Exploring the relationship between foreign language enjoyment and sense of classroom community among high school students

ABSTRACT Exploring the Relationship between Foreign Language Enjoyment and Sense of Classroom Community among High School Students This research study investigated the relationship between Foreign Language Enjoyment (FLE) and Sense of Classroom Community (SCC). In this vein, the study examined the FLE and SCC levels of the high school students. Additionally, this study analyzed whether gender was significantly correlated with participants' FLE and SCC levels. The potential correlation between prior English course attendance, the presence of English-speaking family members, the frequency of family support, and the FLE levels of high school EFL students was also investigated in the study. Furthermore, it explored the sources of EFL learners' feelings of connectedness or disconnection and their enjoyment or lack of enjoyment in learning a foreign language. The present study was conducted during the spring term of the 2023–2024 academic year. Participants were 269 high school students studying at a state Anatolian High School. In this study, a mixed-method research design was adopted. Quantitative data was collected by means of two questionnaires which were Foreign Language Enjoyment Scale and Sense of Classroom Community Scale. To ensure a comprehensive understanding of the research topic, semi-structured face-to-face interviews were administered with 18 students who consented to participate in the study. Quantitative data were analyzed by means of SPSS 21 software program while qualitative data were analyzed using content analysis. The quantitative findings revealed learners experienced a relatively high level of enjoyment and a moderate sense of classroom community in their English classes. With respect to the relationship between gender and the feelings of enjoyment and connectedness, no significant differences were observed in FLE and SCC levels between male and female students. In the same way, no significant difference was found between students who had previously taken an English course and those who had not. However, the present study demonstrated that the presence of an English-speaking family member, along with the frequency of familial support, had a significant impact on levels of foreign language enjoyment. Furthermore, the findings revealed a strong, statistically significant positive correlation between FLE and SCC. Qualitative results indicated that there were five main factors for the students' enjoyment which were teacher's effect, peers' positive effect, good language performance, specific classroom activities and possibility of authentic language use. Similarly, five factors were identified as influencing the students' lack of enjoyment: speaking-related problems, peers' negative effect, grammar, memorization of words, and teacher's negative effect. Regarding the factors affecting SCC, the teacher's and peers' effect were the main sources of feelings of connectedness and disconnection among high school EFL students.