Self-efficacy and learning engagement in EFL context: A moderated mediation model of enjoyment, anxiety, and boredom

Learners' engagement is a key factor in successful language learning. However, the emotional and motivational mechanisms behind engagement have not been fully explored, especially in English as a foreign language (EFL) contexts. This study explored how EFL learners' self-efficacy affected their engagement through the mediating role of enjoyment, and how anxiety and boredom moderated these emotional paths. Based on survey data from Chinese university EFL learners (N = 940), a regression-based path analysis using Hayes' PROCESS macro was conducted to test a moderated mediation model. The results indicated that EFL learners' self-efficacy positively predicted engagement both directly and indirectly through enjoyment, while anxiety weakened the paths from self-efficacy to enjoyment and from enjoyment to engagement. Boredom, despite its negative association, intensified the effects of self-efficacy and enjoyment on engagement. This study provides a theoretical basis for understanding how efficacy beliefs and achievement emotions jointly influence classroom engagement. Practically, these findings suggest that teachers should foster self-efficacy and enjoyment, reduce anxiety, and treat boredom as a signal to adjust emotional support.