From emotional safety to agentic engagement: implementing Mentimeter in undergraduate TESOL courses

Purpose This study aims to explore how Mentimeter, a student response system (SRS), fosters agentic and emotional engagement in undergraduate TESOL courses at an English-medium instruction (EMI) university in China. It addresses specific challenges related to student passivity and language anxiety to bridge the theory–practice gap in teacher education. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected from 47 undergraduate students via pre- and post-intervention surveys and analyzed using paired-samples t-tests to measure changes in engagement. To explain quantitative trends, focus group discussions (n = 12) were conducted and analyzed thematically, providing deeper insights into student perceptions of specific interactive features. Findings Quantitative results revealed a statistically significant increase in agentic engagement, while emotional engagement showed slight, non-significant improvement. Qualitative findings revealed four themes: creating a safe environment, acknowledging individual agency, enhancing interaction and participation and promoting cognitive depth. These themes suggest a pedagogical progression: Mentimeter’s anonymity first fosters psychological safety, serving as a necessary foundation for students to subsequently exercise agency and engage in deeper cognitive learning. Practical implications Educators should integrate SRS tools strategically, beginning with low-stakes, anonymous activities (e.g. quiz games, word clouds) to establish emotional safety before scaffolding toward cognitively demanding tasks (e.g. open-ended critiques or reflections). This staged progression from foundational conditions to active engagement to cognitive outcomes provides a practical framework for sequencing technology-enhanced activities in contexts characterized by language anxiety or student passivity. Originality/value This research contributes a nuanced understanding of technology-enhanced learning in EMI contexts by distinguishing between emotional and agentic dimensions. It proposes a staged engagement framework arguing that SRS tools are essential for reducing language anxiety and establishing the psychological safety required for developing learner agency and critical thinking.