Micro-Level Network Structures of Foreign Language Enjoyment and Boredom: A Comparative Study of English and Non-English Majors

Abstract

This study adopts a network analytic approach to examine the micro-level structures of Foreign Language Enjoyment (FLE) and Foreign Language Learning Boredom (FLLB) and to compare their configurations between English majors and non-English majors in the Chinese EFL context. Using convenience sampling, 332 first-year students from a comprehensive college in southern China (128 English majors; 204 non-English majors) completed the Chinese Version of the Foreign Language Enjoyment Scale (CFLES) and the Foreign Language Learning Boredom Scale-Short Form (FLLBS-SF). Gaussian Graphical Models were estimated separately for each group, followed by case-dropping bootstrap stability tests, centrality and bridge-centrality analyses, and a Network Comparison Test (NCT). Results showed that for both FLE and FLLB, the two groups did not differ significantly in overall network structure or global strength, suggesting largely comparable emotional system organization across majors. In both groups, nodes clustered in line with the theorized dimensions, providing network-level structural support for construct validity. At the node level, learning enjoyment emerged as a central hub of FLE across groups, whereas teacher-related nodes (e.g., friendliness/support) and atmosphere-related nodes (e.g., good atmosphere/positive environment) displayed group-specific prominence and bridging roles. For FLLB, central "hotspots" differed: English majors' boredom centered on classroom phenomenology (time dragging perception and low engagement), whereas non-English majors' boredom additionally highlighted exercise monotony and general dullness. Bridge analyses further revealed distinct cross-dimensional diffusion pathways, indicating that repetitive exercises and generalized dullness were key connectors in English majors, while classroom boredom and listening dullness functioned as stronger bridges in non-English majors. Stability indices suggested that centrality estimates, especially in the English-major networks, should be interpreted cautiously.