Foreign language learning boredom: Conceptualization and measurement

Abstract This article reports on a two-step investigation of foreign language learning boredom amongst Chinese university non-English-major EFL students and English teachers. In Study 1, 22 students and 11 English teachers were interviewed and 659 students responded to an open questionnaire, recalling and describing their experiences and perceptions of boredom in learning English. The data allowed a multidimensional conceptualization of Foreign Language Learning Boredom (FLLB), empirically supporting the control-value theory in educational psychology. Based on the conceptualization of FLLB, in Study 2, the Foreign Language Learning Boredom Scale (FLLBS) was developed. Through surveying 808 students in a pilot and 2,223 in the main study, a 7-factor FLLBS with 32 items was validated using exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses as well as further validity and reliability analyses. It is argued that FLLB is a crucial addition to the emerging field of foreign languagelearning emotion research.