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.

This is the first large-scale investigation on how multilinguals feel about their languages and use them to communicate emotion. Using a combination of quantitative and qualitative approaches, Jean-Marc Dewaele looks at the factors that affect multilinguals' self-perceived competence, attitudes, communicative anxiety, language choice and code-switching when expressing feelings, anger and when swearing. Nearly 1600 multilinguals from all over the world participated in the research. The results suggest that how and when a language was learnt determines future use and communicative anxiety. Aspects such as present use of the language, the total number of languages known, and the level of emotional intelligence also play an important role. Interviews with participants reveal the importance of cultural factors and show how the slow process of acculturation in a new community is accompanied by gradual changes in language preferences to communicate emotions.

Positive psychology has boosted interest in the positive as well as the negative emotions that Foreign Language learners experience. The present study examines whether -and to what extent-foreign language enjoyment (FLE) and FL classroom anxiety (FLCA) are linked to a range of learner-internal variables and teacher/classroom-specific variables within one specific educational context. Participants were 189 British high school students learning various FLs. Levels of FLE were linked to higher scores on attitudes towards the FL, the FL teacher, FL use in class, proportion of time spent on speaking, relative standing and stage of development. Lower levels FLCA were linked to higher scores on attitudes towards the FL, relative standing and stage of development. FLCA thus seems less related to teacher and teacher practices than FLE. The pedagogical implication is that teachers should strive to boost FLE rather than worry too much about students' FLCA. Dörnyei and Ryan (2015) pointed out that despite the fact that emotions play a crucial part in our lives, they have been largely "shunned" by Second Language Acquisition (SLA) scholars (p. 9). The authors attribute this to the cognitivist tradition in the field and argue that it is time to overcome the general "emotional deficit" in SLA research. They wonder how as researchers we can "accommodate positive emotions more effectively into our descriptions of learner psychology? " (p. 205). This statement recognizes that the role of positive emotion, although vaguely recognized in the field, still has a long way to traverse before positive emotion assumes the place it deserves (Dulay & Burt, 1977, Gardner, 1985Krashen, 1982;Schumann, 1978) but it is true that it seems to have remained a little bit in the shadows of the vibrant research into negative emotions, mostly foreign language anxiety. The situation may be changing because of the influence of Positive Psychology, the empirical study of how people thrive and flourish. Positive Psychology wants to broaden the general perspective in 1 Pre-print version of the paper (Article first published online: February 17, 2017) Language Teaching Research https://doi.org/10.1177/1362168817692161 2 general psychology with its focus on abnormalities, disorders, and mental illness and the development of ways to reduce pain and learn to cope with negative experiences, in favour of the development of tools to build positive emotions, foster greater engagement, and boost the appreciation of meaning in life and its activities (MacIntyre & Mercer, 2014). Just as the interlanguage paradigm superseded the error analysis tradition in the 1970s, with a move away from an exclusive focus on second language learners' deficits, the Positive Psychology approach advocates a more holistic view on humans, which in SLA terms means moving away from the overwhelming focus on negative emotions (foreign language classroom anxiety -FLCA) to include L2 learners' positive emotions, such as Foreign Language Enjoyment (FLE) (Dewaele & MacIntyre, 2014Dewael...

Dewaele, Jean-Marc; Petrides, and Furnham, Adrian (2008) The effects of trait emotional intelligence and sociobiographical variables on communicative anxiety and foreign language anxiety among adult multilinguals: A review and empirical investigation. Language Learning 58 (4) 911-960. This is an author-produced version of a paper published in Language Learning . This version has been peer-reviewed but does not include the final publisher proof corrections, published layout or pagination.All articles available through Birkbeck ePrints are protected by intellectual property law, including copyright law. Any use made of the contents should comply with the relevant law. Abstract. This study considered the effects of trait emotional intelligence (trait EI; Petrides & Mavroveli, 2007) and sociobiographical variables (age, gender, education level, number of languages known, age of onset of acquisition, context of acquisition, frequency of use, socialization, network of interlocutors, self-perceived proficiency) on communicative anxiety (CA) in the first language and on foreign language anxiety (FLA) in the second, third, and fourth languages of 464 multilingual individuals, in five different situations (speaking with friends, colleagues, strangers, on the phone, and in public). Data were collected via Web-based questionnaires. Participants were divided into three groups based on their trait EI scores (low, average, high). Nonparametric statistical analyses revealed a consistent pattern of results across languages and situations. Higher levels of trait EI corresponded to significantly lower CA/FLA scores. Participants who started learning the second and third languages at a younger age also suffered less from FLA. Purely classroom-based language instruction was found to be linked to higher levels of FLA compared to instruction that also involved extracurricular use of the language. The knowledge of more languages, a higher frequency of use, a stronger socialization in a language, a larger network of interlocutors, and a higher level of self-perceived proficiency in a language were also linked to lower levels of CA/FLA.Keywords. trait emotional self-efficacy, TEIQue, bilingualism and emotion, number of languages known, age of onset of acquisition, context of acquisition, frequency of use, L2 socialization, network of interlocutors, selfperceived proficiency

This paper investigates the perception of emotional force of swearwords and taboo words (S-T words) among 1039 multilinguals. It is based on data drawn from a large database collected through a web questionnaire on bilingualism and emotions. t -Tests revealed that the perceived emotional force of S-T words is highest in the L1 and gradually lower in languages learned subsequently. Self-reported L1 attriters were found to judge S-T words in their L1 to be less powerful than those who are still dominant in their L1. Participants who learned their language(s) in a naturalistic Á / or partly naturalistic Á / context gave higher ratings on emotional force of S-T words in that language than instructed language learners. Self-rated proficiency in a language and frequency of use of language significantly predicted perception of emotional force of S-T words. Age of onset of learning was found to only predict perception of emotional force of S-T words in the L2.

Scholarly attention for Foreign Language Enjoyment (FLE) has sharply increased in the past three years for its role in facilitating language learning as well as promoting language learners' well-being. However, the conceptualization and measurement of FLE in China, which has the largest number of EFL learners in the world, is only just starting. Adopting a mixed-method approach, the current study examined the psychometric properties of the Chinese Version of the Foreign Language Enjoyment Scale, and investigated FLE in a specific Chinese EFL context. Through surveying two samples of 1,718 students and 360 students in Stages 1 and 2, a new 11-item and 3-factor model (i.e. FLE-Private, FLE-Teacher, and FLE-Atmosphere) was confirmed and validated. The students scored highest on FLE-Teacher, followed by FLE-Private and FLE-Atmosphere.The analysis of the qualitative data collected from 64 participants in Stage 3 showed that beyond the general factors linked to the teacher and peers, the individual experience of FLE is shaped by a large range of learner-internal and learner-external variables.

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The present contribution offers an overview of a new area of research in the field of foreign language acquisition, which was triggered by the introduction of Positive Psychology (PP) (MacIntyre and Gregersen, 2012). For many years, a cognitive perspective had dominated research in applied linguistics. Around the turn of the millennium researchers became increasingly interested in the role of emotions in foreign language learning and teaching, beyond established concepts like foreign language anxiety and constructs like motivation and attitudes toward the foreign language. As a result, a more nuanced understanding of the role of positive and negative learner and teacher emotions emerged, underpinned by solid empirical research using a wide range of epistemological and methodological approaches. PP interventions have been carried out in schools and universities to strengthen learners and teachers’ experiences of flow, hope, courage, well-being, optimism, creativity, happiness, grit, resilience, strengths, and laughter with the aim of enhancing learners’ linguistic progress. This paper distinguishes the early period in the field that started with MacIntyre and Gregersen (2012), like a snowdrop after winter, and that was followed by a number of early studies in relatively peripheral journals. We argue that 2016 is the starting point of the current period, characterized by gradual recognition in applied linguistics, growing popularity of PP, and an exponential increase in publications in more mainstream journals. This second period could be compared to a luxuriant English garden in full bloom.