Exploring Learners’ Emotional Engagement in Text-Driven Task-Based Lessons: Implications from an EFL Setting

نوع مقاله : مقاله تحقیق

نویسندگان
Sang Truong Huynh 1
Loi Van Nguyen 2
1 PhD student, School of Foreign Languages, Can Tho University, Can Tho, Vietnam / Lecturer, Faculty of Foreign Languages, An Giang University, Vietnam National University Ho Chi Minh City, An Giang, Vietnam
2 Associate Professor, School of Foreign Languages, Can Tho University, Can Tho, Vietnam
10.48311/lrr.2025.7258
چکیده
Research on L2 learners’ engagement has highlighted the impact of emotional engagement on task performance to uphold their language development, but there remains a need for further empirical evidence, especially from the text-driven perspective on task-based language teaching. The present mixed-methods study aims to explore Vietnamese EFL learners’ emotional engagement during two task-based lessons driven by two text genres. One speaking task and a writing task that engaged the learners in solving problems driven by the texts were implemented in two three staged lessons. Quantitative data was collected by using a post-task questionnaire analyzed with SPSS v.29 to gauge 33 English undergraduates’ emotional engagement, and an interview was conducted with eight students on a voluntary basis to delve into factors that influence their emotional engagement. Observations during the lessons were further used to triangulate evidence. Descriptive statistics revealed that the participants were highly emotionally engaged in both task-based lessons, expressing high enjoyment and low anxiety. Further thematic analysis of engagement during the lessons indicated that pre-task visual prompting, text processing, the proper cognitive challenges of tasks and texts, and peer monitoring were the main influential factors. These findings imply that task design and implementation based on engaging texts potentially heighten learners’ emotional engagement in task-based performance, thereby facilitating their language acquisition.

کلیدواژه‌ها

موضوعات

Ahmadian, M. J., & Long, M. H. (Eds.). (2021). The Cambridge handbook of task-based language teaching. Cambridge University Press.
Al-Obaydi, L. H., Shakki, F., Tawafak, R. M., Pikhart, M., & Ugla, R. L. (2023). What I know, what I want to know, what I learned: Activating EFL college students’ cognitive, behavioral, and emotional engagement through structured feedback in an online environment. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, 1083673. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.1083673
Almukhaild, H., & King, J. (2023). Emotions in TBLT. In C. Lambert, S. Aubrey, & G. Bui (Eds.), The role of the learner in task-based language teaching (pp. 58–73). Routledge.
Arnold, J. (2020). Affective factors in language learning: making a difference. In M. Simons, & T. Smits (Eds.), Language education and emotions (pp. 3–17). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003019497
Asiri, A., & Arini, D. (2024). Emotional indicators of task engagement. In J. Egbert & P. Priya Panday-Shukla (Eds.), Task engagement across disciplines: Research and practical strategies to increase student achievement (pp. 132–141). Routledge.
Aubrey, S., King, J., & Almukhaild, H. (2022). Language learner engagement during speaking tasks: A longitudinal study. RELC Journal, 53(3), 519–533. https://doi.org/10.1177/0033688220945418
Boudreau, C., MacIntyre, P., & Dewaele, J. M. (2018). Enjoyment and anxiety in second language communication: An idiodynamic approach. Studies in Second Language Learning and Teaching, 8(1), 149–170. https://doi.org/10.14746/ssllt.2018.8.1.7
Cho, M. (2019). The effects of prompts on L2 writing performance and engagement. Foreign Language Annals, 52(3), 576–594.  https://doi.org/10.1111/flan.12411
Derakhshan, A., & Azari Noughabi, M. (2024). A self-determination perspective on the relationships between EFL learners’ foreign language peace of mind, foreign language enjoyment, psychological capital, and academic engagement. Learning and Motivation, 87, 102025. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lmot.2024.102025
Derakhshan, A., & Gao, X. (2025). ‘I am excessively pressed by classroom tasks’: A cross-cultural study on the sources and solutions of Chinese and Iranian EFL students' academic disengagement in online classes. Psychology in the Schools, 62(4), 996–1012.  https://doi.org/10.1002/pits.23374
Derakhshan, A., & Zare, J. (2024). Self-regulated learning and task engagement: A SEM analysis. International Review of Applied Linguistics in Language Teaching https://doi.org/10.1515/iral-2024-0009
Derakhshan, A., & Park, Y. (2026). The Role of multimodal AI technologies in EFL students’ perceived positive and negative achievement emotions: An existential positive psychology (EPP) perspective. Language Related Research, 17(3), 1–27. https://doi.org/10.48311/lrr.2025.118514.83043
Dai, K., & Wang, Y. (2024). Enjoyable, anxious, or bored? Investigating Chinese EFL learners’ classroom emotions and their engagement in technology–based EMI classrooms. System, 123, 103339. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2024.103339
Dao, P. (2021). Effects of task goal orientation on learner engagement in task performance. International Review of Applied Linguistics in Language Teaching, 59(3), 315–334. https://doi.org/10.1515/iral-2018-0188
Ellis, R., Skehan, P., Li, S., Shintani, N., & Lambert, C. (2020). Task-based language teaching: Theory and practice. Cambridge University Press.
Ellis, R. (2024). Conclusion: Some thoughts on investigating individual differences in task-based language teaching. In S. Li (Ed.), Individual differences and task-based language teaching (pp. 346–364). John Benjamins.
Fredrickson, B. L. (2013). Positive emotions broaden and build. In M. P. Zanna, P. Devine, J. M. Olson, & A. Plant (Eds.), Advances in experimental social psychology (pp. 1–53). Academic Press. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-407236-7.00001-2.
Garcia-Ponce, E. E., & Tavakoli, P. (2022). Effects of task type and language proficiency on dialogic performance and task engagement. System, 105, 102734. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2022.102734
Graesser, A. C., & D’Mello, S. (2012). Emotions during the learning of difficult material. In H. R. Brian (Ed.), Psychology of learning and motivation (pp. 183–225). Academic Press. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-394293-7.00005-4
He, H., & Yahia, I. A. O. (2024). Authenticity as a facilitator of task engagement. In J. Egbert & P. Priya Panday-Shukla (Eds.), Task engagement across disciplines: Research and practical strategies to increase student achievement (pp. 69–83). Routledge.
Hiver, P., & Wu, J. (2023). Engagement in TBLT. In C. Lambert, S. Aubrey, & G. Bui (Eds.), The role of the learner in task-based language teaching (pp. 74–90). Routledge.
Huh, K., & Egbert, J. (2024). Using learning support to provide opportunities for task engagement. In J. Egbert & P. Priya Panday-Shukla (Eds.), Task engagement across disciplines: Research and practical strategies to increase student achievement (pp. 38–54). Routledge.
Jackson, D. O. (2025). Cognitive task complexity and learner engagement: Evidence from direction‐giving map tasks. International Journal of Applied Linguistics. https://doi.org/10.1111/ijal.12682
Kirkpatrick, R., Wang, Y., Derakhshan, A., & Al Muhanna, M., A. (2025). Do achievement emotions underlie L2 engagement? A mixed-methods multinational study on the role of achievement emotions in multilingual English learners’ behavioral, cognitive, and emotional engagement. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development. https://doi.org/10.1080/01434632.2025.2459857   
Lambert, C. (2017). Tasks, affect and second language performance. Language Teaching Research, 21(6), 657–664. https://doi.org/10.1177/1362168817736644
Lambert, C., Philp, J., & Nakamura, S. (2017). Learner-generated content and engagement in second language task performance. Language Teaching Research, 21(6), 665–680. https://doi.org/10.1177/1362168816683559.
Lambert, C., Aubrey, S., & Bui, G. (2023). The role of the learner in task-based language teaching. In C. Lambert, S. Aubrey, & G. Bui (Eds.), The role of the learner in task-based language teaching (pp. 1–15). Routledge.
Leeming, P. (2024). The influence of small groups on leader stability and task engagement in the language classroom. Language Teaching Research, 28(1), 52–78. https://doi.org/10.1177/1362168821989866
Long, M. (2015). Second language acquisition and task-based language teaching. Blackwell-Wiley.
Li, C. (2025). Emotions and task complexity: Proposing a theoretical framework and setting a research agenda. In M. D. Johnson & M. A. Tabari (Eds.), Cognitive task complexity and second language performance: Understanding L2 learner affect and engagement (pp. 134–152). Routledge.
MacIntyre, P. D. (2023). The idiodynamic method. In C. Lambert, S. Aubrey, & G. Bui (Eds.), The role of the learner in task-based language teaching (pp. 125–140). Routledge.
Miller, Z. F., & Godfroid, A. (2020). Emotions in incidental language learning: An individual differences approach. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 42(1), 115–141. https://doi.org/10.1017/S027226311900041X
Nakamura, S., Phung, L., & Reinders, H. (2021). The effect of learner choice on L2 task engagement. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 43(2), 428–441. https://doi.org/10.1017/S027226312000042X
Nunan, D. (2004). Task-based language teaching. Cambridge University Press.
Panday-Shukla, P., & Egbert, J. (2024). Exploring interest in task engagement. In J. Egbert & P. Panday-Shukla (Eds.), Task engagement across disciplines: Research and practical strategies to increase student achievement (pp. 23–37). Routledge.
Pekrun, R., & Linnenbrink-Garcia, L. (2014). Introduction to emotions in education. In R. Pekrun & L. Linnenbrink-Garcia (Eds.), International handbook of emotions in education (pp. 1–10). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203148211
Phan, H. L. T., & Dao, P. (2023). Engagement in collaborative writing: Exploring learners’ control of task content and text quality. International Journal of Applied Linguistics, 33(2), 242–259. https://doi.org/10.1111/ijal.12462. 
Philp, J., & Duchesne, S. (2016). Exploring engagement in tasks in the language classroom. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, 36, 50–72. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0267190515000094
Phung, L. (2017). Task preference, affective response, and engagement in L2 use in a US university context. Language Teaching Research, 21(6), 751–766. https://doi.org/10.1177/1362168816683561
Pham, A. N. T., & Pham, N. H. T. (2023). Shifting emotions in speaking English as an additional language. Language Related Research, 14(1), 251–282. http://doi.org/10.29252/LRR.14.1.10
Plass, J. L., & Kalyuga, S. (2019). Four ways of considering emotion in cognitive load theory. Educational Psychology Review, 31, 339–359. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-019-09473-5
Qiu, X., & Lo, Y. Y. (2017). Content familiarity, task repetition and Chinese EFL learners’ engagement in second language use. Language Teaching Research, 21(6), 681–698. https://doi.org/10.1177/1362168816684368
Richards, J. C. (2022). Exploring emotions in language teaching. RELC Journal, 53(1), 225–239. https://doi.org/10.1177/0033688220927531
Robinson, P. (2011). Task‐based language learning: A review of issues. Language learning, 61(1), 1–36. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9922.2011.00641.x
Robinson, P. (2015). The Cognition Hypothesis, second language task demands, and the SSARC model of pedagogic task sequencing. In M. Bygate (Ed.), Domains and directions in the development of TBLT (pp. 87–122). John Benjamins. https://doi.org/10.1075/tblt.8
Shakki, F. (2022). Iranian EFL students’ L2 engagement: The effects of teacher-student rapport and teacher support. Language Related Research, 13(3), 175–198. https://doi.org/10.52547/LRR.13.3.8
Shakki, F. (2023). Investigating the relationship between EFL learners’ engagement and their achievement emotions. Porta Linguarum: An International Journal of Foreign Language Teaching and Learning, 40(2), 275–294.   https://doi.org/10.30827/portalin.vi40.27338
Tomlinson, B. (2013). Second language acquisition and materials development. In B. Tomlinson (Ed.), Applied linguistics and materials development (pp. 11–29). Bloomsbury.
Tomlinson, B. (2018). Text-driven approaches to task-based language teaching. Folio, 18(2), 4–7.
Tomlinson, B. (2023). Using text-driven and other principled frameworks for developing language learning material.  In B. Tomlinson (Ed.), Developing materials for language teaching (pp. 99–127). Bloomsbury.
Trinh, Q. L., Le, C. T., Duong, T. Y., Vo, T. D. M., & Ngo, H. H. N. (2025). Teaching with tasks: Exploring Vietnamese pre-service teachers’ perceptions and readiness for TBLT implementation. International Journal of Learning, Teaching and Educational Research, 24(1), 563–583. https://doi.org/10.26803/ijlter.24.1.28
Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). Mind in society: Development of higher psychological processes. Harvard University Press.
Wang, X., & Wang, S. (2024). Exploring Chinese EFL learners’ engagement with large language models: A self-determination theory perspective. Learning and Motivation, 87, 102014. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lmot.2024.102014
Wang, Y., & Kruk, M. (2024). Modeling the interaction between teacher credibility, teacher confirmation, and English major students’ academic engagement: A sequential mixed-methods approach. Studies in Second Language Learning and Teaching, 14(2), 235–265. https://doi.org/10.14746/ssllt.38418
Wang, Y., & Xue, L. (2024). Using AI-driven chatbots to foster Chinese EFL students’ academic engagement: An intervention study. Computers in Human Behavior, 159, 108353. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2024.108353
Willis, J. (1996). A framework for task-based language teaching. Longman.
Xu, J., & Qiu, X. (2024). Engaging L2 learners in information-gap tasks: How task type and topic familiarity affect learner engagement. RELC Journal, 55(1), 29–45. https://doi.org/10.1177/00336882211061628.
Xu, J., Fan, Y., & Xu, Q. (2019). EFL learners’ corrective feedback decision-making in task-based peer interaction. Language Awareness, 28(4), 329–347. https://doi.org/10.1080/09658416.2019.1668003
Zare, J., & Derakhshan, A. (2025). Task engagement in second language acquisition: A questionnaire development and validation study. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 46(9), 2761–2777. https://doi.org/10.1080/01434632.2024.2306166
Zare, J., Derakhshan, A., & Ranjbaran Madiseh, F. (2025). Task motivation and engagement in second language acquisition: A structural equation modelling analysis. European Journal of Education, 60. https://doi.org/10.1111/ejed.70353
Zhang, J., & Derakhshan, A. (2025). Integrating ‘GPT-4o’ as an AI tool into K-12 contexts: Assessing its long-term effects on students’ self-regulated learning (SRL) and task engagement through latent growth curve modelling. European Journal of Education, 60. e70329. https://doi.org/10.1111/ejed.70329