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This study on Extramural English (EE) explores trends and empirical findings of EE and its impact on second language acquisition (SLA). The article analyses empirical studies on EE to offer an extensive understanding of the role of EE in English language teaching (ELT), drawing on articles from Scopus, ScienceDirect, Taylor & Francis, and ERIC databases. As acquiring a second language through naturalistic ways is a need of the hour, studies to make L2 learning more effortless are constantly being conducted. Presented in three parts, the article provides an overview of existing review papers, analyzes correlation-based studies on EE and various language outcomes, and examines intervention-based studies with EE implementation. Using this framework, the article uncovers patterns in research design, student backgrounds, targeted English language skills and teaching approaches. It highlights how EE contributes to language acquisition, vocabulary, listening, reading, writing, and speaking skills. The findings also indicate that EE benefits language learning, opens new learning methods, improves student motivation, and lowers stress and anxiety. Additionally, the article highlights the pedagogical implications of EE and its potential in fostering learner autonomy.

This article demonstrates how, at a time when learners may be experiencing fear and chaos in other aspects of their lives, a focus on language task engagement is essential across both online and offline language learning contexts. It presents a model of language task engagement and describes why and how teachers can use it to support learner achievement during the current crisis and in the future. The Challenge Language task engagement can support student learning in spite of distractions that learners may experience in school. How can language teachers focus on task engagement when they are no longer face to face with their students? To answer that question, this article provides an evidence‐based model and suggestions for teachers.

Language learning is an emotionally and psychologically dynamic process that is influenced by a myriad of ever-changing variables and emotional \"vibes\" that produce moment-by-moment fluctuations in learners' adaptation. This individual-level study triangulates physiological, idiodynamic, interview, and self-report survey data of three high and three low anxiety language learners to examine their language anxiety, its triggers, and the interpretations of rapidly changing affective reactions over a short period of time. Participants were videorecorded giving a presentation, while wearing heart monitors, in their Spanish as a Foreign Language class. Using the idiodynamic method, participants self-rated their moment-by-moment anxiety 42 times over three and a half minutes and later explained their reactions in an interview. The strong relationship observed among the various converging data sources demonstrates the strength of considering language learners on an individual level using triangulated quantitative and qualitative approaches. The study generated pedagogical implications for dealing with both positive and negative emotions, facilitating the reinterpretation of physiological cues, planning \"escape routes\" that allow participants to remain active in communication exchanges, and invoking the positive power of preparation, planning, and rehearsal. (Verlag).

Among the many studies focusing on the effect of learner and instructional variables on learning outcomes, few studies have investigated the effect of these variables and their mediating mechanisms influencing students' learning within a blended learning environment. This study examined the influence of instructional and learner variables on learning outcomes for a blended instruction course offered for undergraduate students. Data analysis indicated that age, prior experiences with distance learning opportunities, preference in delivery format, and average study time are those learner antecedents differentiating learning outcomes among groups of college students. From a regression analysis, the influence of learner, instructional, and motivational variables on learning outcomes found to be consolidated around one variable in learning application.

Multiple previous studies in language learning have examined the static effect of various independent variables on Foreign Language Enjoyment (FLE) and Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety (FLCA), but little attention has been given to the dynamic features of these two learner emotions. The present study is based on a pseudo-longitudinal design to investigate the change of FLE and FLCA over time and their interplay with independent variables (learner-internal and teacher-centered variables) in a higher education context. A total of 288 English learners divided into three groups (undergraduates, master’s students, and doctoral students) completed the FLE, FLCA, and NEO Five-Factor Inventory questionnaires. Statistical analyses showed that doctoral students and undergraduates reported higher levels of FLE, while master’s students reported the highest levels of FLCA. Multiple regression analyses signified that FLE was jointly predicted by learner variables and teacher variables, whereas FLCA was solely predicted by learner variables, with attitude towards English identified as the best predictor for FLE, and Neuroticism as the strong predictor for FLCA in three groups. These results imply that levels of learner emotions and their interaction with predictor variables are dynamic in relation to learners’ educational qualifications. It is thus recommended that teachers and educational institutions implement pertinent interventions to boost FLE and alleviate FLCA at different stages of higher education. Plain language summary Investigating the joy and anxiety of Chinese EFL students in higher education: A study using pseudo-longitudinal methods Many studies have looked at how different factors affect two important emotions in language learning: Foreign Language Enjoyment (FLE) and Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety (FLCA). However, most of the previous studies have focused on learner emotions as fixed and unchanging, rather than looking at how they might change over time. This study used a pseudo-longitudinal method to explore how FLE and FLCA change over time in university students and how these emotions relate to factors both within the students and related to their teachers. A total of 288 students studying English, including undergraduates, master’s students, and doctoral students, took part in the study. They completed surveys about their enjoyment and anxiety in learning English, as well as a personality questionnaire. The results showed that undergraduates and doctoral students had higher levels of enjoyment in learning English, while master’s students experienced the most anxiety. Further analysis revealed that both learner-related and teacher-related factors predicted FLE, with a positive attitude towards English being the best predictor. In contrast, FLCA was mainly predicted by learner-related factors, particularly the personality trait of Neuroticism. These findings suggest that learners’ emotions and how they relate to different factors change depending on their level of education.

Studies of lexical coverage are valuable because they reveal the importance of vocabulary knowledge to comprehension. Lexical profiling research is also extremely useful because it indicates the vocabulary knowledge necessary to understand different text types such as novels, newspapers, academic lectures, television programs, and movies. Moreover, lexical profiling research provides teachers and learners with concrete vocabulary learning targets that students can seek to achieve and evaluate their knowledge against. However, there are only three studies that have precisely investigated the effects of lexical coverage on reading comprehension (Hu & Nation, 2000; Laufer, 1989; Schmitt et al., 2011), two that have directly investigated its effects on listening comprehension (Bonk, 2000; Van Zeeland & Schmitt, 2013), and one that has done this for viewing comprehension (Durbahn et al., 2020). With few studies and few variables that may affect comprehension examined, discussions of the generalizability of lexical coverage findings are likely overstated. The aim of this article is to clarify earlier research findings and highlight areas where further research is needed.

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.

As one of the productive approaches to L2 pragmatic development, study abroad (SA) has drawn the attention of numerous researchers during the past few decades. Different factors, specifically those related to L2 learners, implicate the impact of SA on pragmatic development. The present systematic review aims to identify the roles of individual differences, including personal as well as social and cognitive variables, on the pragmatic development of L2 learners who were involved in SA programs. To this end, 39 studies from peer-reviewed journals and books published from 2000 to 2022 were scrutinized. The results revealed that a substantial amount of research has been conducted on the intersection of L2 pragmatic competence and SA. However, more studies are required to investigate the impact of learner variables on different aspects of L2 pragmatics in the SA context. The results also indicated the extent to which learner variables were analyzed in these studies and how each variable impacted the effectiveness of SA programs. In addition to the effects of learner variables, the methodological features of the studies, including the context of the studies, designs of the studies, data sources, and characteristics of the involved participants, were explored and reported. The findings contribute to the fields of L2 pragmatic acquisition and study abroad by highlighting the gaps in the literature and identifying key learner variables that can have drastic influences on learners’ outcomes.

Introduction Motivation is a driving force behind man’s behavior which has led to many psychological studies throughout the world. Moreover, it is the fuel for successful learning. While intrinsic motives provide the internal rewards, extrinsic motivation supplies the required external rewards to keep the engine of learning running. Knowing the factors which impact intrinsic/extrinsic motivation helps educators target their efforts at a higher level and make more informed decisions. Method This study intends to examine how intrinsic vs. extrinsic motivation may be influenced by demographics including learners’ background factors of major, age, and occupation and to determine the relationships that may exist between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. To this end, an explanatory sequential mixed-methods research was conducted at one of the public universities in Shiraz on the majors of Elementary Education, Educational Affairs, Social Studies and Theology, and the Arabic language which were selected through cluster sampling. These students were having their English courses at the university. Based on Krejcie and Morgan’s formula for sample size, a questionnaire was administered to 100 participants to collect quantitative data. Moreover, semi-structured interview sessions were conducted with one fourth of the participants. Results Using Multiple Analysis of Variance (MANOVA) and Pearson correlation, we found that learners’ background factors of age, field of study and professional status did not affect intrinsic nor extrinsic motivation. However, significant and positive relationships were found between intrinsic motivation and total motivation index, and between extrinsic motivation and total motivation index. Qualitative data obtained from the interviews were analyzed using a thematic analysis. The results of the interviews showed some new illuminating trends as revealed from the participants’ responses and it was found that most interviewees followed intrinsic motives and considered motivation as a factor of great significance. Conclusion In the English as a Foreign Language (EFL) context in which our study was conducted, instructors can follow more similar classroom motivational techniques and strategies since neither type of motivation was influenced by the variables of different major, age and occupation. Though many studies have shown that EFL learners are more extrinsically motivated in comparison with ESL ones, our study revealed that participants were more intrinsically motivated. Thus, this study may be replicated in other educational contexts such as an ESL context. The study can also be repeated in some universities in which other educational systems such as coed education is used to see the possible similarities and differences. Motivation is the important stimulant to impel the learners to achieve their learning goals; thus, it should receive sufficient attention in various educational settings.

Emotion research in second language acquisition has flourished under the growing influence of Positive Psychology in recent years. The present study focuses on foreign language enjoyment (FLE) and foreign language classroom anxiety (FLCA) of 263 Chinese undergraduates in relation to learner variables as well as the sources of enjoyment and anxiety in the English class. Surveys with scales and open-ended questions were applied to collect data. Quantitative analysis revealed that learner variables, such as participants’ gender and their year of university, affected their FLCA but not FLE, while participants’ perception of their English levels was significantly linked to both FLE and FLCA. Furthermore, the uniqueness of Chinese FL learners’ FLE and FLCA was uncovered from participants’ narratives of their emotional experiences in class. The results of open-ended questions clarified that interesting teaching content, students’ good performance and progress, and well-designed classroom activities were effective boosters for foreign language (FL) learners’ enjoyment. Moreover, public speaking, the teacher’s random call, and peer pressure were closely related to spikes in students’ in-class anxiety. This study concluded with implications for EFL teaching, along with directions for further research.