Unraveling the dynamics of teacher-student relationships, emotions, and socioeconomic status in shaping subjective well-being among FL learners

• There is positive and direct link between teacher-student relationships and well-being in FL learners. • Enjoyment and boredom mediate the impact of teacher-student relationships on FL learners’ well-being. • ES influences how teacher-student relationships affect FL learners’ well-being. • The effect of TSR on reducing boredom and thereby improving well-being is more pronounced in high SES students. The direct association between teacher-student relationships and subjective well-being among foreign language (FL) learners has been validated. Nevertheless, the indirect pathways through which teacher-student relationships impact the subjective well-being of FL learners remain less understood. Drawing from control-value theory, this research examined the mediating role of emotions such as enjoyment and boredom in this relationship, and further investigated how socioeconomic status (SES) influences these mediating effects, guided by social capital theory. A total of 4,004 Chinese secondary school students from grades 7 to 9 ( M age = 13.47, SD = 0.62) participated in this study. Data were collected using self-reported questionnaires on teacher-student relationships, FL enjoyment, FL boredom, and subjective well-being. Mediation analysis revealed that the link between teacher-student relationships and subjective well-being was partially mediated via enjoyment and boredom in FL learning. Additionally, compared to low SES learners, the effect of teacher-student relationships on reducing boredom and thereby improving subjective well-being was more pronounced among high SES learners. These findings offer practical insights for enhancing FL teaching and learning, as well as for refining FL teacher education programs.