Based on the self-determination theory, the current study took a multilevel structural equation modeling approach to explore the relations between teacher–student relationship quality (TSRQ), students’ emotional engagement in English as a foreign language (EFL) lessons and writing performance. Furthermore, gender and socioeconomic status (SES) differences were examined in relation to the three constructs. The sample comprised of 952 students from 67 French secondary schools. The results indicated that TSRQ was positively related to students’ emotional engagement at both the student and school levels, although the link between TSRQ and students’ writing performance was non-significant at both levels. The positive association between emotional engagement in EFL lessons and writing performance was significant at the student level but non-significant at the school level. In addition, female students were more likely to perform better in writing than their male counterparts. The positive associations between SES and writing performance were significant at both the student and school levels.
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