Sharona Moskowitz

While the role of positive emotions and positive character traits in people's flourishing has been researched extensively in the context of foreign language (FL) learning and teaching, the role positive institutions play regarding teachers’ well‐being and their emotions experienced in the FL classroom has been largely neglected. With a Web survey, this study investigates the relationship between positive practices at work and well‐being among 263 Austrian FL teachers, as well as the effect these positive variables have on FL teaching enjoyment (FLTE) and FL teaching anxiety (FLTA). Latent modeling indicated that positive school leadership and positive practices in school, more generally, were both positive predictors of teachers’ well‐being. The dignity and respect, support, caring, and inspiration experienced between all employees had a stronger effect on teacher well‐being than school leadership though. Additionally, well‐being positively predicted FLTE, and it negatively predicted FLTA. Neither school leadership nor positive practices in school directly predicted teachers’ emotions in the FL class. Overall, this study shows that exploring teacher emotions holistically is just as important as research into learner emotions, and researching the interplay of the individual and institutional levels is particularly crucial to gain a nuanced understanding of the role of emotional contagion.

Learner autonomy is widely acknowledged as playing a crucial role in successful language learning. However, less is known about how it functions and interacts with other key variables specifically in online settings where its role may potentially be even more significant. This study investigates the role of learner autonomy in learners’ experience of positive and negative emotions, willingness to communicate (WTC), and their academic achievement in online English as a Foreign Language (EFL) classes at the secondary level. Data were collected from 490 learners in an Austrian vocational school during 29 online EFL lessons using a web survey. The data were analysed using structural equation modeling. The results revealed that the level of learner autonomy predicted both foreign language enjoyment (FLE) (positively) and foreign language classroom anxiety (FLCA) (negatively), as well as learners’ WTC and grades (positively). Both positive and negative emotions predicted learners’ academic achievement, but only FLCA negatively predicted WTC. A mediation analysis revealed that the relationship between learner autonomy and academic achievement is mediated by learner emotions, while its relationship with WTC is mediated by FLCA. Overall, the study demonstrates the value of learner autonomy in predicting language learning success, reflected in learners’ grades and their readiness to communicate in the FL language.

Previous research on the foreign language (FL) learner has yielded a rich body of knowledge on personality, individual differences, and conceptions of the self as a measure of motivation. While these contributions have greatly enriched our understanding of learner psychology, the current paper proposes an analytical framing of language learning based on relational theory, which positions human relationships with others as the main driver of the psyche and behavior. As human beings are relationally dependent from birth, according to this theory, the self can only be conceptualized in relation to others. Applied to language learning, this perspective shifts the focus from the attainment of knowledge as an individual, private endeavor, to a relational process in which students and teacher are interwoven perforce. As part of a larger study on student perceptions of teacher emotion, qualitative data were collected as case studies from eight adult learners and analyzed using qualitative content analysis. Results support the power of the teacher-student relationship to influence and motivate students both positively and negatively, affirming the notion of FL learning as a relational process in accordance with Gergen’s (2009) notion that relationships are not merely the self interacting with the other but a true confluence.

When COVID-19 was declared a pandemic, the education sector soon faced the unprecedented challenge of moving courses online within no time. The rapid implementation of emergency remote teaching (ERT) led to students and teachers alike being thrown into an emotional terra incognita. This paper sets out to explore if foreign language (LX) grit, learners’ passion and perseverance for LX learning, is a predictor of learners’ foreign language enjoyment (FLE) and their foreign language anxiety (FLCA) in LX classes taught remotely due to COVID-19. Additionally, the role of trait emotional intelligence (TEI) in mediating the connections between LX grit, FLE, and FLCA is investigated. With a web survey, data were collected from 481 English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners in Europe. Regression analyses indicated that LX grit was a reliable predictor of FLE and TEI. TEI functioned as a partial mediator in the model, explaining a significant proportion of variance (14.3%) in FLE scores. Thus, grittier students, who were also more emotionally intelligent, reported enjoying their English classes more. LX grit was also shown to be a reliable predictor of FLCA. In this case, TEI functioned as a full mediator in the model, explaining 22.5% of the variance in FCLA scores. Therefore, lower TEI scores were linked to higher levels of FLCA. Less gritty EFL learners scored lower on TEI, which consequently determined higher levels of FLCA. Data from two open-ended questions revealed that particularly enjoyable or anxiety-provoking episodes during ERT were similar among all learners. While positive group dynamics, teachers’ forgiving nature and easy-going disposition, humor as well as the innovative use of technology were mentioned as common factors boosting their FLE, speaking in front of strangers, overwhelming workload and technology-related aspects were frequently mentioned sources of anxiety.

The aim of this study is to examine how students perceive teacher trait emotional intelligence (TEI) and how those perceptions relate to students’ own self-reported attitudes and motivation. Adult students of ESL/EFL were given an online questionnaire consisting of two parts: one to provide observer-reported data on their teacher’s trait emotional intelligence and the second to measure students’ own attitudes and motivation. In total, 129 participants of 28 nationalities took part. The results showed that the perceived teacher TEI domains of teacher sociability and teacher self-control were significant predictors of student positive feelings and attitudes towards the teacher. With this paper, we make the case that observer reports of teacher TEI by students could be a valuable tool in L2 instruction by offering teachers unique insight into their own classroom behavior, thereby increasing teacher self-awareness which could lead to improved classroom practices.

There remains a dearth of research on the effects of student perception of teacher happiness and the ramifications of those perceptions on student feelings and attitudes. Using an online questionnaire, data were collected from 129 adult students of ESL/EFL across the world who were enrolled in formal English classes of intermediate to advanced level proficiency. Participants were asked about their perception of various aspects of their teachers’ happiness, and about their own attitudes and motivation to learn English. Statistical analyses revealed that student perception of teacher happiness was significantly (and positively) linked with students’ Overall attitude and motivation, as well as students’ Attitude towards the teacher. This is interpreted as an illustration of the process of positive emotional contagion between teachers and students. Pedagogical implications of the results are discussed.