Second language listening comprehension: The role of anxiety and enjoyment in listening metacognitive awareness

Abstract

Emotion in second language acquisition (SLA) has recently received greater attention because it is largely implicated in daily conversations, which may affect second or foreign language (L2) use including listening comprehension. Most research into emotion and L2 listening comprehension is focused exclusively on anxiety, with an attempt to reduce its negative effects on individuals’ listening performance. With the arrival of positive psychology in SLA, researchers began to take a holistic view of a wider range of emotions including enjoyment that language learners experience during their L2 communication. The current study explored the relationships among listening anxiety, enjoyment, listening comprehension performance, and listening metacognitive awareness among a group of 410 international students in a Canadian university. Correlational analyses showed that listening anxiety was negatively correlated with enjoyment. However, these two variables shared only 18% of their variance, indicating that listening anxiety and enjoyment are related but independent emotions. This study suggests that anxiety and enjoyment in L2 listening are not the opposite ends of the same emotional continuum, but each serves a different purpose. L2 learners should work to find intriguing and enjoyable experiences in language learning, rather than focusing merely on reducing anxiety.

The Development and Validation of the English Writing Enjoyment Scale

“…A series of factor analyses established a 9-item EWES that focused on the private aspects of language enjoyment; just as the subscale(s) of the FLES and its varying adaptations (e.g., Dewaele & MacIntyre, 2016; Saito et al, 2018; Jin & Zhang, 2019; 2021; Botes et al, 2021; Wang et al, 2021; Wang & MacIntyre, 2021) assess learners-related enjoyment. What is different with the EWES is that the items of the FLES and its adaptations target such sources of FL enjoyment as teachers, peers, and learning atmosphere, while the EWES items attend directly to learners’ reactions following their experience of FL writing, more closely resembling the ERES (Jin et al, 2022), the Second Language Writing Enjoyment Scale (Tahmouresi & Papi, 2021), and the Achievement Emotions Questionnaire (Pekrun et al, 2011).…”

“…To develop the EWES, I referred theoretically to Scherer’s (2000) component process model of emotion, resembling the development of the ERES (Jin et al, 2022) and the Achievement Emotions Questionnaire (Pekrun et al, 2011). Empirically, I based this scale on Chinese university students’ authentic experiences of English writing, rather than depending on any existing scale, as was done for the development and adaptations of the FLES (e.g., Dewaele & MacIntyre, 2016; Saito et al, 2018; Jin & Zhang, 2019; 2021; Botes et al, 2021; Wang & MacIntyre, 2021; Wang et al, 2021), and the Second Language Writing Enjoyment Scale (Tahmouresi & Papi, 2021). More specifically, I relied on a sample of 30 randomly chosen students (an extra student was excluded due to the lack of English writing enjoyment), since this sample size has been deemed adequate for scale construction (Creswell & Creswell, 2018; Kalkbrenner, 2021).…”

“…Empirical studies have shown that FL classroom enjoyment can lead to increased motivation (Fathi & Mohammaddokht, 2021), perseverance of effort (Khajavy & Aghaee, 2022), academic engagement (Guo, 2021; Wang, 2022), and language achievement (Jin & Zhang, 2021; Dewaele, 2022). Within the domain of skills-specific enjoyment, Wang and MacIntyre’s (2021) study indicated that FL listening enjoyment facilitated the use of listening strategies and reduced listening difficulties. Similarly, Tahmouresi and Papi (2021) found that FL writing enjoyment significantly positively predicted FL writing motivation, a variable underlying FL writing achievement, echoing other findings of the importance of writing enjoyment for first language writing performance (Collie et al, 2016; Zumbrunn et al, 2019).…”

“…In this study, I sought to develop an English Writing Enjoyment Scale (EWES) for Chinese university students. This work was based on the importance of writing enjoyment for second language writing achievement and performance, as suggested by specific theorizing about the roles of broadening and building positive emotions (MacIntyre & Gregersen, 2012; Fredrickson, 2013) and by recent empirical evidence that FL enjoyment in the classroom and/or in language listening and writing facilitate motivation, engagement, perseverance, and achievement in FL learning (Dewaele & Alfawzan, 2018; Saito et al, 2018; Fathi & Mohammaddokht, 2021; Tahmouresi & Papi, 2021; Wang & MacIntyre, 2021; Wang, 2022; Khajavy & Aghaee, 2022). I hoped to provide new perspectives on understanding the FL writing enjoyment construct, and to introduce a measurement instrument with potential for use in further research and curriculum planning.…”

Developing the Metacognitive Awareness of Grit Scale for a better understanding of learners of English as a foreign language

“…It is often defined as one's awareness and regulation of their own knowledge, experience, and emotions (Zhang andZhang, 2018, 2019;Rivers, 2021;Sun et al, 2021;Sun and Zhang, 2022). As an underlying psychological process that constantly coexists with our cognitive activities, it is also closely connected with other research realms, including educational and positive psychology (e.g., Stanton et al, 2021;Wang and MacIntyre, 2021). Applying metacognitive strategies while learning improves the learning experience and achievements (Stanton et al, 2021).…”