Demystifying the mediation of boredom between students’ English learning resilience and academic achievement

Positive psychology has drawn increasing attention to learner resources that support adaptive academic development. However, little is known about whether and how such resources reduce maladaptive achievement emotions and contribute to academic achievement. To address this gap, the present study examined the relationships among academic resilience, boredom, and academic achievement among English as a foreign language learners (EFL), with boredom as a potential mediator. Using data from Chinese senior high school students, the study employed simple and complex structural equation models in SPSS 26.0 and AMOS 24.0. In the simple model, boredom fully mediated the relationship between academic resilience and academic achievement, with significant negative paths from resilience to boredom and from boredom to achievement. In the complex model, boredom fully mediated the relationships between positive individual characteristics and academic achievement and between family support and academic achievement. By contrast, peer support and teacher support showed no significant direct or indirect effects. These findings indicate that English learning resilience may contribute to achievement primarily by reducing boredom. Pedagogically, the study underscores strengthening learners’ adaptive resources, diversifying instructional practices, and enhancing family-school collaboration to alleviate boredom and support EFL learners’ academic development.