Emotional Dynamics and Regulation Strategies in EFL Writing Classrooms
Keywords:
EFL writing, emotional dynamics, emotion regulation strategies, positive psychology
Abstract
Recent research in second language acquisition has shown that learners’ emotional dynamics such as anxiety, enjoyment, and frustration, and their use of emotion regulation strategies significantly influence engagement and performance in EFL writing classrooms. Thus, the current research aims at investigating EFL students’ emotional dynamics and the emotion regulation strategies they apply when completing their writing tasks. This is a phenomenological study in which six university students were given an open-ended questionnaire. Subsequently, the data were analysed using a thematic analysis technique until the data were formed into themes and a conceptual framework illustrating the types of emotional dynamics they faced and what strategies of emotion regulation they commonly applied during the process of writing. The novel finding revealed after building themes was from the up and down or emotional fluctuation, e.g., anxious to enjoyment, fear to relax, shaped the students to have a mental of resilience as a learner. Finally, the pedagogical implications of the research were explained further.
References
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Creswell, J. W., & Creswell, J. D. (2018). Research and design qualitative, quantitative and mixed methods approaches. SAGE Publications.
Dewaele, J. M., & Dewaele, L. (2020). Learner-internal and learner-external predictors of willingness to communicate in the FL classroom. Journal of the European Second Language Association, 4(1), 24–37. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.22599/jesla.66
Dornyei, Z., & Csizer’s, K. (1998). Ten Commandments for Motivating Language Learners: Results of an Empirical Study. Language Teaching Research, 2(3).
Dörnyei, Z., & Ryan, S. (2015). The Psychology of the second language learner revisited. Routledge.
Efklides, A. (2008). Metacognition: Defining its facets and levels of functioning in relation to self-regulation and co-regulation. European Psychologist, 13(4), 277–287. https://doi.org/10.1027/1016-9040.13.4.277
Efklides, A. (2011). Interactions of metacognition with motivation and affect in self-regulated learning: The MASRL model. Educational Psychologist, 46(1), 6–25. https://doi.org/10.1080/00461520.2011.538645
Gregersen, T. S., & Horwitz, E. K. (2002). Language learning and perfectionism: Anxious and non-anxious language learners’ reactions to their own oral performance. The Modern Language Journal, 86(4), 562–570.
Gross, J. J., & John, O. P. (2003). Individual differences in two emotion regulation processes: Implications for affect, relationships, and well-being. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 85(2), 348–362. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.85.2.348
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Kateri McRae, & James J. Gross. (2020). Emotion regulation. American Psychological Association, 20(1), 1–9. https://doi.org/10.1037/emo0000703.supp
Lazarus, R. S. (1991). Emotion and adaptation. Oxford University Press.
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Martínez-Priego, C., García-Noblejas, B. P., & Roca, P. (2024). Strategies and goals in Emotion Regulation models: a systematic review. In Frontiers in Psychology (Vol. 15). Frontiers Media SA. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1425465
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Naeem, M., Ozuem, W., Howell, K., & Ranfagni, S. (2023). A step-by-step process of thematic analysis to develop a conceptual model in qualitative research. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 22. https://doi.org/10.1177/16094069231205789
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Pekrun, R., & Stephens, S. J. (2010). Achievement Emotions in Higher Education. In In J. C. Smart (Ed.), Higher Education: Handbook of Theory and Research (Vol. 25, pp. 257–306). Springer.
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Alamri, H. R., Alanazi, A. R., & Alrashedi, S. M. (2021). Anxiety in writing skills: The voices of EFL university learners. International Journal of English Language Teaching, 9(6), 33–51. https://doi.org/10.37745/ijelt.13
Richardson, V. (1991). The reflective turn: Case studies in and on educational practice (D. Schon, Ed.). Teachers College Press.
Rohmah, N., & Muslim, A. B. (2021). Writing anxiety in academic writing practice: Insights from EFL learners’ perspectives. Proceedings of the Thirteenth Conference on Applied Linguistics.
Seligman, M. E. P. (2002). Positive psychology, positive prevention, and positive therapy. In C. R. Snyder & S. J. Lopez (Eds.), Handbook of Positive Psychology. Oxford University Press.
Seligman, M. E. P. (2018). PERMA and the building blocks of well-being. Journal of Positive Psychology, 13(4), 333–335. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1080/17439760.2018.1437466
Smith, C. A., & Lazarus, R. S. (1993). Appraisal components, core relational themes, and the emotions. Cognition and Emotion, 7, 233–269.
Steel, P., & Onig, C. J. K. ¨. (2006). Integration theories of motivation. Academy of Management Review, 31(4), 889–913.
Tsiriotakis, I. K., Grünke, M., Spantidakis, I., Vassilaki, E., & Stavrou, N. A. M. (2020). The impact of an explicit writing intervention on EFL students’ short story writing. Frontiers in Education, 5. https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2020.565213
Yanping, R., Huiyi, J., & Yanjuan, Z. (2025). The relationship between higher-order thinking skills and academic engagement in online English learning: The mediating role of academic emotion regulation strategies. Acta Psychologica, 258. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actpsy.2025.105225
Yeager, D. S., & Dweck, C. S. (2020). What can be learned from growth mindset controversies? American Psychologist, 75(9), 1269–1284. https://doi.org/10.1037/amp0000794
Yue, D., & Saad, M. R. B. M. (2025). Positive emotions and English performance test scores among Chinese EFL students on a MOOC platform: A mediational model based on PERMA. Acta Psychologica, 260. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actpsy.2025.105568
Zhang, Z., & Gao, X. (Andy). (2024). A longitudinal study of enjoyment and group-level emotion regulation in online collaborative English language learning. Learning and Motivation, 88. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lmot.2024.102052
Zhang, Z., Gao, X., Liu, T., & Lee, C. B. (2022). Language learners’ emotion regulation and enjoyment in an online collaborative writing program. Studies in Second Language Learning and Teaching, 12(3), 459–481. https://doi.org/10.14746/ssllt.2022.12.3.6
Zheng, X., Ismail, S. M., & Heydarnejad, T. (2023). Social media and psychology of language learning: The role of telegram-based instruction on academic buoyancy, academic emotion regulation, foreign language anxiety, and English achievement. Heliyon, 9(5). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e15830
Zimmerman, B. J. (2000). Attaining self-regulation. In Handbook of Self-Regulation (pp. 13–39). Elsevier.
Zimmerman, B. J. (2013). From cognitive modeling to self-regulation: A social cognitive career path. Educational Psychologist, 48(3), 135–147. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1080/00461520.2013.794676
Zimmerman, B. J., & Moylan, A. R. (2009). Self-regulation: Where metacognition and motivation intersect. In Handbook of Metacognition in Education. Routledge.
Zimmerman, B. J., & Schunk, D. H. (2008). Self-regulated learning and academic achievement: Theoretical perspectives (2nd ed.). Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Bandura, A. (1993). Perceive self-efficacy in cognitive development and functioning. Educational Psychologist, 28, 117–148.
Bandura, A. (1997). Self-efficacy: The exercise of control. W.H. Freeman.
Cheng, M. C. (2007). Improving Interaction and Feedback with Computer Mediated Communication in Asian EFL Composition Classes: A Case Study. Taiwan Journal of TESOL, 4(1), 65–97.
Creswell, J. W. (2007). Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing among five approaches. Sage Publications.
Creswell, J. W., & Creswell, J. D. (2018). Research and design qualitative, quantitative and mixed methods approaches. SAGE Publications.
Dewaele, J. M., & Dewaele, L. (2020). Learner-internal and learner-external predictors of willingness to communicate in the FL classroom. Journal of the European Second Language Association, 4(1), 24–37. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.22599/jesla.66
Dornyei, Z., & Csizer’s, K. (1998). Ten Commandments for Motivating Language Learners: Results of an Empirical Study. Language Teaching Research, 2(3).
Dörnyei, Z., & Ryan, S. (2015). The Psychology of the second language learner revisited. Routledge.
Efklides, A. (2008). Metacognition: Defining its facets and levels of functioning in relation to self-regulation and co-regulation. European Psychologist, 13(4), 277–287. https://doi.org/10.1027/1016-9040.13.4.277
Efklides, A. (2011). Interactions of metacognition with motivation and affect in self-regulated learning: The MASRL model. Educational Psychologist, 46(1), 6–25. https://doi.org/10.1080/00461520.2011.538645
Gregersen, T. S., & Horwitz, E. K. (2002). Language learning and perfectionism: Anxious and non-anxious language learners’ reactions to their own oral performance. The Modern Language Journal, 86(4), 562–570.
Gross, J. J., & John, O. P. (2003). Individual differences in two emotion regulation processes: Implications for affect, relationships, and well-being. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 85(2), 348–362. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.85.2.348
Heydarnejad, T. (2025). Unmasking the impacts of self-evaluation in AI-supported writing instruction on EFL learners’ emotion regulation, self-competence, motivation, and writing achievement. Computers and Education: Artificial Intelligence, 9. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.caeai.2025.100494
Horwitz, E. K. (2010). Foreign and second language anxiety. Language Teaching, 43, 154–167.
Horwitz, E. K., Horwitz, M. B., & Cope, J. (1986). Foreign language classroom anxiety. The Modern Language Journal, 70, 125–132. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-4781.1986.tb05256.x
Kateri McRae, & James J. Gross. (2020). Emotion regulation. American Psychological Association, 20(1), 1–9. https://doi.org/10.1037/emo0000703.supp
Lazarus, R. S. (1991). Emotion and adaptation. Oxford University Press.
Lazarus, R. S., McLellan, L. F., & Hudson, J. L. (2018). Recalled challenging parenting behavior and anxiety in adulthood: An exploratory retrospective cohort study. J Child FAM Stud, 27(2).
Martínez-Priego, C., García-Noblejas, B. P., & Roca, P. (2024). Strategies and goals in Emotion Regulation models: a systematic review. In Frontiers in Psychology (Vol. 15). Frontiers Media SA. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1425465
Mercer, S., & Kostoulas, A. (2018). Language teacher psychology. Multilingual Matters. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.21832/9781783099467
Naeem, M., Ozuem, W., Howell, K., & Ranfagni, S. (2023). A step-by-step process of thematic analysis to develop a conceptual model in qualitative research. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 22. https://doi.org/10.1177/16094069231205789
Pekrun, R. (2000). A Social-cognitive, Control-value Theory of Achievement Emotions. Elsevier Science B.V.
Pekrun, R. (2006). The Control-Value Theory of Achievement Emotions: Assumptions, Corollaries, and Implications for Educational Research and Practice. Educational Psychology Review, 18, 315–341. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-006-9029-9
Pekrun, R., & Stephens, S. J. (2010). Achievement Emotions in Higher Education. In In J. C. Smart (Ed.), Higher Education: Handbook of Theory and Research (Vol. 25, pp. 257–306). Springer.
Rahman, Y. A., Apriyanti, F., & Ramadhan, A. (2024). Implementing process writing approach to improve EFL students’ writing performance in academic writing. Attractive?: Innovative Education Journal, 6(1). https://www.attractivejournal.com/index.php/aj/
Alamri, H. R., Alanazi, A. R., & Alrashedi, S. M. (2021). Anxiety in writing skills: The voices of EFL university learners. International Journal of English Language Teaching, 9(6), 33–51. https://doi.org/10.37745/ijelt.13
Richardson, V. (1991). The reflective turn: Case studies in and on educational practice (D. Schon, Ed.). Teachers College Press.
Rohmah, N., & Muslim, A. B. (2021). Writing anxiety in academic writing practice: Insights from EFL learners’ perspectives. Proceedings of the Thirteenth Conference on Applied Linguistics.
Seligman, M. E. P. (2002). Positive psychology, positive prevention, and positive therapy. In C. R. Snyder & S. J. Lopez (Eds.), Handbook of Positive Psychology. Oxford University Press.
Seligman, M. E. P. (2018). PERMA and the building blocks of well-being. Journal of Positive Psychology, 13(4), 333–335. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1080/17439760.2018.1437466
Smith, C. A., & Lazarus, R. S. (1993). Appraisal components, core relational themes, and the emotions. Cognition and Emotion, 7, 233–269.
Steel, P., & Onig, C. J. K. ¨. (2006). Integration theories of motivation. Academy of Management Review, 31(4), 889–913.
Tsiriotakis, I. K., Grünke, M., Spantidakis, I., Vassilaki, E., & Stavrou, N. A. M. (2020). The impact of an explicit writing intervention on EFL students’ short story writing. Frontiers in Education, 5. https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2020.565213
Yanping, R., Huiyi, J., & Yanjuan, Z. (2025). The relationship between higher-order thinking skills and academic engagement in online English learning: The mediating role of academic emotion regulation strategies. Acta Psychologica, 258. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actpsy.2025.105225
Yeager, D. S., & Dweck, C. S. (2020). What can be learned from growth mindset controversies? American Psychologist, 75(9), 1269–1284. https://doi.org/10.1037/amp0000794
Yue, D., & Saad, M. R. B. M. (2025). Positive emotions and English performance test scores among Chinese EFL students on a MOOC platform: A mediational model based on PERMA. Acta Psychologica, 260. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actpsy.2025.105568
Zhang, Z., & Gao, X. (Andy). (2024). A longitudinal study of enjoyment and group-level emotion regulation in online collaborative English language learning. Learning and Motivation, 88. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lmot.2024.102052
Zhang, Z., Gao, X., Liu, T., & Lee, C. B. (2022). Language learners’ emotion regulation and enjoyment in an online collaborative writing program. Studies in Second Language Learning and Teaching, 12(3), 459–481. https://doi.org/10.14746/ssllt.2022.12.3.6
Zheng, X., Ismail, S. M., & Heydarnejad, T. (2023). Social media and psychology of language learning: The role of telegram-based instruction on academic buoyancy, academic emotion regulation, foreign language anxiety, and English achievement. Heliyon, 9(5). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e15830
Zimmerman, B. J. (2000). Attaining self-regulation. In Handbook of Self-Regulation (pp. 13–39). Elsevier.
Zimmerman, B. J. (2013). From cognitive modeling to self-regulation: A social cognitive career path. Educational Psychologist, 48(3), 135–147. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1080/00461520.2013.794676
Zimmerman, B. J., & Moylan, A. R. (2009). Self-regulation: Where metacognition and motivation intersect. In Handbook of Metacognition in Education. Routledge.
Zimmerman, B. J., & Schunk, D. H. (2008). Self-regulated learning and academic achievement: Theoretical perspectives (2nd ed.). Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Published
2026-05-01
How to Cite
Ariyanti, A., Amat, R., & Nimasari, E. P. (2026). Emotional Dynamics and Regulation Strategies in EFL Writing Classrooms. Indonesian Journal of EFL and Linguistics, 11(1), 1-13. https://doi.org/10.21462/ijefl.v11i1.1020
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Articles
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