Navigating Emotional Experiences in the EFL Classroom

The Role of Learners' Emotions in the Relationship Between Emotion Regulation Strategies and Communication Outcomes

Abstract

Emotion regulation strategies, which refer to the processes individuals use to influence their emotional experiences and expressions, have been widely studied in general education. However, their role in foreign language (FL) learning is still under-researched. This study investigates how cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression, two commonly applied strategies, influence English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners’ experiences of positive and negative emotions in EFL classes and their relationship to FL learning outcomes, specifically, their willingness to communicate (WTC) and their self-perceived communicative competence (SPCC). Data were collected from 234 Iranian EFL learners from private language schools. Using latent variable modelling, cognitive reappraisal was found to positively predict both WTC and SPCC, whereas expressive suppression negatively predicted SPCC and showed no significant direct association with WTC. Mediation analyses further revealed that foreign language enjoyment (FLE) positively mediated the relationships between both regulation strategies and SPCC, as well as between cognitive reappraisal and WTC, while foreign language anxiety (FLA) negatively mediated these relationships. In several cases, strong positive indirect effects via enjoyment counterbalanced or outweighed negative indirect effects via anxiety, highlighting the central role of positive emotions in shaping communicative outcomes. Overall, the findings emphasise the importance of emotion regulation processes in FL learning and suggest that fostering adaptive regulation strategies that enhance enjoyment may be particularly beneficial for learners’ communicative confidence.