The impact of social inequality on socio-emotional language learning: a comparative study of academic and vocational high school students in Türkiye

Purpose This study examines and compares the socio-emotional language learning profiles of students attending academic and vocational high schools in Türkiye. It focuses on how social inequality shapes these skills. It also explores how educational context and socio-cultural background contribute to differences in students' socio-emotional competencies in foreign language learning. Design/methodology/approach A cross-sectional quantitative design was employed for this study. The Social Emotional Foreign Language Learning Scale (SEFLLS) was administered to 182 volunteer students from one academic and one vocational public high school. The selection was through convenience sampling. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and independent samples t-tests to compare socio-emotional language learning skills across school types. Findings Vocational high school students showed significantly lower socio-emotional language learning skills than their academic peers. This reflects the influence of disadvantaged socio-cultural environments. Interpreted through the lens of the Matthew Effect—the cumulative advantage of educational privilege—these findings indicate that social inequality is reproduced through school type and extends into language learning. However, no significant difference was found in the sub-dimension of social relations. This suggests that heavier academic workloads do not necessarily hinder students' social competencies. Originality/value This study uniquely connects socio-emotional aspects of foreign language learning with structural educational inequalities in Türkiye. By applying the Matthew Effect framework, it extends the discussion of inequality beyond academic achievement to emotional and social domains of language education and underscores the need for equitable resources and teacher training that support socio-emotional development among vocational students.