Positive Influence of Cooperative Learning and Emotion Regulation on EFL Learners’ Foreign Language Enjoyment

Abstract

This study approaches foreign language enjoyment (FLE) through the lenses of positive psychology, and in particular, examines how enjoyment is affected by emotion regulation (ER) and two factors concerning cooperative learning (CL) in a classroom climate, namely positive goal interdependence (PGI) and peer personal support (PPS). To achieve this goal, 115 Chinese university freshmen (male 47; female 68) aged between 18 to 20 (M = 18.69; SD = 0.65) were invited to complete a questionnaire. Regression analyses revealed a clear three-factor structure determining the FLE of students learning English as a foreign language (EFL), which are ER, PGI that highlights cooperation, and PPS that emphasizes the interpersonal relationship between peers. It also showed that PGI and PPS significantly influence each other while positively and jointly shaping FLE. The findings suggest that university EFL students with higher ER abilities are more likely to obtain enjoyment in the learning process and that positive interdependence and interpersonal support during CL also play an effective role in deciding students’ FLE. The study not only confirms the importance of ER and CL which may lead to high-level learning enjoyment, but also provides practical implications for the realization of an enjoyable second language acquisition (SLA) experience.

The effect of academic emotion regulation on EFL learners’ core of self-assessment and academic buoyancy: a structural equation modeling

“…Santos false (2021) documented that gender and age affect learners' AER and academic engagement. In the same line of inquiry, Zheng and Zhou (2022) investigated the role of AER as well as cooperative learning on learners' enjoyment in the EFL context. Their findings pinpointed the significant effects of AER, positive interdependence, and interpersonal support on enjoyment generation.…”

The Impacts of Cooperative Learning on Suburban Students’ Learning Motivation

“…This active engagement within the cooperative learning process fosters a nurturing classroom climate characterized by positivity and mutual support (Zheng & Zhou, 2022). Cooperative learning engenders an environment where each student contributes meaningfully to the learning process and collectively shares expectations for achieving educational outcomes.…”

Global perspectives on heritage language education and emotion: Introduction to the special issue

“…In fact, a drive to cope with FL anxiety and negative emotions in general, coupled with an enthusiasm to promote stronger FL motivation and overall FL well-being slowly but surely promoted attention to the implications of positive emotions in SLA, particularly in the last decade. This trend, known as the positive psychology turn in SLA (MacIntyre et al, 2016), has inspired a renewed and vibrant dedication to the beneficial implications of positive FL emotions and attitudes, such as FL enjoyment (e.g., Dewaele & MacIntyre, 2014;Resnik & Schallmoser, 2019;Zheng & Zhou, 2022), self-efficacy (e.g., Goetze & Driver, 2022), and self-beliefs (e.g., Kyo, 2021;Mercer, 2011), and student and teacher well-being (e.g., Gregersen et al, 2023), further extending the scope of research on the emotional aspects of FL learning.…”