Who Cares If the Teacher Has a Cat? The Impact of Affect and Interaction upon Motivation in Online Portuguese L2 Classes during the COVID-19 Pandemic

This study examined the motivational impact of affect/interaction in emergency remote teaching (ERT) Portuguese L2 classes. Participants were two groups of students from 13 countries living in Portugal (N = 16). A mixed-method paradigm was adopted, consisting of a closed questionnaire, class observa...

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Main Authors: Bruno Costa, Jorge Pinto
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: University of Silesia Press 2025-06-01
Series:Theory and Practice of Second Language Acquisition
Subjects:
Online Access:https://journals.us.edu.pl/index.php/TAPSLA/article/view/16026
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author Bruno Costa
Jorge Pinto
author_facet Bruno Costa
Jorge Pinto
author_sort Bruno Costa
collection DOAJ
description This study examined the motivational impact of affect/interaction in emergency remote teaching (ERT) Portuguese L2 classes. Participants were two groups of students from 13 countries living in Portugal (N = 16). A mixed-method paradigm was adopted, consisting of a closed questionnaire, class observations, and semi-structured interviews. Results showed a generally positive impact of the practices adopted by both teachers. Comparatively, the group whose teacher evidenced a stronger affect-based strategy presented better results in measures related to motivation to learn Portuguese (MLP), perception of the teacher/classes (PTC), perception of individual capacities (PIC) and test anxiety, regardless of learners being more critical of the lack of socialization and reticent about sharing personal information. However, the group whose teacher favored interactive tasks showed greater engagement and enjoyment/flow. Statistical tests revealed a significant positive correlation between PTC and MLP, and a negative correlation between these two and test anxiety. It is proposed that the combination of affect and interaction can compensate for the demotivating effect of lack of face-to-face contact in ERT L2 classes.
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spelling doaj-art-20561b4be48944b2b8ac498b31eaa1692025-08-20T03:16:26ZengUniversity of Silesia PressTheory and Practice of Second Language Acquisition2450-54552451-21252025-06-0110.31261/TAPSLA.16026Who Cares If the Teacher Has a Cat? The Impact of Affect and Interaction upon Motivation in Online Portuguese L2 Classes during the COVID-19 PandemicBruno Costa0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3168-5108Jorge Pinto1https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5583-880XUniversity of LisbonUniversity of LisbonThis study examined the motivational impact of affect/interaction in emergency remote teaching (ERT) Portuguese L2 classes. Participants were two groups of students from 13 countries living in Portugal (N = 16). A mixed-method paradigm was adopted, consisting of a closed questionnaire, class observations, and semi-structured interviews. Results showed a generally positive impact of the practices adopted by both teachers. Comparatively, the group whose teacher evidenced a stronger affect-based strategy presented better results in measures related to motivation to learn Portuguese (MLP), perception of the teacher/classes (PTC), perception of individual capacities (PIC) and test anxiety, regardless of learners being more critical of the lack of socialization and reticent about sharing personal information. However, the group whose teacher favored interactive tasks showed greater engagement and enjoyment/flow. Statistical tests revealed a significant positive correlation between PTC and MLP, and a negative correlation between these two and test anxiety. It is proposed that the combination of affect and interaction can compensate for the demotivating effect of lack of face-to-face contact in ERT L2 classes. https://journals.us.edu.pl/index.php/TAPSLA/article/view/16026emotionsmotivationinteractionsengagementERT L2 teachingCOVID-19
spellingShingle Bruno Costa
Jorge Pinto
Who Cares If the Teacher Has a Cat? The Impact of Affect and Interaction upon Motivation in Online Portuguese L2 Classes during the COVID-19 Pandemic
Theory and Practice of Second Language Acquisition
emotions
motivation
interactions
engagement
ERT L2 teaching
COVID-19
title Who Cares If the Teacher Has a Cat? The Impact of Affect and Interaction upon Motivation in Online Portuguese L2 Classes during the COVID-19 Pandemic
title_full Who Cares If the Teacher Has a Cat? The Impact of Affect and Interaction upon Motivation in Online Portuguese L2 Classes during the COVID-19 Pandemic
title_fullStr Who Cares If the Teacher Has a Cat? The Impact of Affect and Interaction upon Motivation in Online Portuguese L2 Classes during the COVID-19 Pandemic
title_full_unstemmed Who Cares If the Teacher Has a Cat? The Impact of Affect and Interaction upon Motivation in Online Portuguese L2 Classes during the COVID-19 Pandemic
title_short Who Cares If the Teacher Has a Cat? The Impact of Affect and Interaction upon Motivation in Online Portuguese L2 Classes during the COVID-19 Pandemic
title_sort who cares if the teacher has a cat the impact of affect and interaction upon motivation in online portuguese l2 classes during the covid 19 pandemic
topic emotions
motivation
interactions
engagement
ERT L2 teaching
COVID-19
url https://journals.us.edu.pl/index.php/TAPSLA/article/view/16026
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