EFL Students' Experiences of Burnout in a 3-Semester Academic Year: The Role of Enjoyment and Grit
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17507/tpls.1502.07Keywords:
burnout, foreign language enjoyment, grit, structural equation modelingAbstract
This study takes a closer look at how grit, burnout, and foreign language enjoyment (FLE) interact among Saudi EFL learners over the course of a three-semester academic year. The research emphasizes just how much these factors can influence students’ learning experiences and academic results. By focusing on grit and enjoyment as potential protective factors, the study sheds light on ways educators can better support student well-being and improve language learning outcomes. Using structural equation modeling (SEM) to test the proposed relationships, the study found that enjoyment plays a key role in mediating the connection between grit and burnout. These findings provide valuable insights for EFL teachers and suggest strategies that could help reduce burnout and create a more positive learning environment.
References
Abreu Alves, S., Sinval, J., Lucas Neto, L. (2022). Burnout and dropout intention in medical students: the protective role of academic engagement. BMC Med Educ 22, 83. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-021-03094-9
Aljadani, A. H., Alsolami, A., Almehmadi, S., Alhuwaydi, A., and Fathuldeen, A. (2021). Epidemiology of Burnout and its association with academic performance among medical students at Hail University, Saudi Arabia. Sultan Qaboos University Medical Journal, 21(2), e231. https://doi.10.18295/squmj.2021.21.02.011
Alqifari, A., Alghidani, M., Almazyad, R., Alotaibi, A., Alharbi, W. A., Aljumail, E., and Alqifari, H. (2021). Burnout in medical undergraduate students in Qassim, Saudi Arabia. Middle East Current Psychiatry, 28(1), 1-6. https://doi.org/10.1186/s43045-021-00128-2
Botes, E., Dewaele, J. and Greiff, S. (2021). The Development and Validation of the Short Form of the Foreign Language Enjoyment Scale. The Modern Language Journal, 105(4), 858-876. https://doi.org/10.1111/modl.12741
Bumbacco, C., and Scharfe, E. (2020). Why Attachment Matters: First-Year Post-Secondary Students’ Experience of Burnout, Disengagement, and Drop-Out. Journal of College Student Retention: Research, Theory and Practice, 24(4), 988-1001. https://doi.org/10.1177/1521025120961012
Chang, E., Lee, A., Byeon, E., and Lee, S. M. (2015). Role of motivation in the relation between perfectionism and academic burnout in Korean students. Personality and Individual Differences, 82, 221-226. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2015.03.027
Datu, J. A. D., Yuen, M., and Chen, G. (2018). The triarchic model of grit is linked to academic success and well-being among Filipino high school students. School Psychology Quarterly, 33(3), 428–438. https://doi.org/10.1037/spq0000234
Dewaele, J.-M. (2022). Enjoyment. In The Routledge Handbook of Second Language Acquisition and Individual Differences (pp. 190-206). Routledge.
Dewaele, J.-M., and Alfawzan, M. (2018). Does the effect of enjoyment outweigh that of anxiety in foreign language performance? Studies in second language learning and teaching, 8(1), 21-45. https://doi:10.14746/ssllt.2018.8.1.2
Dewaele, J.-M., and Dewaele, L. (2020). Are foreign language learners’ enjoyment and anxiety specific to the teacher? An investigation into the dynamics of learners’ classroom emotions. Studies in Second Language Learning and Teaching, 10(1), 45-65. https://doi:10.14746/ssllt.2020.10.1.3
Dewaele, J.-M., and Li, C. (2021). Teacher enthusiasm and students’ social-behavioral learning engagement: The mediating role of student enjoyment and boredom in Chinese EFL classes. Language Teaching Research, 25(6), 922-945. https://doi:10.1177/13621688211014538
Dewaele, J.-M., MacIntyre, P., Boudreau, C., and Dewaele, L. (2016). Do girls have all the fun? Anxiety and enjoyment in the foreign language classroom. Theory and practice of second language acquisition, 2(1), 41-63.
Dewaele, J.-M., and MacIntyre, P. D. (2014). The two faces of Janus? Anxiety and enjoyment in the foreign language classroom. 4(2), 237-274. https://doi:10.14746/ssllt.2014.4.2.5
Dewaele, J.-M., and MacIntyre, P. D. (2019). The predictive power of multicultural personality traits, learner and teacher variables on foreign language enjoyment and anxiety. In Evidence-based second language pedagogy (pp. 263-286). Routledge.
Dewaele, J.-M., Witney, J., Saito, K., and Dewaele, L. (2018). Foreign language enjoyment and anxiety: The effect of teacher and learner variables. Language teaching research, 22(6), 676-697. https://doi.org/10.1177/1362168817692161
Dewaele, J. M., Magdalena, A. F., and Saito, K. (2019). The effect of perception of teacher characteristics on Spanish EFL learners’ anxiety and enjoyment. The Modern Language Journal, 103(2), 412-427. https://doi:10.1111/modl.12555
Duckworth, A. L., Peterson, C., Matthews, M. D., and Kelly, D. R. (2007). Grit: perseverance and passion for long-term goals. Journal of personality and social psychology, 92(6), 1087. https://doi:10.1037/0022-3514.92.6.1087
Duckworth, A. L., and Quinn, P. D. (2009). Development and validation of the Short Grit Scale (Grit-S). Journal of Personality Assessment, 91(2), 166–174. https://doi:10.1080/00223890802634290
Fathi, J., and Mohammaddokht, F. (2021). Foreign Language Enjoyment and Anxiety as the Correlates of the Ideal L2 Self in the English as a Foreign Language Context. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, 790648. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.790648
Hosseini, H., Fathi, J., Derakhshesh, A., and Mehraein, S. (2022). A model of classroom social climate, foreign language enjoyment, and student engagement among English as a foreign language learner. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, 933842. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.933842
Gong, Z., Li, C., Jiao, X., and Qu, Q. (2021). Does resilience help in reducing burnout symptoms among Chinese students? A meta-analysis. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, 707792. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.707792
Jiang, Y., and Dewaele, J.-M. (2019). How unique is the foreign language classroom enjoyment and anxiety of Chinese EFL learners? System, 82, 13-25. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2019.02.017
Karimi, M. N., and Fallah, N. (2021). Academic burnout, shame, intrinsic motivation and teacher affective support among Iranian EFL learners: A structural equation modeling approach. Current Psychology, 40(4), 2026-2037. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-019-0138-2
Khajavy GH, MacIntyre PD, and Barabadi E. (2018). Role of the emotions and classroom environment in willingness to communicate: Applying doubly latent multilevel analysis in second language acquisition research. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 40(3), 605-624. https://doi:10.1017/S0272263117000304
Khajavy, G. H., MacIntyre, P. D., and Hariri, J. (2021). A closer look at grit and language mindset as predictors of foreign language achievement. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 43(2), 379-402. https://doi:10.1017/S02722631200004802
Lee, J. S. (2022). The role of grit and classroom enjoyment in EFL learners’ willingness to communicate. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 43(5), 452-468. https://doi.org/10.1080/01434632.2020.1746319
Li, C., Dewaele, J. and Jiang, G. (2020). The complex relationship between classroom emotions and EFL achievement in China. Applied Linguistics Review, 11(3), 485-510. https://doi.org/10.1515/applirev-2018-0043
Li, C., Jiang, G., and Dewaele, J.-M. (2018). Understanding Chinese high school students’ foreign language enjoyment: validation of the Chinese version of the foreign language enjoyment scale. System, 76, 183-196. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2018.06.004
Li, C., and Wei, L. (2023). Anxiety, enjoyment, and boredom in language learning amongst junior secondary students in rural China: How do they contribute to L2 achievement? Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 45(1), 1-16. https://doi:10.1017/S0272263122000031
Li, C., Zhang, L. J., and Jiang, G. (2021). Conceptualisation and measurement of foreign language learning burnout among Chinese EFL students. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 45(4), 906-920. https://doi.org/10.1080/01434632.2021.1931246
Li, H. (2021). Classroom enjoyment: relations with EFL students’ disengagement and burnout. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, 824443. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.824443
Liu, C., He, J., Ding, C., Fan, X., Hwang, G.-J., and Zhang, Y. (2021). Self-oriented learning perfectionism and English learning burnout among EFL learners using mobile applications: The mediating roles of English learning anxiety and grit. Learning and individual Differences, 88, 102011. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lindif.2021.102011
Liu, H., Yansane, A. I., Zhang, Y., Fu, H., Hong, N., and Kalenderian, E. (2018). Burnout and study engagement among medical students at Sun Yat-sen University, China: A cross-sectional study. Medicine, 97(15), e0326. https://doi:10.1097/MD.0000000000010326
Liu, H., Yao, M., and Li, J. (2020). Chinese adolescents' achievement goal profiles and their relation to academic burnout, learning engagement, and test anxiety. Learning and Individual Differences, 83, 101945. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lindif.2020.101945
Liu, S. (2021). Toward the Role of L2 Enjoyment in EFL Students' Academic Motivation and Engagement. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, 822588. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.822588
Ljubin-Golub, T., Rijavec, M., and Olčar, D. (2020). Student flow and burnout: The role of teacher autonomy support and student autonomous motivation. Psychological Studies, 65(2), 145-156. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12646-019-00539-6
Lou, Y., Wu, L., and Liu, H. (2016). A study of non-English majored graduates’ learning burnout in a local comprehensive university in China. Creative Education, 7(7), 999-1006. https://doi:10.4236/ce.2016.77104
MacIntyre, P. D. (2016). So far so good: An overview of positive psychology and its contributions to SLA. Positive psychology perspectives on foreign language learning and teaching, 3-20. Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-32954-3_1
Madigan, D. J., and Curran, T. (2021). Does burnout affect academic achievement? A meta-analysis of over 100,000 students. Educational Psychology Review, 33(2), 387-405. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-020-09533-1
Marôco, J., Assunção, H., Harju-Luukkainen, H., Lin, S.-W., Sit, P.-S., Cheung, K.-c., Campos, J. A. (2020). Predictors of academic efficacy and dropout intention in university students: Can engagement suppress burnout? PLoS One, 15(10), e0239816. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0239816
Maslach, C., and Leiter, M. P. (2016). Burnout. In Stress: Concepts, cognition, emotion, and behavior. Academic Press Cambridge, 351-357.
Oyoo, S., Mwaura, P., Kinai, T., and Mutua, J. (2020). Academic burnout and academic achievement among secondary school students in Kenya. Education Research International, 2020(1), 5347828. https://doi.org/10.1155/2020/5347828
Ryan, R. M., and Deci, E. L. (2000). Self-determination theory and the facilitation of intrinsic motivation, social development, and well-being. American psychologist, 55(1), 68-78. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.55.1.68
Salgado S, Au-Yong-Oliveira M. (2021). Student Burnout: A Case Study about a Portuguese Public University. Education Sciences, 11(1), 31. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci11010031
Sarcheshmeh, S. G., Asgari, F., Chehrzad, M. M., and Leili, E. K. (2019). Investigating the relationship between academic burnout and educational factors among students of Guilan University of Medical Sciences. AIMS Medical Science, 6(3), 230-238. https://doi:10.3934/medsci.2019.3.230
Schmidt, J. A., Shumow, L., and Kackar-cam, H. (2017). Does mindset intervention predict students' daily experience in classrooms? A comparison of seventh and ninth graders' trajectories. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 46(3), 582-602. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-016-0489-z
Sharififard, F., Asayesh, H., Hosseini, M. H. M., and Sepahvandi, M. (2020). Motivation, self-efficacy, stress, and academic performance correlation with academic burnout among nursing students. Journal of Nursing and Midwifery Sciences, 7(2), 88-93. https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7907-5109
Tahmouresi, S., and Papi, M. (2021). Future selves, enjoyment and anxiety as predictors of L2 writing achievement. Journal of Second Language Writing, 53, 100837. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jslw.2021.100837
Vallerand, R. J., Blanchard, C., Mageau, G. A., Koestner, R., Ratelle, C., Léonard, M., Gagné, M., and Marsolais, J. (2003). Les passions de l'âme: On obsessive and harmonious passion. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 85(4), 756–767. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.85.4.756
Wang, J., Bu, L., Li, Y., Song, J., and Li, N. (2021). The mediating effect of academic engagement between psychological capital and academic burnout among nursing students during the COVID-19 pandemic: A cross-sectional study. Nurse Education Today, 102, 104938. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nedt.2021.104938
Wolters, C.A., Hussain, M (2015). Investigating grit and its relations with college students’ self-regulated learning and academic achievement. Metacognition Learning, 10, 293–311. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11409-014-9128-9
Yang, Y., Gao, Z., and Han, Y. (2021). Exploring Chinese EFL learners' achievement emotions and their antecedents in an online English learning environment. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, 722622. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.722622
Zhuojie, Y. A. (2018). Study on the Relationship Between Foreign Language Learning Burnout and L2 Motivational Self System Among Chinese University and College Students. US-China Foreign Language, 16(10), 515-518. https://doi:10.17265/1539-8080/2018.10.002