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In a dynamic system, time-dependent links "between" affective factors can provide more information than the level of response "within" a single isolated system. In the present study, influenced by the positive psychology movement and the complex dynamic systems theory in the domain of second language acquisition, first, we dealt with change in terms of short-term dynamics and long-term trajectories of foreign language enjoyment (FLE), foreign language boredom (FLB), and foreign language playfulness (FLP) in a sample of 636 learners of English as a foreign language (EFL) using univariant latent change score (LCS) models. Then, we explored the developmental processes involved in how changes in FLE and FLP were associated with changes in FLB. In particular, we tested mediation models to see whether the growth of FLP acts as a mediator between FLE and FLB changes in a multivariant LCS mediation (LCSM) model. The findings showed that (a) in a multivariant LCS model, FLE and FLP increases independently predicted decreases in FLB over time and (b) the growth of FLP acted as a mediator between variation in FLE and FLB. Participants showed interindividual and intraindividual divergences in their L2 emotions, not just on the first time of measurement, but also in short-term dynamics and long-term trajectories. The findings facilitate understanding of the complicated mechanism of variation in L2 emotions, thus potentially contributing to enhancement of pedagogical practices and learning outcomes.

The present study employed an interpretive approach to investigate individual learners' viewpoints on foreign language learning boredom (FLLB). To this aim, a Q method, which shares features of both qualitative and quantitative research approaches, was used to explore 37 Iranian English as a foreign language (EFL) learners' perceptions of potential sources of boredom in the classroom. Nonprobability purposeful sampling was used to select participants from two private language institutes in Mashhad, Iran. A hybrid-type Q sampling was employed to produce 40 statements related to the sources of FLLB. Using PQ Method, an exclusive statistical package for Q methodology, the Q sorts were intercorrelated and factor-analyzed. Three factors were extracted and rotated using varimax rotation and hand adjustment. Factor arrays and qualitative analyses were utilized to find and interpret three different accounts of FLLB. The three factors showed that the students held three divergent prototypical points of view about the sources of boredom experienced in EFL learning in class: (a) teacher-induced boredom, (b) student-induced boredom, and (c) activity-induced boredom. The findings also showed that different learner prototypes experience FLLB distinctly. Thus teachers should consider using different strategies to prevent or reduce this negative emotion in the context of L2 learning since otherwise this process could be impeded.

Although recent years have seen a growing interest in positive emotions in second or foreign language learning and teaching, negative emotions are always present in the classroom and they deserve to be investigated in their own right. The article focuses on boredom, a construct that has been explored in educational psychology but has received only scant attention from second language acquisition researchers. It reports a study which examined the changes in the levels of boredom experienced by 13 English majors in four EFL classes and the factors accounting for such changes. Using data obtained from a few different sources (i.e., boredom grids, narratives, interviews, class evaluations and lesson plans), it was found that although boredom can be attributed to different constellations of factors, it was mainly traced to repetitiveness, monotony and predictability of what transpired during a particular class.

The foreign and second language (L2) learning process is shaped by a constellation of individual difference (ID) factors, some of which (e.g., age, anxiety, motivation, aptitude, learning styles, language learning strategies) have long been investigated by specialists, whereas others have only recently attracted their attention. One of such underexplored variables is grit, usually referred to as a personality trait predictive of success and supportive of various important skills including, among others, cooperation and creative thinking. Given the vital role that this ID factor might play in the L2 classroom, the present paper reports a mixed-methods study which addressed the following issues: (1) the level of grit experienced by 99 Polish university BA students majoring in English, (2) the differences in this respect between 1st-, 2nd- and 3rd-year students, and (3) possible manifestations and dynamics of grit in learning English as a foreign language (EFL). Grit was measured using the Polish version of Teimouri et al.'s (2020) language-specific grit scale and a semi-structured interview. One-way ANOVA was employed to quantitatively compare the means of the respondents enrolled in different levels of a BA program, whereas a four-stage procedure (Dörnyei, 2007) was adopted to analyze the qualitative data. The results demonstrated a relatively high level of grit among all the respondents and statistically significant differences for one of its components, that is, consistency of interest in learning the target language between 1st- and 2nd- as well as 1st- and 3rd-year students. This particular subconstruct of grit was found to be mediated by such factors as learning styles and strategies, emotions, weariness or personality. In addition, grit was shown to be linked to participants' identification of their L2 learning weaknesses and the ability to eliminate them.

Despite a growing focus on positive psychology in recent years, negative emotions have not ceased to play a crucial role in learning additional languages in the classroom. This paper reports a study that investigated one such negative emotion -- boredom -- as experienced by 115 advanced learners of English. They were asked to write a descriptive paragraph about boredom that they experienced during English classes. Qualitative analysis resulted in the identification of five broad categories of factors responsible for student boredom -- namely, language tasks, the teacher, modes of class organization, class components and others. On that basis, some boredom-coping solutions are offered.

The paper presents the results of a quasi-experimental study which was conducted with a view to determining the effect of an intervention in the form of the application of teacher-designed Internet-based resources (i.e., websites, podcasts, movie clips) that students could use autonomously on the development of pronunciation of the English regular past tense "-ed" ending. The sample consisted of 45 Polish secondary school learners. Participants were divided into three groups, two treatment and one control. The intervention spanned two weeks. The lessons in treatment group 1 were conducted by means of online resources and those in treatment group 2 were carried out in a traditional way (i.e., without autonomous recourse to computer-assisted pronunciation teaching). The students in the control group did not receive any instruction related to the pronunciation feature in question over that time. The data were gathered by means of perception and production tests administered before (pretest) and after (immediate and delayed posttests) the treatment, and subjected to quantitative analysis. The results, supported by the participants' evaluation of the two types of pedagogic intervention, indicate that although the effects of the experimental treatments proved to be comparable, the use of online resources produced more durable gains and was more favorably evaluated by learners. This provides a rationale for using computer technology as a tool for enhancing traditional teaching of English pronunciation in secondary school.

Although boredom can be regarded as a ubiquitous emotion in most educational settings, including foreign and second language classrooms, and this condition can have a detrimental effect on the process of learning, it has to a large extent escaped the attention of second language acquisition researchers dealing with individual learner differences. The study reported in this article sought to fill this gap by investigating the trajectories of boredom exhibited in a practical English class by 11 Polish university students majoring in English. The data were collected by means of a background questionnaire, the Boredom in Practical English Language Classes Questionnaire (BPELC), and an in-class boredom questionnaire, including a self-report boredom grid, an open-ended query and an evaluation of the class based on a semantic differential scale. It was found that general proneness to experience boredom in practical English classes translated into distinct patterns of boredom in the class in question. At the same time, it turned out that the individual trajectories in experiencing boredom often deviated from the general patterns, being shaped by unpredictable constellations of individual and contextual factors.

The concept of boredom has recently attracted the attention of researchers in L2 education. As most of the available literature has focused on traditional, in-person classes, very little is known about how L2 students experience this aversive emotion in online classes, especially those prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic. To fill this gap, this large-scale, qualitative study surveys the opinion of 240 demographically versatile English major students from twenty-five universities in Iran to identify the activity types that are more likely to induce boredom in online classes. Thematic analysis of data, collected through open-ended questionnaires and semi-structured interviews and analysed through MAXQDA software, revealed ten different activity types which were boredom-inducing due to their non-engaging or cognitively (un)demanding nature. The findings are then discussed in light of relevant theories of boredom, and suggestions are given for making these activities less boring in online classes.

The first part of the paper offers the characteristics of the affective variables of willingness to communicate, motivation, language anxiety and boredom as located within the framework of the complex dynamic systems. The second part aims to discuss the results of a study intended to examine the effect of "Second Life" on two English philology students' changes in the levels of willingness to communicate, motivation, language anxiety and boredom. The data collected via session logs underwent both quantitative and qualitative analysis. The results indicated changes in the levels of the variables in question both during single visits and from one visit to another. These changes in the constructs in question were affected by a number of positive (e.g. interesting topics, the possibility to discuss common interests, comprehending the output produced by interlocutors) and negative (e.g. unpleasant SL users, monotony, no willing to talk SL users, previous negative experience) factors.

The paper presents the results of a study that aimed to investigate fluctuations in the levels of boredom in the virtual world of "Second Life" (SL) and factors accounting for such changes as reported by a single student of English philology. The participant took part in 15 sessions over the period of one summer semester. The learner was free to explore the virtual world in question, and she self-directed her own learning there. Using data collected by means of a set of research instruments (i.e., a background questionnaire, the Learning Style Survey, a session log, and a semi-structured interview), the study found that the student's experience of boredom was subject to some changes both in single sessions and from one visit to another. These fluctuations in boredom levels were affected by such factors as meeting the same interlocutors, scarcity of conversation topics, monotonous conversations, group chats or visits that the student perceived as not being beneficial for her language development.

The paper discusses the results of a study which explored advanced learners of English engagement with their mobile devices to develop learning experiences that meet their needs and goals as foreign language learners. The data were collected from 20 students by means of a semi-structured interview. The gathered data were subjected to qualitative and quantitative analysis. The results of the study demonstrated that, on the one hand, some subjects manifested heightened awareness relating to the advantageous role of mobile devices in their learning endeavors, their ability to reach for suitable tools and retrieve necessary information so as to achieve their goals, meet their needs and adjust their learning of English to their personal learning styles, and on the other, a rather intuitive and/or ad hoc use of their mobile devices in the classroom.

The purpose of this study was to investigate prospective teachers' experiences in utilizing "Second Life" for learning English, differentiating between personal use of the said virtual world for learning the English language and its potential use for teaching English in the future. The results showed that the students perceived the use of "Second Life" to be beneficial for communication in English and they regarded it as a great source of the target language vocabulary. They also found it useful in practicing writing skills and learning new words and phrases. The use of the said world allowed the students to point out some disadvantages. Among other things, they included the incorrect use of English by some "Second Life" users, problems with finding people to talk with and rude behavior. In addition, the study participants did not regard "Second Life" as useful in developing oral skills or grammar. Finally, the findings revealed the prospective teachers' willingness to use "Second Life" for teaching speaking and writing skills as well as the target language vocabulary. A selection of the students' proposals of language activities to be used in a virtual world is also offered.

Although boredom has been the subject of increasing scrutiny in second language (L2) learning recently, very little is known about how this emotion can affect teachers and students involved in Covid-19 prompted online English education. To address this gap, through maximum variation sampling, this qualitative study surveyed the opinions of 34 teachers and 256 students from universities across Iran to find out which class mode (online versus physical classes) and course type (content-based versus skills-based courses) were more boring, and what – if any – coping strategies these individuals used to get over boredom. The majority of teachers and students deemed online classes more boring than traditional, in-person classes. While teachers regarded skills-based and content-based courses as equally boring, most students believed that content-based online courses were more boredom-inducing due to their lecture-type nature. Moreover, whereas the teachers had a variety of useful coping strategies in their toolbox, an alarming number of students reported either not knowing how to deal with boredom or resorting to debilitative strategies, such as playing games or leaving class altogether when boredom reached an unbearable level. The findings are discussed in light of existing evidence from boredom and personality research, and practical suggestions are made. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT The integration of artificial intelligence (AI) in L2 teaching and learning is poised to revolutionise educational practices by enhancing both instructional methods and language development for L2 learners. This study employed a mixed‐methods design to comprehensively examine the impact of AI tools, machine translation systems, and traditional approaches on students' translation accuracy, emotions, and motivation. A total of forty‐nine undergraduate English majors were divided into three groups: the AI Group (AIG; N = 16) using AI tools, the machine translation group (MTG; N = 20) using machine translation tools, and the traditional group (TG; N = 13) using manual methods. Participants completed four translation tasks with varying levels of linguistic complexity, and their performance was evaluated using quantitative metrics such as meaning retention, grammatical correctness, fluency, and naturalness. Additionally, semi‐structured interviews were conducted to gather qualitative insights into participants' emotional and motivational experiences. Quantitative data analysis included the Kruskal‐Wallis test to assess differences amongst the groups, revealing that AIG students achieved the highest translation accuracy. Qualitative thematic analysis of the interview data indicated that emotions such as curiosity, anxiety, and excitement were prevalent across all groups. While AI tools fostered motivation in the AIG and MTG, some participants expressed concerns about over‐reliance on technology leading to reduced engagement. These findings highlight AI's dual role in enhancing translation accuracy and shaping the emotional and motivational dynamics of L2 learners, suggesting that its integration should be balanced with traditional methods to optimise learning outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

According to Ellis (2008), motivation has received a lot of interest in language learning. It is unfortunate, however, that little attention has been paid to the dynamic nature of the construct, particularly changes in motivation within single classes and series of lessons. The study whose results are reported in this paper aims at investigating the dynamic character of foreign language motivation both within single lessons and sequences of classes over the period of several months. The participants were 52 senior high school learners. The study encompassed 121 naturally occurring English lessons. The data were gathered by means of a background questionnaire, motivational grids, observations and teacher's notes as well as individual interviews and lesson plans. The data were analyzed both quantitatively and qualitatively. The results of the study demonstrate that language learning motivation changes not only during a single class but also from one lesson to the next. Factors responsible for such variations included lessons, learners and school.

The article presents the results of a study whose main aim was to investigate the changes in motivation, language anxiety and boredom in learning English in "Second Life." The sample consisted of 16 second year students of English philology. The study was conducted over the period of a summer semester. During that time the participants of the study were asked to use "Second Life" and practice English there in their own time. The data were obtained by means of a background questionnaire and session logs and subjected to quantitative and qualitative analysis. The results show that the students declared quite high level of motivation to learn English in Second Life, low level of anxiety and relatively low level of boredom. In addition, the findings of the study revealed that both the reported motivation as well as the experience of boredom fluctuated over time. In contrast, the levels of foreign language anxiety declared by the subjects remained almost unchanged. Possible causes of such fluctuations are offered. [Note: The attached content shows an incorrect citation. This article was published in v24 n1 Mar 2016.]

Boredom is one of the most pervasive and unpleasant emotions in school settings, yet it still remains a neglected and underappreciated research area (Daschmann, Goetz, and Stupnisky, 2011. "Testing the predictors of boredom at school: Development and validation of the precursors to boredom scales." "British Journal of Educational Psychology" 81: 421-440), especially in relation to the language classroom. The present study set out to fill this gap by investigating the role of boredom in the process of learning a foreign language (L2) approached from the perspective of three advanced students' individual trajectories of this experience, using data from self-ratings. They were collected by means of the Boredom in Practical English Language Classes Questionnaire (Kruk, and Zawodniak, 2017. "Nuda a praktyczna nauka jezyka angielskiego [Boredom in Practical English Language Classes]." "Neofilolog" 49 (1): 115-131) and an in-class boredom questionnaire, encompassing a self-reported boredom grid, a semantic differential scale-based evaluation of classes and a description of experienced boredom. A combination of quantitative and qualitative analysis revealed the patterns of boredom manifested by the participants, the connection between general boredom proneness and individual trajectories, as well as factors likely to influence fluctuations in the experience of boredom.

The present paper presents the results of a study which examined the changes in the levels of willingness to communicate (WTC) in the virtual world of "Second Life" (SL) reported by a single student of English philology in 19 sessions spanning the period of one semester, and the factors accounting for such fluctuations. Using data gathered by means of a set of collection instruments (i.e. a background questionnaire, Learning Styles Survey, a session log and a semi-structured interview), the study found that the student's WTC underwent some changes both during her visits to SL and from one session to the next. These ups and downs in WTC levels were affected by a host of positive (e.g. friendly and willing to talk interlocutors, interesting topics, the shielding effect of avatar, confidence in using English) and negative (e.g. the lack of SL users willing to talk, the experience of boredom, group conversations) factors.

The present paper presents the results of a study which examined fluctuations in the levels of foreign language anxiety (FLA) in the virtual world Second Life (SL) and factors accounting for such changes as reported by a female student of English philology. The student participated in 14 sessions over the period of one semester. Using data gathered by means of a set of collection instruments, the study found that the participant's FLA was subject to some changes both during her visits to SL and from one session to the next. These ups and downs in FLA levels were affected by a host of negative (e.g. conversations with strangers, the lack of sufficient language, negative experience) and positive (e.g. conversations with familiar interlocutors, interesting topics, language progress) factors.