A Study On Social And Emotional Competence Of Junior High School Students In English Learning

In recent years,students’ social and emotional competence has received wide scholarly attention in the field of education(CASEL,2005;Panayiotou et al.,2019).Previous research has corroborated the positive impact of social and emotional competence on English learning,but few studies examined this competence of junior high students in English learning.Therefore,this study adopted a mixed-methods to investigate the status quo of social and emotional competence among 364 seventh-grade students at a junior high school in S city,and to explore the impact of social and emotional competence on students’English learning.The research data were obtained from questionnaires,semi-structured interviews,and reflective journals.The primary research results are as follows:First,students in this junior high school demonstrated high levels of social and emotional competence in English learning(M=4.59).According to the mean scores,the five dimensions of social and emotional competence were ranked as follows:social awareness(M=4.72)>self-awareness(M=4.69)>relationship skills(M=4.57)>self-management(M=4.50)>responsible decision-making(M=4.49).In addition,there exists a considerable sample variation among these students(S.D.=0.67).They exhibited greater consistency in self-awareness(S.D.=0.56)and higher variance in responsible decision-making(S.D.=0.74).Second,students’ social and emotional competence influences the "content","incentive",and "interaction" in English learning.As for "content",adequate self-confidence,social rule perception,self-discipline and perseverance promote students’better understanding and mastery of English;as for "incentive",accurate emotion recognition,effective emotion regulation,genuine appreciation,and beneficial interpersonal relationships motivate and sustain students’ learning;as for "interaction",well-planned goals,good empathy,keen resource recognition,effective communication skills,and excellent situational analysis skills help students to better interact with others and the environment.Based on the above results,this study provides insights for junior high school English learners and English teachers.First,students are encouraged to be aware of the importance of social and emotional competence in English learning,to set appropriate learning goals and detailed learning plans based on their individual circumstances,to learn emotion management skills,to build beneficial interpersonal relationships,and to actively seek professional support to help make responsible decisions.Second,English teachers can conduct group or team activities to develop students’ cooperation skills,provide timely encouragement to boost students’ self-confidence,create a relaxed and harmonious English learning environment,establish a friendly teacher-student relationship,and provide practical English learning plans and problem solutions based on students’ diverse learning styles and characteristics.