Emotional Management of Adult EFL Learners in Higher Education

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Professor in Applied Linguistics, Ilam University, Ilam, Iran

2 Master of Arts in Applied Linguistics, Ilam University, Ilam, Iran

Abstract

Though the emotional aspects of language learning and teaching have received due attention in the past decades, this area of research remained almost untouched in Iran. To comply with this weak treatment, the present research adopted a mixed-methods approach to investigate how Iranian EFL adult students in higher education regulate their emotions and their ability to identify and manage their feelings. For this purpose, a group of 21 adult participants were chosen from various EFL colleges and academic locations in Iran. Data was collected using the reliable and valid TEIQue questionnaire developed by Petrides (2009) and supplemented with open-ended interviews. The findings made it clear that variables such as culture and society played an important role in shaping and changing the emotional vocabulary of English language students. The results also indicated that most EFL students did not use the Feeling Wheel tool (1980) to regulate their emotions, indicating emotional immaturity. Additionally, when using Daniel Siegel's technique (2012) to regulate their feelings, they were unable to connect it to their emotional repertoire derived from the feeling wheel tool. The findings, therefore, imply for a balanced attention to be given to learners’ emotional maturity as well as their knowledge achievement in higher education.

Keywords

Interdisciplinary Studies in English Language Teaching
Volume 02, Issue 1
January 2024
Pages 175-189

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