Investigating the Emotional Experiences of Sophomore Students in English Language Education in Eritrea from an Ecological Perspective

Abstract

Although the mother tongue policy in Eritrea aims to promote positive language learning trajectories for students, the transition to English as a medium of instruction from the start of junior education remains emotionally demanding for students until the end of tertiary education. Through in-depth qualitative interviews, this study investigates the emotional experiences of sophomore students in English language education (ELE) and seeks the sources of emotions that facilitate or debilitate English language development. Drawing on an ecological perspective, the findings highlight how students’ positive, ambivalent, and negative emotions were evoked by the conditions that informed their identities and ideal selves. This study aims to understand what activates students’ emotions and informs their visualisation of their ideal selves within the ecosystem of English language education. Overall, this study highlights the importance of creating a network of supportive emotional affordances, despite the constraints of the ecosystem, to enhance students’ emotional mindfulness to transform negative emotions into positive emotional experiences to attain their ideal selves.