Adapting the L2 engagement scale for young language learners: Methodological considerations for age-appropriateness

This study aimed to adapt an L2 engagement scale—originally developed by Teravainen-Goff (2023) for secondary school students in the United Kingdom—for young language learners (YLLs) in the Japanese EFL context, with particular attention to age-appropriateness throughout the questionnaire adaptation process. The present study implemented a rigorous six-step process to adapt the scale for YLLs and assessed its validity and reliability. Three hundred ninety-nine elementary school students in a Japanese EFL context completed the adapted L2 engagement scale. The exploratory factor analysis identified four key factors of L2 engagement, including “perceived quality of engagement with peers,” “perceived quality of engagement with teachers,” “intensity of effort in learning,” and “perceived quality of engagement with teaching content.” The validity and reliability of the adapted L2 engagement scale were further confirmed through confirmatory factor analysis. This study provides a detailed account of the questionnaire adaptation process to ensure methodological rigor and transparency. Our findings not only contribute to a better understanding of YLLs’ engagement in EFL classrooms but also establish methodologically sound questionnaire-adaptation procedures for under-researched populations in the field of applied linguistics.