Tracing the signature dynamics of foreign language classroom anxiety and foreign language enjoyment: A retrodictive qualitative modeling

Abstract

With the shift from negative psychology to positive psychology in the field of applied linguistics, and inalignment with the dynamic turn in this filed, recent studies have tried to micro-map foreign languageclassroom anxiety (FLCA) and foreign language enjoyment (FLE) from a dynamic perspective. However,the signature dynamics of learners’ FLCA, as a negative emotion, and FLE, as a positive emotion, are yetto be explored. Inspired by Dörnyei (2014), we used the innovative approach of retrodictive qualitativemodeling (RQM) to explore the signature dynamics of the two variables. Having identified the learnerarchetypes of FLE and FLCA via focus-group interviews with a group of teachers regarding theirlearners’ enjoyment and anxiety experiences, we conducted in-depth interviews with one prototypicalstudent from each archetype in order to discover the trends and trajectories leading to a specific outcomeor attractor state by tracking and investigating the dynamic occurrences backwards. The results providedus with new insights into the dynamic trends leading to different archetypes of FLE and FLCA as well asthe adoptability of the RQM to studies on the dynamics of enjoyment and anxiety.