Exploring the components of EAP learners’ emotional engagement and their relationship with language achievements

This study has explored emotional engagement among learners who learned English for Academic Purposes (EAP) in the context of a key provincial university in China. The objective of this study is to investigate the components of emotional engagement and their relationship with learners’ language achievement. The significance of the current study accentuates the multifaced nature of emotional engagement in specific contexts. A total of 399 non-English major undergraduates responded in an adapted version of emotional engagement scale. Both an exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis were conducted to identify specific components of learners’ emotional engagement. The findings have showed five components of EAP learners’ emotional engagement: enthusiasm for academic English, appreciation for teachers, satisfaction with school environment, positive feelings with peers and aversion to learning academic English. Learners’ language achievement was found significantly related to aversion to learning academic English, while there was no significant relationship between learners’ language achievement and enthusiasm for academic English, appreciation for teachers, satisfaction with school environment, and positive feelings with peers. The research findings generate important insights for teachers and researchers on the connection of different facets of learners’ emotional engagement with their language achievements, and pedagogical implications have also been suggested.