Beyond the individual: A scoping review of passion in language education through ecological systems theory

With the integration of positive psychology into language education research, "passion" has gained increasing attention as a key emotional force driving the sustained engagement of both language learners and teachers. However, systematic overviews in this field remain relatively limited. In the process of language learning, learners and teachers are embedded within complex ecological environments and their passion is shaped and evolved through continuous interactions with the contexts. Therefore, it is necessary to adopt an ecological perspective to examine how passion is shaped and sustained within multiple environmental systems. Accordingly, this study conducted a PRISMA-ScR-guided scoping review, synthesizing empirical research on passion in language education from the perspective of ecological systems theory, ultimately including 20 journal articles. The review addressed four research questions: (1) What are the publication trends and distribution characteristics of the literature in this field? (2) What theoretical foundations and research themes characterize the current body of work? (3) What methodological approaches and measurement tools are employed? (4) What ecological factors influence one's passion? The findings reveal that passion is not an isolated individual trait, but a dynamic emotional force continuously shaped within the multi-layered interactive networks, including micro-systems, meso-systems, exo-systems, macro-systems, and chrono-systems. Through systematic integration, this review maps a general picture of passion research in language education and identifies current research hotspots and gaps. In addition, it highlights areas for future research and provides practical insights for language educators to foster and sustain passion.