A Study On The Relationship Between Emotional Intelligence,Foreign Language Anxiety And English Learning Achievement Of Senior High School Students

With the continuous development of economic globalization,in pursuit of common progress and development,China is constantly seeking chances to communicate and cooperate with other regions in the world,and thus English learning continues to receive attention.The Ministry of Education emphasizes the importance of English learning and proposes that English learning should own its contemporary characteristics.Students are affected by a variety of factors such as anxiety and emotional intelligence（EI）in the process of English learning,so the ultimate learning outcome is actually the product of multiple factors working together.High school students are in their adolescence,their cognitive level needs to be improved and they are emotionally unstable.Studies have shown that the negative effects of foreign language anxiety（FLA）can be reduced by developing emotional intelligence,and the use of emotional strategies can help to effectively control emotions and improve academic performance while promoting students’physical and mental health development.However,a review of the literature reveals that there is still some room for progress and further research on the relationship between emotional intelligence,foreign language anxiety and English learning performance.Therefore,this study aims to explore the relationship between these three variables in the context of English learning in Chinese high schools,it may provide a reference for researchers’study on English education in China.The present study adopted a mixed-method approach,using two questionnaires（TEIQue-SF and FLCAS）to collect quantitative data for data analysis.A total 404 high school students in a senior high school of Kunming participated in it,and randomly selected 16 students for interviews.Specifically,the study was structured around the following three questions:（1）What are the general levels of high school students’EI and FLA during their English learning?（2）What is the relationship among students’EI,FLA and English learning achievement?（3）What role does FLA play in the relationship between EI and English learning achievement?The quantitative analysis of the collected data combined with qualitative analysis yielded the following results.Firstly,the mean value of EI is 4.33,which indicates that students possess a moderate level of EI.In the four dimensions of EI,students score the highest in the dimension of Well-beings（M=4.49）,score the lowest in the dimension of Sociability（M=4.17）.As for FLA,the mean value of FLA is 2.94,which means that most senior high school students experience a moderate to high level of anxiety in English learning.In the four dimensions of anxiety,students score the highest in the dimension of Communicative anxiety（M=3.05）,score the lowest in the dimension of General FL anxiety（M=2.80）.Secondly,there are significant correlations between high school students’EI,FLA and English achievement.Emotional Intelligence is positively correlated with English learning achievement(r=.324^**,p<.001).Foreign Language Anxiety is negatively correlated with English learning achievement(r=-.366^**,p<.001).Emotional Intelligence is negatively correlated with Foreign Language Anxiety(r=-.357^**,p<.001).Thirdly,Foreign Language Anxiety mediates the relationship between Emotional Intelligence and English learning performance.The total effect in the link between emotional intelligence and English learning achievement is 0.32,the mediating effect of Foreign Language Anxiety is 0.11,accounting for 33%.This study proposes suggestions related to improve students’emotional intelligence based on the findings:teachers,schools,and parents should share the common goal of improving students’English performance as well as well-being,motivate students’positive emotions and learning enthusiasm,reduce students’anxiety,and promote students’academic success.The findings of the study have certain implications for the development of English education.