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This study examined the relationship among foreign language enjoyment (FLE), second language L2 grit, online learning self-efficacy (OLSE), and online learning engagement among Iranian English as a foreign language (EFL) learners. The study involved 578 Iranian EFL learners who completed self-report measures of the four constructs. Confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling were employed to confirm the validity of the scales and test the hypothesized model. The findings indicate that FLE positively affects online learning engagement and OLSE positively influences online learning engagement. Additionally, the study found that online self-efficacy mediates the relationship between L2 grit and online learning engagement. These results highlight the importance of FLE and OLSE in promoting online learning engagement, and the mediating role of online self-efficacy in the interplay between L2 grit and online learning engagement. This research sheds more light on the understanding of the factors that influence online learning engagement among EFL learners and has important implications for both theory and practice.

We used a data set with n = 1,603 learners of foreign languages (FL) to develop and validate the short form of the Foreign Language Enjoyment Scale (S-FLES). The data was split into 2 groups, and we used the first sample to develop the short-form measure. A 3-factor hierarchical model of foreign language enjoyment (FLE) was uncovered, with FLE as a higher-order factor and with teacher appreciation, personal enjoyment, and social enjoyment as 3 lower-order factors. We selected 3 items for each of the 3 lower-order factors of the S-FLES. The proposed 9-item S-FLES was validated in the second sample, and the fit statistics for the factor structure indicated close fit. Further evidence was found to support the internal consistency, convergent validity, and discriminant validity of the S-FLES. The S-FLES provides a valid and reliable short-form measure of FLE, which can easily be included in any battery of assessments examining individual differences in FL learning.

The present study explores the relationship between Foreign Language Enjoyment (FLE) and Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety (FLCA) and a number of teacher-centered variables within the Spanish classroom context. Participants were 210 former and current learners of English as a foreign language (EFL) 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 an L1 English speaker as a 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 a teacher's friendliness while a 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 foreign language much in class. The findings confirm earlier research that FLE seems to be more dependent on the teachers' pedagogical skills than FLCA. (Verlag).

Previous research has considered fluctuations in students’ foreign language enjoyment (FLE) and foreign language classroom anxiety (FLCA) over months or years (Dewaele MacIntyre, 2014, 2016). However, there has been no investigation of the effect of the teacher on these emotions at a single point in time. In this study, we investigate the question whether FL learners experience similar levels of FLE and FLCA in the same language if they have two different teachers. Participants were 40 London-based secondary school students studying modern languages with one Main Teacher and one Second Teacher. Statistical analysis revealed that while FLCA was constant with both teachers, FLE was significantly higher with the Main Teacher. Predictors of FLE such as attitudes towards the teacher, the teacher’s frequency of use of the target language in class and unpredictability were also significantly more positive for the Main Teacher. Item-level analysis revealed that the teacher creating a positive emotional atmosphere in class contributed to the higher FLE score. Items that reflected more stable personal and group characteristics varied less between the two teachers. The findings suggest that FLE is more teacher-dependent than FLCA, which is more stable across teachers.

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.

The present study investigates Foreign Language Enjoyment (FLE) and Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety (FLCA) in the classroom. Participants were 1746 current FL learners from around the world. We used a measure of FLE, based on Likert scale ratings of 21 items (Dewaele & MacIntyre, 2014), and a measure of FLCA based on 8 items extracted from the FLCAS (Horwitz, Horwitz, & Cope, 1986). Statistical analyses revealed that levels of FLE were significantly higher than those of FLCA. FLE and FLCA were linked to a number of independent variables: participants’ perception of their relative level of proficiency within the FL classroom, number of languages known, education level, number of FLs under study, age group and general level of the FL (ranging from lower-intermediate to advanced). Female participants reported both more FLE and more FLCA. Cultural background of participants also had a significant effect on their scores. Participants’ views on episodes of enjoyment in the FL class revealed the importance of teachers’ professional and emotional skills and of a supportive peer group. Many participants mentioned the moment at which they realised that their long effort in mastering an aspect of the FL paid off.

Knowledge about curriculum development in collegiate foreign language (FL) departments tends to be limited, especially when it is defined as the long-term development of the FL over the course of an entire instructional program as contrasted with individual courses. That assessment, along with the belief that curriculum development is a highly situated enterprise, has shaped my essential bookshelf. It privileges influences in my personal-professional time and place within prevailing disciplinary and language education policy interests in the United States (U.S.).

Purpose This research paper aimed to investigate the affordances of using virtual reality (VR) in teaching culture among in-service teachers of teaching Persian to speakers of other languages (TPSOL) in Iran. Design/methodology/approach This qualitative case study, conducted at two Iranian universities, used purposeful sampling to select 34 eligible in-service Persian teachers from a pool of 73. Data collection used an open-ended questionnaire and interviews. Findings Before the TPSOL in-service training workshop, teachers expressed their reservations regarding the use of VR to teach culture in TPSOL courses. The emerged themes were “skepticism toward effectiveness,” “practicality concerns,” “limited awareness of VR applications,” “technological apprehension” and “prevalence of traditional teaching paradigms.” During the post-workshop interview, it was discovered that the teachers’ perceptions of VR in teaching culture had undergone a positive shift. The workshop generated emergent themes that reflected positive perceptions and affordances for using VR to teach culture in TPSOL, including “enhanced cultural immersion,” “increased student engagement,” “simulation of authentic cultural experiences,” and “facilitation of interactive learning environments.” Research limitations/implications One primary limitation is the lack of prior experience with VR for teaching practices in real-world classrooms among the participants. While the study aimed to explore the potential of VR in enhancing pedagogical approaches, the absence of participants with prior exposure to VR in educational contexts may impact the generalizability of the findings to a broader population. Additionally, the study faced practical constraints, such as the unavailability of sufficient facilities in the workshop. As a result, the instructor had to project the VR cont7ent on a monitor, potentially diverging from the immersive nature of true VR experiences. These limitations offer opportunities for future research to refine methodologies and gain a more comprehensive understanding of the implications of integrating VR into teaching practices. Originality/value Extensive research has been conducted on the effectiveness of VR in language education. However, there is a significant gap in research on TPSOL, which is considered a less commonly taught language. This study aims to address this gap by exploring the use of VR in the TPSOL through the lenses of in-service teachers. As part of a larger investigation, this qualitative inquiry focuses on the perceptions of in-service teachers about VR, with a particular emphasis on the cultural understanding of the Persian language.

Decades before educators were forced to confront the disruption posed by widely accessible generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools such as ChatGPT, language learners, instructors, and researchers began dealing with its game-changing predecessor: machine translation (MT). Researchers began assessing MT systems and proposing language teaching applications for them as soon as universities and schools gained access to them in the mid-1980s (*Anderson, 1995*; Ball, 1989*; Corness, 1985; French 1991; Lewis, 1997; Richmond, 1994*). These inquiries accelerated in the early 2000s, when internet-enabled computer labs and increasingly smarter devices put free online MT services such as Babel Fish and Google Translate (GT) at students' fingertips, triggering concerns over output quality, academic dishonesty, and the short-circuiting of actual learning. In recent years, there has been a veritable explosion of research on MT's role in and impact on language teaching and learning, with many dozens of peer-reviewed articles published in the past five years alone, as documented in a handful of comprehensive literatures reviews (Gokgoz-Kurt, 2023; Jiang et al., 2024; Jolley & Maimone, 2022; Klimova et al., 2023; Lee, 2023). The present article provides a timeline of this rapidly expanding research domain.

This study investigates how engagement (E), foreign language enjoyment (FLE), and ambiguity tolerance (AT) exert mediation/moderation in metaverse-based foreign language learning (FLL). Featuring augment/simulation-based experiences and self-fulfillment/external-control-oriented mechanics, metaverse provides virtualized interactive circumstances involving individuals’ embodied presence/behaviors, aligning with FLL that emphasizes social interaction. Based on the quantified survey data, partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) analyses investigate the significance and positivity of the mediation/moderation relations. According to the results, E exerts fully positive mediation in the effect of intrinsic motivation (IM) on learning effectiveness (LE), FLE exerts partially positive mediation in the effect of classroom social climate (CSC) on E, and AT exerts negative moderation in the positive effect of E on LE. Notably, FLE exerts insignificant mediation in the effect of growth mindset (GM) on E. Therefore, efficient metaverse-based FLL requires synergies of affective factors, i.e., intrinsic motivation, perceptions of classroom social climate, moderate degrees of ambiguity tolerance, and engagement, for sustainable and long-term language learning progress in virtual interactive experiences. At the theoretical level, the findings extend the FLL-related models and advance the understanding of FLL. At the practical level, the findings provide references for more efficient metaverse implementations in FLL.