A qualitative inquiry into Chinese learners’ emotions in technology-enhanced L2 education

Abstract

The use of technology in second language (L2) education has long been supported in the literature. However, the emotional experiences of learners when integrating technology into L2 learning have received insufficient scholarly attention. To fill this gap, the present study took a qualitative approach to examine Chinese English as a foreign language (EFL) students’ perceptions about their technology-induced emotions and their impacts on learning English. A semi-structured interview was conducted with 38 EFL students. The results of thematic analysis showed a range of positive and negative emotions experienced by the students. In particular, ‘enjoyment’, ‘engagement’, and ‘excitement’ were the most frequent positive emotions, while ‘anxiety’, ‘stress’, and ‘fear’ were repeatedly mentioned by respondents as negative emotions. Furthermore, it was found that technology-induced emotions affected three areas of Chinese EFL students’ L2 learning, namely their attention, motivation, and classroom behaviors. The findings are discussed, and implications are suggested to EFL students, teachers, and teacher educators to expand their knowledge about the link between technology-based L2 education and learner emotionality.