EFL learners’ learning involvement and emotions in the integration of technology in their classrooms

Yang  Lin; Lei Yang; Anna Lia Proietti Ergün

Authors

Yang Lin Inner Mongolia University
Lei Yang Inner Mongolia University (Corresponding author)
Anna Lia Proietti Ergün Yıldız Technical University

Keywords:

learning engagement, technology integration, learners’ emotions, positive psychology, technology-integrated environment

Agencies: The current study is sponsored by The 14th Five-Year Plan of Educational Scientific Research in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region (Grant No.: NGJGH2024463) and The Reform Project of Postgraduate Education and Teaching in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region (Grant No.: JG2025002C).

Abstract

It is generally believed that technology infrastructures and teachers’ and learners’ technology literacy are the main prerequisites for conducting a technology-integrated learning environment. However, empirical evidence in the literature demonstrated that language learners might pursue emotive reliefs in their technology-integrated education environments to assuage undesirable feelings. Therefore, the current study investigated the relationship between the integration of technology in English as a foreign language (EFL) learners’ classrooms, engagement, and emotions. Drawing upon positive psychology, the specified hypotheses were tested by means of administrating three questionnaires among 1041 EFL learners in Chinese Universities. The results of the study proposed that about 70 percent of changes in the EFL learners’ perceptions of technology integration can be projected by their engagement and emotions. Furthermore, in contrast to the prior studies, the association between emotions and learners’ perceptions of technology integration was higher in this research. The discoveries highlighted the requirement for a better understanding of the system and that students’ engagement and their emotions influence their perceptions of technology integration positively. Lastly, relevant implications for language education are discussed.

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Author Biographies

Yang Lin, Inner Mongolia University

Associate Professor in applied linguistics at the Foreign Languages College, Inner Mongolia University, China. She has published many papers on English teaching and translation. Currently, she is focusing her attention on the interface between positive psychology and EFL teaching and learning research as well as translation studies.

Lei Yang, Inner Mongolia University (Corresponding author)

Lecturer in applied linguistics and a Ph.D. degree holder. He works at Foreign Languages College, Inner Mongolia University, China. He serves as a peer reviewer for several accredited international journals in the field of EFL education. So far, his academic publications have appeared in top-tier journals such as Computers in Human Behavior, Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, Innovation in Language Learning and Teaching, The Asia-Pacific Education Researcher, Porta Linguarum, etc.

Anna Lia Proietti Ergün, Yıldız Technical University

Associate Professor of Applied Linguistics at Department of Western Languages and Literatures, Yıldız Technical University, Istanbul, Turkey.

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FUNDING INFORMATION:

The current study is sponsored by The 14th Five-Year Plan of Educational Scientific Research in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region (Grant No.: NGJGH2024463) and The Reform Project of Postgraduate Education and Teaching in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region (Grant No.: JG2025002C).