Journal Screenshot

International Journal of Academic Research in Progressive Education and Development

Open Access Journal

ISSN: 2226-6348

With Emotions, We Learn: Understanding Emotions in Learning English as A Second Language (ESL)

Zulaikha Mohd Mokhtar, Muhammad Syawal Amran, Maryam Jamila Roslee

http://dx.doi.org/10.6007/IJARPED/v10-i3/9932

Open access

The English proficiency level of ESL learners will be affected by enrolling emotions in English language classes. The aim of this research is to analyse the dominant emotions in learning English as a Second Language (ESL) through reading and writing skills by focusing on three positive emotions (enjoyment, hope and pride) and three negative emotions (anxiety, shame and boredom). Thus, a quantitative research design was carried out by involving (n=120) pre-services teachers from a public university in Malaysia. The results revealed that the dominant positive emotions in learning English reading skill was pride while the dominant positive emotions in learning English writing skill was hope. Meanwhile, both skills shared the same emotion of anxiety as the dominant negative emotions. The findings of this study strongly supported the involvement of emotions in the ESL settings. Hence, ESL educators are encouraged to design and formulate an engaging learning environment that ignites more activating positive emotions than negative emotions in the educational settings which would result in better enhancement mainly in the context of ESL learning.

Atay, D., & Kurt., G. (2006). Prospective Teachers and L2 Writing Anxiety. Turkey: Marmara University, Istanbul.
Bojovic, M. (2010). Reading Skills and Reading Comprehension in English for Specific Purposes, Serbia: University of Kragujevac.
Brookes, G. (2010). Boredom in Writing Class, Journal of Teaching Writing, 145-160.
https://journals.iupui.edu/index.php/teachingwriting/article/view/1149/1109
Bruning, R., & Horn, C. (2000). Developing Motivation to Write. Educatioana Psychologist, 35 (1), 25-37.
Chang, L. (1994). A Psychometric Evaluation of 4-Point and 6-Point Likert-Type Scales in Relation to Reliability and Validity. University of Minnesota, Applied Psychological Measurement Inc.
Cyril, V. A. (2018). A Study on Emotional Maturity among High School Teachers, International Journal of Pedagogical Studies (IJPS) Vol: 6/Issue: 1
Damasio, A. (2007). We Feel, Therefore We Learn: The Relevance of Affective and Social Neuroscience to Education. Mind, Brain and Education, 1 (1), 3-10.
Decuir, J. T., & Schutz, P. A. (2010). Inquiry on Emotions in Education, Educational Psychologist, 37:2, 125-134.
Dewaele, J. M., & Maclntyre, P. D. (2014) Anxiety and Enjoyment in the Foreign Language Classroom. Studies in Second Language Teaching and Learning, 4(2), 237-274.
Driscoll, L., & Powell, R. (2016). States, Traits and Dispositions: The Impact of Emotion on Writing Development and Writing Transfer Across College Courses and Beyond. Composition Forum 34.
Etherington, M. (2019) Pride in Education: A Narrative Study of Five Finnish Schoolteachers, Canada: Trinity Western University.
Eynde, P., Corte, E., & Verschaffel, L. (2006). Accepting Emotional Complexity: A Socio- Constructivist Perspective on the Role of Emotions in the Mathematics Classroom. Educational Studies in Mathematics, 63(2), 193-207.
Fredrickson, B. L. (2000). Cultivating Positive Emotions to Optimize Health and Well-Being. Prevention and Treatment 3. Retrieved from http://www.rickhanson.net/wp- content/files/papers/CultPosEmot.pdf
Fredrickson, B. L. (2001). The Role of Positive Emotions in Positive Psychology: The Broaden-and-Build Theory of Positive Emotion. American Psychologist, 56, 218-226.
Fredrickson, B. L. (2003). The Value of Positive Emotions: The Emerging Science of Positive Psychology Looks into Why It’s good to Feel Good. American Scientist.
Fredrickson, B. L. (2004). The Broaden-and-Build Theory of Positive Emotions. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London Series B: Biological Sciences.
Fried, L. (2011). Teaching Teachers about Emotion Regulation in the Classroom, Australian Journal of Teacher Education.
Fujieda, Y. (2019). A Pilot Study of Emotions of Writing in L2: Unpacking the Felt Sense of an EFL Writer, Japan: Kyoai Gakuen University.
Fung, H., P. (2015). Which Likert scale should I prefer that of 1-4, 1-5 or 1-7? Retrieved at: https://www.researchgate.net/post/Which_Likert_scale_should_I_prefer_that_of_1-4_1-5_or_1-7/567cff0f6225ffe11e8b4586/citation/download.
Goetz, T., Frenzel, C. A., Hall, N. C., & Pekrun, R. (2008). Antecedents of Academic Emotions: Testing the Internal/External Frame of Reference Model for Academic Enjoyment. Contemporary Educational Psychology.
Greenspan, S., & Shanker, S. (2004). The First Idea: How Symbols, Language and Intelligence Evolved from Our Primate Ancestors to Modern Humans, Cambridge, MA: Da Capo Press.
Hargreaves, A. (2005). The Emotions of Teaching and Educational Change, Netherlands: Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto.
Atmowardoyo, H. (2018). Research Methods in TEFL Studies: Descriptive Research, Case Study, Error Analysis and R&D, Journal of Language Teaching and Research.
Ismail, N. M. (2015). EFL Saudi Students’ Class emotions and Their Contributions to Their English Achievement at Taif University, Saudi Arabia: International Journal of Psychological Studies.
Izard, C. E. (2001). Emotion Knowledge as A Predictor of Social Behaviour and Academic Competence in Children at Risk. Psychological Science.
Izard, C. E. (2007). Basic Emotions, Natural Kinds, Emotion Schemas and A New Paradigm. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 2, 206-280.
Izard, C. E. (2010). The Many Meanings/Aspects of Emotion: Definitions, Functions, Activation and Regulation. Emotion Review, 2(4), 363-370.
Jalongo, M., R., & Hirsh., R., A. (2010). Understanding Reading Anxiety: New Insights from Neuroscience, Springer Science & Business Media.
Kara., S. (2013). Writing Anxiety: A Case Study on Students’ Reasons for Anxiety in Writing Classes, Turkey: Anadolu University.
Knaller, S. (2017). Emotions and the Process of Writing: Writing Emotions, Faculty of Arts and Humanities, University of Graz.
Kong, Y. (2009). A Brief Discussion on Motivation and Ways to Motivate Students in English Language Learning, China: International Education Studies.
Lopez, M. G. M. (2011). The Motivational Properties of Emotions in Foreign Language Learning, Colombian Applied Linguistics Journal.
Lopez, M. G. M., & Anguilar, A. P. (2013). Emotions as Learning Enhancers of Foreign Language Learning Motivation. 15(1), 109-124.
Maclntyre, P., & Vincze, L. (2017). Positive and Negative Emotions Underlie Motivation For L2 Learning, Kalisz: Department of English Studies, Faculty of Pedagogy and Fine Arts, Adam Mickiewicz University.
Maclntyre, P., & Gregersen, T. (2012). Emotions that Facilitate Language Learning: The Positive-Broadening Power of the Imagination, Kalisz: Department of English Studies, Faculty of Pedagogy and Fine Arts, Adam Mickiewicz University.
Maidment, J., & Crisp, B. (2011). The Impact of Emotions on Practicum Learning, New Zealand: Social Work Education.
Malaysian Ministry of Education (2013). Malaysia Education Blueprint 2013-2025, Putrajaya: Kementerian Pelajaran Malaysia.
Maryam, M. (2012). The Role of Emotional Intelligence on English Learning as a Second
Language, Iran: Islamic Azad University.
Meng, E. A. (1996). Education in Malaysia 1: National Education Philosophy: Goal and Mission, Putrajaya, Malaysia: Curriculum Development Centre.
Muris, P., & Meesters, C. (2014). Small or Big in the Eyes of the Other: On the Developmental Psychopathology of Self-Conscious Emotions as Shame, Guilt and Pride. Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review.
Fitriana, N. (2011). The Use of Animation in Narrative Writing, Indonesia: University of Sebelas Maret.
Nezlek, J. B., & Kuppens, P. (2008). Regulating Positive and Negative Emotions in Daily Life. Williamsburg: College of William and Mary, Department of Psychology.
Pekrun, R. (2014). Emotions and Learning, Belgium: International Academy of Education (IAE) & Switzerland: International Bureau of Education (IBE).
Piniel, K., & Albert, A. (2018). Advanced Learners’ Foreign Language-Related Emotions Across the Four Skills, Budapest: Eotvos University.
Pishghadam, R. (2011). Introducing Applied ELT as a New Approach in Second/Foreign Language Studies, Iranian EFL Journal, 7(2), 8-14.
Reilly, P., & Rosas, J. S. (2019). The Achievement Emotions of English Language Learners in Mexico, Singapore: Centre of Language Studies, National University of Singapore.
Rienties, B., & Rivers, B. A. (2014). Measuring and Understanding Learner Emotions: Evidence and Prospects, Learning Analytics Community Exchange (LACE).
Robinson & Jenefer. (2010). Emotion and the Understanding of Narrative, in: Hagberg, Garry, L., Walter, Oxford, 71-92. Rome, D., I. (2014). The Bilingual Mind: What It Tells Us About Language and Thought. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
Ross, A. S., & Stracke, E. (2016). Learner Perceptions and Experiences of Pride in Second Language Education. Australia: Australian Review of Applied Linguistics.
Ross, A. S., & Rivers, D. J. (2018). Emotional Experiences Beyond the Classroom: Interactions with the Social World. Kalisz: Studies in Second Language Learning and Teaching.
Sadiku, M. L. C. (2015). The Importance of Four Skills Reading, Speaking, Writing, Listening in a Lesson Hour, Albania: European Journal of Language and Literature Studies.
Schutz, P. A., & Pekrun, R. (Eds.). (2007). Emotion in Education, San Diego, CA: Academic Press.
Sekaran, U., & Bougie, R. (2010). Research Methods for Business: A Skills Building Approach, Italy: Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data.
Sellers, V. (2000). Anxiety and Reading Comprehension in Spanish as a Foreign Language. Foreign Language Annals.
Stroud, C., & Wee, L. (2007). A Pedagogical Application of Liminalities in Social Positioning: Identity and Literacy in Singapore. TESOL Quarterly.
Thirusanku, J., & Yunus, M. M. (2017). Status of English in Malaysia, Malaysia: Canadian Center of Science and Education.
Tracy, J. L., & Robins, R. W. (2007). The Prototypical Pride Expression: Development of A Nonverbal Behavioural Coding System. Emotion, 7, 789-801.
Winkler, E. (2012). Learning Race, Learning Place: Shaping Racial Identities and Ideas in African American Childhood, London, England: Rutgers University Press.
Yaman, H. (2010). Writing Anxiety of Turkish Students: Scale Development and the Working Procedures in Terms of Various Variables. International Online Journal of Educational Sciences, 2 (1), 267-289.
Mohd. Zin, Z., & Rafik-Galea, S. (2010). Anxiety and Academic Reading Performance among Malay ESL Learners. Journal of PanPacific Association of Applied Linguistics, 14(2), 41-58.

In-Text Citation: (Mokhtar et al., 2021)
To Cite this Article: Mokhtar, Z. M., Amran, M. S., & Roslee, M. J. (2021). With Emotions, We Learn: Understanding Emotions in Learning English as A Second Language (ESL). International Journal of Academic Research in Progressive Education and Development, 10(3), 361–372.