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Cited by 156EFL/ESL Teaching and LearningEmotional Intelligence and PerformanceSocial Skills and Education

Trait emotional intelligence and classroom emotions: A positive psychology investigation and intervention among Chinese EFL learners

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Li, Chengchen, Xu, Jinfen·2019·Frontiers in Psychology
DOI 10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02453PMC PMC6834770
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Abstract

The link between emotional intelligence (EI) and negative emotions, especially anxiety, has been investigated in different educational contexts including second/foreign language (L2) learning contexts. However, the link between EI and positive emotions remains underexplored, despite the growing interest of second language acquisition (SLA) researchers in positive emotions, motivated by the Positive Psychology (PP) movement. Grounded on PP theories, a correlational and experimental investigation was conducted on EI and two typical L2 classroom emotions, namely Foreign Language Enjoyment (FLE) and Foreign Language Anxiety (FLA). For the correlational study, questionnaires were administered to 1,718 English learners from three high schools in China. Statistical results showed medium correlations among students' EI, FLE, and FLA. In the intervention study, a pre-test, treatment and post-test design was adopted. A six-week PP-based EI intervention ("ARGUER" training model in class and the "three activities" of PP in diary) was conducted in the experiment class of 56 students, while not in the control class of 52 students. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with five students in the experimental class and their English teacher. ANCOVA test results and qualitative findings indicated that the EI intervention was effective in improving EI, boosting more positive classroom emotions and alleviating negative classroom emotions. The findings in both the correlational and intervention studies are discussed in combination with previous studies. We also further address their theoretical and practical implications for L2 education.

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  • Little research has been conducted on how positive psychology variables can be integrated into L2 education programs to enhance the thinking and functioning of language teachers and students.

    “Fifth, little research (Li and Xu, 2019) has been conducted on how the mentioned positive psychology variables can be integrated into L2 education programs with the aim of enhancing the thinking and functioning of key stakeholders, namely language teachers, and students.”

    From Researching and Practicing Positive Psychology in Second/Foreign Language Learning and Teaching: The Past, Current Status and Future Directions (2021) · cites this paper as Li and Xu, 2019

    The Literature Review section “EI Interventions Within Positive Psychology” (page not provided) says that PP-based emotional-intelligence interventions in second-language education remain at a starting stage, and discusses their relevance to learners and teachers. It does not establish that little research exists on integrating positive-psychology variables generally into L2 programs to enhance both groups’ thinking and functioning. (LLM, conf=0.85)

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Cited by

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Authors
Li, C., & Xu, J.
Affiliations
  • Xiamen University (CN)
  • Huazhong University of Science and Technology (CN)
Corresponding author
Xu, Jinfen
ORCID
Venue
Frontiers in Psychology
Publisher
Frontiers Media SA
Published
2019-10-31
Volume
10
Pages
2453-2453
ISSN
1664-1078 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02453
PMC
PMC6834770
OpenAlex
W2982355547
Cited by
156
References
22
Citations by year
2026: 18 · 2025: 33 · 2024: 22 · 2023: 23 · 2022: 31 · 2021: 19 · 2020: 10
FWCI
70.88
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Frontiers in Psychology (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
Funders
  • China Scholarship Council (201706310092)
  • Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (2019kfyXJJS150)
  • National Social Science Fund of China (19CYY017)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › Language and Linguistics › EFL/ESL Teaching and Learning
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Emotional Intelligence and Performance
  • Social Sciences › Education › Social Skills and Education
Keywords
trait emotional intelligence, emotions in the classroom, positive emotions, foreign language enjoyment, foreign language anxiety, positive psychology interventions, EFL learners, second language anxiety, emotion diary, Chinese high school students

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