Influential factors on the foreign language enjoyment in the Spanish language acquisition at chínese universities: an exploratory analysis based on grounded theory

Abstract

The development of positive psychology research in foreign language acquisition during recent years has led to a substantial body of studies on positive emotions, among which stands out foreign language enjoyment (FLE). This work explores the factors that affect the FLE of university Spanish foreign language learners in the Chinese socio-cultural context within the grounded theory (GT) approach. A qualitative analysis has been conducted based on data collected from in-depth interviews with 60 Spanish foreign language students and teachers at Chinese universities. Then a theoretical model of the influential factors on FLE has been constructed after the data processing of open coding, axial coding, and selective coding. The findings show that factors affecting the FLE of Chinese undergraduate students that acquire Spanish as a foreign language can be divided into two types, i.e., learner-internal and learner-external. Both types bear unique imprints of cultural and social traditions and play a crucial role in deciding students' FLE. The discussion dialogues with the control-value theory (CVT), showing the explanatory power of the theory in the empirical studies on emotion.