Fun facts--facts that are interesting, unusual, and often little-known--are a popular form of entertainment throughout the world. There are countless books, TV quiz shows (Jeopardy!), board games (Trivial Pursuit), and museums (Ripley's Believe It or Not!) dedicated to trivia and the unusual that fascinate people of all ages. Short oral…

Taking the L2 Motivational Self System (L2MSS) model as its theoretical basis, this study aimed to extend knowledge of the learning motivation of Korean language learners. A survey questionnaire was administered to 967 Korean language learners at 28 universities in China to investigate their motivation for learning the Korean language and the…

Motivation is repeatedly found to be a determining factor for achievement in language acquisition at school. Decades of Self-determination theory (SDT) research has shown that students exhibit higher levels of engagement and positive learning behaviours when their basic psychological needs of competence, autonomy and relatedness are satisfied,…

Anxiety is widely recognized as a significant affective factor that influences second language (L2) writing proficiency. However, its specific contributions to writing motivation and engagement, and how it interrelates with these constructs, are not clearly defined. To address this research void, this study explored the role of anxiety in the…

Research indicates that high-immersion virtual reality (VR) has several unique affordances for language learning that contribute to learning outcomes, such as boosting learners' confidence, engagement, and motivation. However, little is known about the extent to which VR promotes language skills, in particular learners' verbal interaction using a…

This systematic review synthesizes evidence on the impact of integrating Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and the flipped classroom model (FCM) on student motivation, engagement, and English language proficiency. Relevant studies from 2015 to 2023 were identified through electronic databases. Eligible studies examined the integration…

Purpose: This study investigates the effect of digital multimodal composing (DMC) on student motivation and literacy in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) contexts. It explores how students engaged in creating digital animations to respond to literary texts and the implications for integrating DMC into traditional literacy practices. Grounded in…

With roots in social psychology, second language (L2) motivation has largely been investigated using self-report techniques. Studies drawing on observational data gathered in contexts where learning takes place are rare, and understandings of how motivation evolves in classroom interactions remain limited (Boo, Dörnyei, & Ryan, 2015). In a…

In the contemporary digital era, the utilization of gaming has emerged as a prevalent method for actively engaging students in the learning processes at various levels of academic curricula and within the broader educational community. This trend is particularly pronounced in English language teaching curricula, especially among learners whose…

The interactions among cognitive, affective, and linguistic factors have received scant attention in task-based writing research. To address this gap, this study aims to examine the relationships among task complexity, task motivation, task engagement, and syntactic complexity in second language (L2) writing. One hundred L2 learners enrolled in an…

Game-based training research has produced various definitions and measures for learner motivation. Inconsistent findings on learner motivation may have contributed to the misapplication of one type of motivation to explain another; inhibiting future research and generating false implications. This study compared 172 students in game-based or…

In recent years, gamification has appeared to be an enjoyable and appealing instructional approach in educational settings. This paper reports the implementation and evaluation of gamified instruction to support learners of English as a foreign language in a linguistics course. Several gamification elements, such as experience points, badges,…

Over the past few years, the world's attention has been focused on gaming systems and their application in education through gamification, incorporating game features into learning tools. Against this backdrop, this study aims to investigate the motivation of EFL learners in a Gamified Formative Assessment (GFA). Theoretical insights from…

While English medium instruction (EMI) programs proliferate around the globe, research on students' motivation and engagement (ME) in EMI remains underrepresented. Informed by a multidimensional conceptualization of ME as interconnected, this study employed an adapted Motivation and Engagement Scale to examine university students' ME in EMI…

This study investigates Mandarin Chinese learners' motivation in a Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) program in a British secondary school from the perspective of learning environment, learner engagement, and learner identities. Fifteen pupils who are learning Chinese as a foreign language (CFL) have been interviewed individually or…