Emotional intelligence and language learning performance of EFL learners in China: chain mediating effects of willingness to communicate and foreign language learning boredom

TL;DR

This study shows how emotional intelligence helps Chinese EFL learners by boosting their willingness to communicate and reducing boredom, which in turn improves language performance.

Contribution

The study introduces a chain mediation model linking emotional intelligence to language performance through willingness to communicate and boredom.

Findings

Emotional intelligence directly predicts better language performance in EFL learners.

Emotional intelligence indirectly improves performance by increasing willingness to communicate and reducing foreign language learning boredom.

The chain mediation model aligns with Control–Value Theory, showing how affective factors influence learning outcomes.

Abstract

Emotional intelligence (EI) has been widely recognized as a key affective factor in second language (L2) learning, yet its underlying mechanisms remain insufficiently explained. Drawing on Control–Value Theory (CVT), this study conceptualizes EI as a distal resource that enhances control–value appraisals, thereby fostering communicative engagement and mitigating negative achievement emotions, which jointly influence performance.

A total of 1,158 Chinese undergraduates from seven universities completed validated measures of EI, willingness to communicate (WTC), foreign language learning boredom (FLLB), and submitted EFL test results. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was conducted using parcel-level indicators, and indirect effects were examined via bootstrap estimation (B = 5,000, BCa).

The hypothesized model demonstrated excellent fit and revealed that EI directly predicted language performance and indirectly influenced outcomes through both WTC and FLLB. Specifically, EI enhanced WTC, which reduced FLLB, and these factors jointly contributed to improved performance. Although the sequential (EI → WTC → FLLB → Performance) path was modest, it supported the theorized chain mediation mechanism consistent with CVT.

The findings provide conceptual evidence that EI promotes language learning success not only by increasing communicative willingness but also by buffering against boredom—a low-control, low-value emotion. This integrative perspective advances a process-oriented account of how affective and motivational systems interact in L2 learning. Practically, it suggests that classroom interventions combining emotional competence training, autonomy-supportive pedagogy, and value-enhancing communicative tasks may strengthen engagement while alleviating boredom.

Figures