Understanding Chinese high school students' Foreign Language Enjoyment: Validation of the Chinese version of the Foreign Language Enjoyment scale. (August 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Li, Chengchen; Jiang, Guiying; Dewaele, Jean-Marc
• Is Part Of: System. Volume 76(2018)
• Page Start: 183
• Page End: 196
• Publication Date: 2018-08
• Subjects: Positive psychology -- Foreign language enjoyment -- Foreign language enjoyment scale -- Second language acquisition -- EFL learning; Language and languages -- Study and teaching -- Periodicals; Langage et langues -- Étude et enseignement -- Périodiques; Electronic journals; 407
• DOI: 10.1016/j.system.2018.06.004
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0346-251X

Abstract

Abstract: 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 1718 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.