Article published In:
Journal of Immersion and Content-Based Language Education: Online-First Articles

Sociocultural dynamics of learners’ emotions in a Chinese English-medium instruction context

ORCID logo | China University of Mining and Technology, Beijing

Drawing on Activity Theory, this study is an attempt to explore and explicate learners’ emotions in a Chinese English-medium instruction (EMI) context. This paper detailed two cases of university learners to address two issues: how the relationship between EMI learners and their perceived sociocultural contexts shapes their foreign language enjoyment and anxiety and how the factors affecting the two emotions can be explained from an Activity Theory (AT) perspective. Qualitative content analysis was performed on data collected from in-depth, face-to-face interviews and journals. The findings illustrated that a diversity of sociocultural factors, ranging from the object of learning to the rules of learning, could influence learners’ emotions. Contradictions between these factors also influenced EMI learners’ two emotions. This study could inform educational language policy and the development of EMI curricula and pedagogy.

Keywords: learners’ affects, foreign language emotions, English-medium instruction, Activity Theory, higher education
Article outline
  • Introduction
  • Literature review
    • Foreign language enjoyment and foreign language anxiety
    • EMI in tertiary education
    • Activity theory
  • Methodology
    • Research context, researcher, and participants
    • Data collection and analysis
  • Findings
    • Xi: “English or sociology?”
    • Zhi: “I’m used to the high school way of learning”
  • Discussion
    • Sociocultural factors and EMI learners’ FLE and FLA
    • Contradictions and EMI learners’ FLE and FLA
  • Conclusion
  • Acknowledgements
  • References
Published online: 21 June 2024
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/jicb.24020.sun
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