language ideologies. Overall, the study provides valuable insights for (heritage) language educators seeking to enact critical pedagogical principles in their classroom and curriculum

Relative complexity in a model of word difficulty: The role of loanwords in vocabulary size tests

Recent studies have shown that the frequency effect, although long used as a guide to word difficulty, fails to explain all variance in learner word knowledge. As such, a “more than frequency” conclusion has been offered to explain how lexical sophistication accounts for word difficulty. This study presents a multiple regression model of word-learning difficulty from a data set of monolingual Japanese first language (L1) learners. Vocabulary Size Test (VST) scores of 2,999 L1 Japanese university students were converted to logit scores to determine the word-learning difficulty of 80 target words. Five lexical sophistication variables were found to correlate with word-learning difficulty (frequency, cognate status, age of acquisition, prevalence, and polysemy) above a practical significance threshold. These were subsequently entered into a regression model with the logit scores as the dependent variable. The model (R2 = .55) indicates that three lexical sophistication variables significantly predicted VST scores: frequency (ß = -.28, p = .029), cognateness (ß = -.24, p = .005), and prevalence (ß = 0.22, p = .040). Despite suggestions that complexity studies be interpreted considering what is understood about the construct of linguistic complexity, researchers have rarely made explicit the differences between absolute and relative complexity variables. As some variables can be shown to vary in complexity according to the L1 population, these must be considered in discussions of test generalizability. Although frequency will continue to be the primary criterion for the selection of lexical items for teaching and testing, the cognate status of words can be used to predict the potential learning burden of the word more precisely for learners of different L1 backgrounds

Exploring English self-concept and investment of successful EFL learners from a Chinese secondary school

Academic self-concept, a central psychological construct that powerfully explains learners’ varied motivations and learning behaviors, needs to be further explored to deepen our understanding of language learner psychology. Drawing on self-reported learning histories, this study investigates the English self-concept of successful English as a foreign language (EFL) learners and their mediated learning behaviors from the theoretical lens of personal investment theory (Maehr & Braskamp, 1986). Data were collected from 12 students at a key secondary school in Shanghai using retrospective narratives and semi-structured interviews. The analysis revealed three categories of cognitive and affective characteristics in the learners’ English self-concept and the corresponding investment features with subtle differences identified. Participants espoused average to high competency beliefs and moderate to strong positive affect toward English learning, nurtured by positive self-beliefs such as interest and self-efficacy formed through early English learning experience. Their sustainable, targeted, and resilient investment in English learning was also underpinned by the perception of mastery and performance goals appropriately afforded by teachers, parents, peers, or the school. Practical implications for parents and educators are discussed in terms of what they can do to help learners build positive self-perceptions as EFL learners

“Nonnative? Next!” Native-speakerism in world language job advertisements

Given the lack of research into native-speakerism among teachers of languages other than English (LOTEs), this qualitative study aims to bridge the gap by investigating the discriminatory and inclusive language employed in online recruitment for post-secondary institution instructors of LOTEs. The study also looks at how post-secondary institutions phrase language requirements and whether there is a difference in “native-speaker-teacher” bias depending on the language. For the purposes of this study, qualitative content analysis was used to examine 187 online job advertisements for teaching positions of different LOTEs that were posted by different post-secondary institutions across the United States. The findings of the study show that post-secondary institutions use discriminatory language such as “native” or “near-native” much more often than inclusive language such as “superior language skills,” regardless of the language(s) that the position advertises for. The findings, however, show that job candidates for teaching positions of LOTEs are often required to have “native” or “near-native” proficiency in at least two languages, most commonly English plus the target language of focus