Perceived competence in specific skills shapes how students feel about learning English

Cultures · Published 2 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: A survey of Chinese senior secondary students found that a learner's self-perception of their abilities significantly influences their emotional experience when studying a foreign language. While general proficiency matters, the study highlights that feelings of enjoyment and anxiety are more closely tied to how confident students feel in specific areas like speaking and grammar.

The research suggests that emotions in the classroom are not just products of overall ability but are shaped by domain-specific self-assessments. For instance, feeling competent in speaking or grammar was a strong predictor of both enjoyment and anxiety, whereas perceived reading skills only influenced enjoyment.

The study used regression analyses to examine these associations across six different language domains. A limitation of this approach is that it relies on students' self-perceived competence rather than objective performance metrics for all categories.

Why it matters: Understanding how students feel about learning a language requires looking at their confidence in specific skills rather than just their overall grades.

General information, not professional advice. Spotted an error? Flag the card or see corrections and complaints.

Intellect Plus is a visual educational discovery platform for exploring fascinating facts and ideas. Brain Food, Not Brain Rot. What is Intellect Plus?

Related

• Foreign language learners often experience more enjoyment than anxiety in the classroom
• Positive emotions are linked to better success in learning foreign languages
• Psychological fears, not vocabulary, block Chinese students' English speaking
• A new tool measures how students feel while learning a second language
• Foreign language anxiety is a primary predictor of lower academic achievement
• Positive emotions in language learning fluctuate and link to social collaboration
• One student's essay drafts reveal four translanguaging strategies
• Public signage reflects the social power and vitality of language communities
• Lower achieving students reported higher levels of enjoyment during online language learning
• Redefining how we measure and understand second language proficiency
• Language uses special markers to help listeners identify rare grammatical patterns
• Rejecting colonial frameworks to support the linguistic identities of racialized bilinguals

More in Language families · More in Cultures · Latest · A–Z · All topics