Emotional experiences in learning portuguese as a foreign language in distance education
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.71112/dwz1d324Keywords:
emotions, language anxiety, Portuguese as a foreign language, distance education, affective filter, mixed methodsAbstract
Learning a foreign language involves not only the development of linguistic competences but also emotional experiences that shape how learners participate in, interpret, and live through the learning process. This study aimed to understand how first-semester students of a Bachelor’s degree in Foreign Languages with an Emphasis in English at a private higher education institution in Bogotá, Colombia, who took Portuguese as a Foreign Language courses (levels A1 and A2) in a distance-education modality, perceive the influence of their emotional experiences on their learning. A convergent mixed-methods design was adopted: a 24-item Likert-scale questionnaire, organized into four dimensions (language anxiety, motivation, self-confidence/affective filter, and engagement with distance education), was administered to 30 students, and ten semi-structured interviews were examined through Bardin’s Content Analysis. Results reveal a predominantly favorable emotional profile: motivation (M = 4.23), engagement with distance education (M = 4.20), and self-confidence (M = 3.98) reached high levels, whereas language anxiety remained moderate-to-low (M = 2.49) and concentrated on spontaneous oral production. Interview data converged with these patterns and highlighted the role of professional and cultural motivation, teacher support, and face-to-face sessions, as well as the ambivalent effect of the proximity between Spanish and Portuguese. The study concludes that the emotional sustainability of the learning process depends on the gradual introduction of oral practice, close teacher support, and the preservation of face-to-face interaction within predominantly distance-based models.
Downloads
References
Bardin, L. (2016). Análise de conteúdo. Edições 70.
Barros, E. B. R., & Assis, M. T. M. de. (2018). Português como Língua Estrangeira (PLE): formação docente e construção de expedientes didático-metodológicos. @rquivo Brasileiro de Educação, 6(13), 60–84.
Bruen, J., & Erdocia, I. (2025). Formal and informal foreign language learning at university: Blurring the boundaries. The Language Learning Journal, 53(1), 84–97.
Colômbia, Ministério da Saúde. (1993). Resolução n.º 8430 de 1993: Estabelece as normas científicas, técnicas e administrativas para a pesquisa em saúde.
Corporación Universitaria Minuto de Dios. (s. f.). Licenciatura en Lenguas Extranjeras con Énfasis en Inglés. https://www.uniminuto.edu/oferta-academica/licenciatura-en-lenguas-extranjeras-con-enfasis-en-ingles/licenciatura-en-12
Creswell, J. W., & Creswell, J. D. (2023). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches (6.ª ed.). SAGE.
Creswell, J. W., & Poth, C. N. (2018). Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing among five approaches (4.ª ed.). SAGE.
Cronbach, L. J. (1951). Coefficient alpha and the internal structure of tests. Psychometrika, 16(3), 297–334. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02310555
Dewaele, J.-M., & MacIntyre, P. D. (2014). The two faces of Janus? Anxiety and enjoyment in the foreign language classroom. Studies in Second Language Learning and Teaching, 4(2), 237–274. https://doi.org/10.14746/ssllt.2014.4.2.5
Ding, A.-C. E. (2024). Empowering multilingual learners through translanguaging and transmodal practices in virtual learning spaces. Distance Learning, 21(3), 75–79.
Dörnyei, Z. (2001). Motivational strategies in the language classroom. Cambridge University Press.
Fernández-Ortega, C., Trigueros, R., & Fernández, A. (2024). Frustration of basic psychological needs and emotions in communicative intent in English as a foreign language. Porta Linguarum, 42, 197–214. https://doi.org/10.30827/portalin.vi42.29389
Fetters, M. D., Curry, L. A., & Creswell, J. W. (2013). Achieving integration in mixed methods designs: Principles and practices. Health Services Research, 48(6pt2), 2134–2156. https://doi.org/10.1111/1475-6773.12117
Gannoun, H., & Deris, F. D. (2023). Teaching anxiety in foreign language classroom: A review of literature. Arab World English Journal, 14(1). https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4432859
Gardner, R. C. (1985). Social psychology and second language learning: The role of attitudes and motivation. Edward Arnold.
Gil, A. C. (2019). Métodos e técnicas de pesquisa social (7.ª ed.). Atlas.
Greene, J. C., Caracelli, V. J., & Graham, W. F. (1989). Toward a conceptual framework for mixed-method evaluation designs. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 11(3), 255–274. https://doi.org/10.3102/01623737011003255
Guest, G., Bunce, A., & Johnson, L. (2006). How many interviews are enough? An experiment with data saturation and variability. Field Methods, 18(1), 59–82. https://doi.org/10.1177/1525822X05279903
Horwitz, E. K., Horwitz, M. B., & Cope, J. (1986). Foreign language classroom anxiety. The Modern Language Journal, 70(2), 125–132. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-4781.1986.tb05256.x
Huang, F., & Zhang, H. (2025). Explaining the penetrating role of technology in online foreign language learning achievement. Foreign Language Annals, 58(1), 10–39. https://doi.org/10.1111/flan.12781
Johnson, R. B., & Onwuegbuzie, A. J. (2004). Mixed methods research: A research paradigm whose time has come. Educational Researcher, 33(7), 14–26. https://doi.org/10.3102/0013189X033007014
Krashen, S. D. (1982). Principles and practice in second language acquisition. Pergamon Press.
Landis, J. R., & Koch, G. G. (1977). The measurement of observer agreement for categorical data. Biometrics, 33(1), 159–174. https://doi.org/10.2307/2529310
Li, C., Pawlak, M., & Kruk, M. (2025). Achievement emotions and control-value appraisals in foreign language learning. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 46(2), 364–378. https://doi.org/10.1080/01434632.2023.2183961
Mercer, S. (2021). Language learner engagement: Setting the scene. Em P. Hiver, A. H. Al-Hoorie, & S. Mercer (Eds.), Student engagement in the language classroom (pp. 3–19). Multilingual Matters.
Minayo, M. C. de S. (2014). O desafio do conhecimento: Pesquisa qualitativa em saúde (14.ª ed.). Hucitec.
Moore, M. G. (1993). Theory of transactional distance. Em D. Keegan (Ed.), Theoretical principles of distance education (pp. 22–38). Routledge.
Oliveira, D. (2011). Portuguese as a foreign language: Motivations and perceptions [Dissertação de mestrado, Brigham Young University]. BYU ScholarsArchive. https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/etd/2874
Pekrun, R. (2006). The control-value theory of achievement emotions: Assumptions, corollaries, and implications for educational research and practice. Educational Psychology Review, 18(4), 315–341. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-006-9029-9
Polit, D. F., & Beck, C. T. (2006). The content validity index: Are you sure you know what’s being reported? Critique and recommendations. Research in Nursing & Health, 29(5), 489–497. https://doi.org/10.1002/nur.20147
Russell, V. (2020). Language anxiety and the online learner. Foreign Language Annals, 53(2), 338–352. https://doi.org/10.1111/flan.12461
Severo, C. G., & Viola, D. (2017). Entre o português como língua estrangeira e as práticas interculturais comunicativas: estudo de caso em universidade colombiana. Revista Horizontes de Linguística Aplicada, 16(1). https://doi.org/10.26512/rhla.v16i1.1491
Tabachnick, B. G., & Fidell, L. S. (2019). Using multivariate statistics (7.ª ed.). Pearson.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Yeimy Rocío Fonseca Medina, Diana Mireya Cardona, Janio Vasconcelos Pereira, Jineth Karina García Cendales, Blanca Lucía Cely Betancourt (Autor/a)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
