Emotions have received widespread attention in the education field globally thanks to the greater emphasis on well-being in recent times. Against this backdrop and the fact that foreign language (FL) education is increasingly common from a young age, this study set out to investigate what FL classroom activities children find most enjoyable and most boring, and why. Ninety-eight Grade-5 English-as-a-FL learners in Hong Kong participated in this study. The participants put forward 18 activities that they thought were most enjoyable, especially games and videos (together making up about 49% of the responses) . Fifteen activities were deemed most boring, especially writing and dictation (together 45% of the responses). Fun , knowledge-gaining , and opportunities for interaction were among the most common reasons given for activities being enjoyable, while difficult , troublesome , and tiring were the main descriptors of the activities they thought were boring. Copyright ©2024 Springer.

Growth mindset (GM) theory conceptualizes that one’s ability can be improved with effort (Dweck, Self-theories: Their role in motivation, personality, and development, Taylor & Francis, 1999) from a social-cognitive perspective. Self-determination theory (SDT) emphasizes the motivational source of learning, i.e. autonomous motivation (AM) and controlled motivation (CM). The two motivational theories can both lead to strategy use (SU) in writing contexts. To provide a more comprehensive understanding of motivation, this study investigated GM, AM, CM and SU through an integrated writing task. Participants were 465 secondary-four students in Hong Kong. Structural equation modelling showed that GM indirectly promoted writing performance through the mediation of AM and SU. Besides, neither motivations exerted direct effect on writing performance, whereas both did so via the mediation of SU. The findings unveiled the importance of GM in Hong Kong secondary school students’ writing performance since it contributed to AM and SU. Regarding pedagogical implications, we encourage the proliferation of GM in every-day classroom. Copyright ©2024 Springer.

One of education's primary goals is to cultivate citizens who want to contribute to society. However, surprisingly little research has been conducted on how students' desire to contribute to society is related to crucial learning-related outcomes. The aim of this study was to examine how the desire to contribute to one's society, which we call "societal motivation" for shorthand, is associated with optimal learning-related outcomes such as self-regulated learning, deep learning, and achievement. The sample included 8,773 secondary school students from Hong Kong. The mean age of the students was 13.28 (SD = 1.09) years old. Students were asked to respond to self-reported surveys and answer achievement tests across two-time points, one year apart. Structural equation modeling was used to analyze the data. Results indicated that Time 1 societal motivation positively predicted Time 2 self-regulated learning and deep learning. These associations held despite controlling for auto-regressive effects and other relevant covariates such as Time 1 goals (mastery, performance, social, and extrinsic) and demographic variables. Our results showed that societal motivation is associated with optimal learning-related outcomes. This paper has theoretical implications for educational research by showing that societal motivation is an important yet neglected aspect of student motivation. Copyright ©2024 Routledge.

Against the backdrop of declining motivation and growing social and emotional challenges in English learning experienced by Hong Kong primary school students, the study aimed to profile an interactive pattern between relevant motivational beliefs (i.e., self-efficacy, interest, and growth mindset), social and emotional learning (SEL) skills and English learning achievements. Data was collected from 913 4th graders with questionnaires and an English test. Results indicated a medium-high level of motivation among the participants, and a high level of self-awareness and social awareness skills but a medium level of self-management and social management skills in terms of SEL. More importantly, structural equation modeling (SEM) analyses confirmed the intricate interplay where the motivational beliefs predicted English learning achievements through the mediation of self-awareness and self-management skills. Our findings also underscore the relatively higher importance of interest and growth mindset than self-efficacy in English learning for young children. Pedagogical implications are discussed. Copyright ©2024 Taylor & Francis.

This qualitative study investigates the impact of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) on the emotional engagement, motivation and well-being of first-year university students in Hong Kong. We conducted semi-structured interviews with 21 students and three instructors to explore their perceptions of how GenAI influences the affective dimensions of language learning. The data were analyzed using manual coding and inductive thematic analysis to identify key themes. The findings revealed that GenAI generally enhances students’ motivation, reduces anxiety and stress, and fosters an emotionally supportive learning environment. However, challenges related to cultural context and technical issues were also identified. The study highlights the pivotal role of instructors in shaping students’ experiences with GenAI and underscores the need for ongoing support and professional development. It also demonstrates the importance of cultural sensitivity, technological infrastructure and balance. The study is valuable for those who aim to harness GenAI while preserving the irreplaceable human elements of teaching. It contributes to the growing body of knowledge on integrating AI in language learning. Copyright © 2025 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Mastering the visually complex characters of the Chinese language poses significant challenges for students. The situation is even worse in Hong Kong, where students with different backgrounds, including students with/without dyslexia and non-Chinese speaking students (NCS), are placed in the same class. Interactive design has been proven effective in enhancing students' learning performance and engagement. However, developing a learning tool for students with diverse backgrounds is challenging. This study proposes a robot-assisted Chinese learning system (RACLS) for those with diverse backgrounds and investigates its impact on learning motivation by a comparison study. In particular, 39 students participate in a five-day robot-led training program, while another 39 students received traditional teacher-led training. The comparison results show that RACLS can enhance the emotional engagement of students with dyslexia and strengthen the behavioural engagement of students without dyslexia. Interestingly, the learning motivation of NCS students in the experimental and control groups is enhanced similarly. Copyright © 2025 IEEE.

This study examines the use of immersive techniques, intrinsic motivation, and instructional approaches to advance science literacy (SL) awareness in STEM education. SL awareness in higher education is defined as the capability to understand, apply, and evaluate fundamental scientific concepts and practices for informed decision-making. We investigated the impact of an immersive design framework on the relationship between intrinsic motivation and SL awareness among sixty-nine Hong Kong STEM students. Following two instructional sessions, participants completed a self-reported questionnaire, which was quantitatively and thematically analysed. Quantitative results revealed that interest significantly improves SL awareness, while relatedness does not. Thematic analysis identified two main themes—motivational layer and cognitive awareness—and further outlined six sub-themes: interest, positive emotion, relatedness, mental representation, cognitive resources, and metacognition, clarifying their roles in enhancing learning. This study confirms that an immersive design framework effectively enhances SL by efficiently utilizing cognitive resources and fostering deep engagement with complex concepts. Future research should investigate extending this design approach to other abstract scientific topics to broaden its educational impact. Copyright © 2025 The Author(s).

The sudden outbreak of COVID-19, which has presented great challenges to pedagogy, has catalyzed the transition of teaching and learning to the online mode. Uncovering the key factors that facilitate positive learning outcomes in online learning environments has thus gathered importance. To bring these factors to light, this study aims to understand and model the effect of perceived online connectedness on the relationship between student motivation and university learning outcomes. Based on 470 questionnaire responses collected by students from nine universities in Hong Kong and Macao, findings from structural equation modelling, showed students' online connectedness partially mediated the relationship between online learning motivation and university learning outcomes. These results suggest that the learner's motivation derives not only from the perceived relevance of the learning subject, but also from the learner's attributes such as confidence, satisfaction, and attention during online learning. Moreover, students' perceived connectedness, which considers the comfort, community, facilitation, interaction, and collaboration of students in an online context, plays a key role in students' positive learning outcomes. Pedagogical implications for teachers, educators and students and university policy implications are discussed. Copyright ©2024 Springer.

In today's digital environment, gamification has become a satisfactory method for promoting certain behaviours and enhancing motivation and engagement. Though it is most often used in marketing tactics, it is increasingly being used in education, assisting instructors in attaining their goals while also responding to changing student requirements. In recent years, gamification, as an innovative teaching method, has also attracted much attention in China. With the further promotion of educational reforms, teachers are the change agents of reforms, and their cognition, attitude, and behavior determine the effectiveness of educational reforms. To know more about teachers’ intention to use gamification, the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) was used for testing what factors affect their intention. For testing the TPB model, this study took the teachers of schools in Huizhou as a sample. This research collected data through a questionnaire survey and in-depth interviews for analysis and discussion. By collecting 152 questionnaires from primary and secondary school teachers and in-depth interviews with 22 teachers, this study confirmed that attitudes toward using gamification, subjective norms and perceived behavioural control affect teachers’ intention of using gamification for teaching through the mediator commitment. This finding provides a more comprehensive model and perspective to understand teachers’ use of gamification. Moreover, it gives a reference for related research on the implementation of gamification among teachers in second and even third-tier cities. All rights reserved.