A Study Of The Complex Dynamics Of Enjoyment And Anxiety In English Language Learners During The Continuation Task

To improve the efficiency of foreign language learning,Wang et al.(2000)proposed a facilitative learning approach--the continuation task--to combine reading comprehension with writing practice,which has attracted widespread attention in the field of Second Language Acquisition(SLA).Previous research on the continuation task has mainly focused on examining the various factors that influence interaction alignment and seeking evidence of facilitative learning effects.Studies of learners’ differences,particularly in terms of emotion,have been lacking and the few that involved emotions were confined exclusively to one aspect of negative emotions,namely,anxiety.Furthermore,previous emotion research in the continuation task has been dominated by static perspectives and lacks intensive studies of dynamic perspectives.However,with the positive turn in emotions,more and more scholars have identified important positive effects of positive emotions,particularly enjoyment,on second-language learning.Therefore,to obtain a comprehensive understanding of learners’ emotions in language development and to explore how students’ language development is influenced by a combination of positive as well as negative emotions,it is necessary to examine learners’ enjoyment and anxiety in an integrated manner in the course of the continuation task.This study conducted a micro-qualitative examination of learners’ enjoyment as well as anxiety in the process of the continuation task based on Complex Dynamic Systems Theory(CDST).Participants in this study were six first-year English-major postgraduate students from a university of foreign languages.Adopting tools such as motometers,verbal reports,semi-structured interviews,and reflection journals,this study collected data on the target participants’ emotional changes during the continuation task.It was aimed at revealing the dynamics of learners’ enjoyment and anxiety during the task and examining prominent changes in personal phasic emotions through change point analysis.Finally,it analyzed the factors that influence learners’ enjoyment and anxiety.The specific research questions are as follows:(1)What kind of dynamics exists in the enjoyment and anxiety of English language learners during the continuation task? Specifically,(a)What are the characteristics of the overall trends of learners’ enjoyment and anxiety in the process of continuation?(b)What are the characteristics of the phasic development of learners’ enjoyment and anxiety in the process of continuation?(c)What is the dynamic relationship between enjoyment and anxiety for learners in the process of continuation?(2)What are the factors influencing changes in learners’ emotions during the continuation task? Specifically,(a)What are the factors that may affect learners’ anxiety during the continuation task?(b)What are the factors that may affect learners’ enjoyment during the continuation task?The results of the study revealed that: Firstly,the overall trend of learners’ enjoyment and anxiety during the continuation task presented the following characteristics: enjoyment and anxiety evolved over time,with an overall upward and downward trend respectively;the developmental paths of enjoyment and anxiety exhibited non-linear characteristics with peaks and valleys,progression and regression;learners’ initial conditions such as writing confidence and writing attitudes led to a steep or gradual development in the pattern of emotional fluctuations.Secondly,the phasic development of learners’ enjoyment and anxiety during the continuation task demonstrated the following characteristics: the moment of changes in enjoyment and anxiety was unpredictable,and the present state was transformed from the former;some learners remained in a stable attractor state,while others repeatedly moved from one attractor state to another when significant changes occurred;as an open system,enjoyment and anxiety fluctuated due to external factors such as the task and reading material;differences in the forces of attraction to escape from the present state between learners led to differences in the amplitude of the changes that occurred.Thirdly,the main factors affecting learners’ enjoyment included individual factors on three levels: cognitive,emotional,and inner,as well as external factors such as the task and the reading material;the main factors affecting anxiety included individual factors on three levels: cognitive,linguistic,and inner,as well as external factors of the task itself.Together,the major factors that influenced learners’ enjoyment and anxiety during the continuation task were the conceiving of the story,the interpreting of the story,the level of concentration,and the level of difficulty of the task.Following a dynamic perspective,this study uncovers the complex dynamics of the learners’ enjoyment and anxiety during the process of the continuation task.Theoretically,this study has confirmed the facilitative learning mechanisms of the continuation task by examining the process of the continuation task.At the same time,it enriches the study of emotions in the continuation task by incorporating a positive psychology perspective as well as a framework of CDST.Practically,it provides a novel approach for researchers who study emotions in SLA: using the motometer instead of traditional instruments to measure the dynamic emotional variations of learners.Meanwhile,it also offers guidance and reference for teachers to pay comprehensive attention to learners’ emotions during the activities.