A validation of learner-external effects on foreign language enjoyment: A conjoint experiment approach

Abstract

The development of positive psychology in the field of second language acquisition has focused scholarly attention on what helps second language learners thrive and flourish, rather than focusing solely on what hinders their development. A key positive emotion developed within this movement is enjoyment. The present study introduced the conjoint experiment approach, which allows for estimating the causal effects of various factors simultaneously, to validate the influences of learner-external factors (i.e., teacher characteristics and behaviors, peer relations, and task orientation) on learners’ perceived second language classroom enjoyment. A representative sample of 519 Chinese university-level English learners, quota-matched to China’s target learner population in gender, grade level, and geographic region, evaluated systematically manipulated second language classroom profiles across 10 learner-external factors. The findings indicated that teachers’ joking, extroversion, and support mattered the most in determining learners’ preferences for second language classroom enjoyment. The orientation of classroom tasks, the cohesiveness of classmates, and the language used by the teacher also mattered, but to a lesser extent. Factors related to course content and teacher demographics had little to no effect. Interpretations of these cause-and-effect relations provide rich and profound insights into second language teaching and classroom management in the Chinese context.