Effect of instructor’s enthusiasm perceived by college student English learners on enjoyment, boredom, and learning engagement

This study aimed to achieve two primary objectives: first, to examine the relationships among teacher enthusiasm, academic emotions (enjoyment and boredom), and learning participation; and second, to explore whether academic emotions (enjoyment and boredom) mediate the relationship between teacher enthusiasm and learning participation. To address these objectives, survey data were collected from 316 university students enrolled in face-to-face English liberal arts courses at four-year universities in Seoul. The data were analyzed using a structural equation model to examine the relationships among students’ perceptions of teacher enthusiasm, their academic emotions (enjoyment and boredom), and their learning participation. Gender and self-reported English proficiency were controlled as covariates. The results revealed that teacher enthusiasm had a direct effect on learners’ enjoyment and boredom, while students’ academic emotions directly influenced their learning participation. However, the direct effect of teacher enthusiasm on learning participation was not statistically significant. Academic emotions (enjoyment and boredom) were found to mediate the relationship between teacher enthusiasm and learning participation. These findings highlight the significance of academic emotions as mediators in the relationship between teacher enthusiasm and student engagement. The academic and educational implications, as well as the study’s limitations, are further discussed.