University English preparatory class students' achievement emotions, epistemic curiosity and their relationships with academic achievements

The aim of this study is to examine achievement emotions, epistemic curiosity and their relationships with graded performance regarding English class. In line with this aim, the sample of the present study consisted of 475 college students, studying in English preparatory classes during 2014-2015 instruction year in two universities in Bolu and Ankara. The data regarding the students' achievement emotions were collected through the 'Achievement Emotions Scale' developed by Pekrun, Goetz, Frenzel (2007) and adapted into Turkish by researcher in the present study, while the data regarding the students' epistemic curiosity were obtained via the 'Epistemic Curiosity Scale' originally developed by Litman (2008; see also Litman and Spielberger, 2003), and adapted into Turkish by Eren (2009, 2011). Data collected from the students were analyzed by using SPSS 21 and LISREL statistical programs. Moreover, students' grades in English classes were obtained by the researcher at the end of the spring semester of 2014-2015 academic year, with the assistance of administrators and the instructors where the present data were collected. The results of the current study demonstrated that, regardless of the effects of the demographic variables such as age, gender, and high school, the students' achievement emotions and epistemic curiosity in English classes were significantly and reasonably associated with their graded performance. Implications for education and directions for future studies were also discussed in the present study. Keywords: Teaching English, epistemic curiosity, achievement emotions, achievement, preparatory class