Purpose This study aims to explore how Mentimeter, a student response system (SRS), fosters agentic and emotional engagement in undergraduate TESOL courses at an English-medium instruction (EMI) university in China. It addresses specific challenges related to student passivity and language anxiety to bridge the theory–practice gap in teacher education. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected from 47 undergraduate students via pre- and post-intervention surveys and analyzed using paired-samples t-tests to measure changes in engagement. To explain quantitative trends, focus group discussions (n = 12) were conducted and analyzed thematically, providing deeper insights into student perceptions of specific interactive features. Findings Quantitative results revealed a statistically significant increase in agentic engagement, while emotional engagement showed slight, non-significant improvement. Qualitative findings revealed four themes: creating a safe environment, acknowledging individual agency, enhancing interaction and participation and promoting cognitive depth. These themes suggest a pedagogical progression: Mentimeter’s anonymity first fosters psychological safety, serving as a necessary foundation for students to subsequently exercise agency and engage in deeper cognitive learning. Practical implications Educators should integrate SRS tools strategically, beginning with low-stakes, anonymous activities (e.g. quiz games, word clouds) to establish emotional safety before scaffolding toward cognitively demanding tasks (e.g. open-ended critiques or reflections). This staged progression from foundational conditions to active engagement to cognitive outcomes provides a practical framework for sequencing technology-enhanced activities in contexts characterized by language anxiety or student passivity. Originality/value This research contributes a nuanced understanding of technology-enhanced learning in EMI contexts by distinguishing between emotional and agentic dimensions. It proposes a staged engagement framework arguing that SRS tools are essential for reducing language anxiety and establishing the psychological safety required for developing learner agency and critical thinking.
Yan et al. (Fri,) studied this question.