How Foreign Language Emotions Affect Continuation Task Performance: The Mediating Role of Learning Engagement

Qiangba Zhuoma

doi:10.70088/vjpfgp02

Authors

Qiangba Zhuoma School of Foreign Languages and Cultures, Xizang University, Lhasa, 850000, China Author

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.70088/vjpfgp02

Keywords:

foreign language enjoyment, foreign language anxiety, learning engagement, continuation task

Abstract

With the comprehensive advancement of the new College Entrance Examination (CEE) reform, the continuation task, as a core task type for assessing students' higher-order thinking and integrated language proficiency, often triggers complex foreign language emotions among learners due to its high cognitive load. Grounded in the Control-Value Theory (CVT), this quantitative empirical study investigates the dynamic interplay among foreign language emotions (foreign language enjoyment and foreign language anxiety), learning engagement, and continuation task performance, drawing on a sample of 381 Senior Grade One students. The findings reveal that foreign language enjoyment (FLE) not only directly and positively predicts continuation task performance (CTP) but also exerts a significant partial mediating effect through learning engagement (LE). Conversely, foreign language anxiety (FLA) negatively predicts continuation task performance (CTP), and the mediating effect of learning engagement in this path is non-significant. The study suggests that in high-load language output tasks, stimulating positive emotions and enhancing multidimensional learning engagement are more conducive to improving students' continuation task performance than merely suppressing anxiety.

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