TY  - JOUR
AU  - Siyi Wang
AU  - Yongxiang Wang
PY  - 2026
CY  - Berlin, Germany
PB  - Peter Lang Verlag
JF  - World Languages Teaching and Research 
IS  - 1
VL  - 1
SN  - 3144-0738
TI  - Instructional Design and Learner Engagement in TALL: The Mediating Role of Teacher-student Emotional Connection
DO  - 10.3726/WLTR011_79
UR  - https://www.peterlang.com/document/1786299
N2  - Technology-assisted language learning (TALL) has become an important part of English as a foreign language (EFL) education, but the use of digital tools does not automatically lead to meaningful learner engagement. Rather, engagement depends on how technology-assisted activities are designed and how students experience teacher support. Drawing on Self-Determination Theory, this study examined the relationships among instructional design, teacher–student emotional connection, and learner engagement in TALL. A mediation model was developed to test whether teacher–student emotional connection explained the association between instructional design and learner engagement. Questionnaire data were collected from 508 non-English major undergraduate students in China. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, confirmatory factor analysis, correlation analysis, hierarchical regression, and mediation analysis with 5,000 bootstrap samples. The results showed that instructional design was positively associated with learner engagement and teacher–student emotional connection. Teacher–student emotional connection was also positively associated with learner engagement. Mediation analysis further showed that emotional connection partially mediated the relationship between instructional design and learner engagement, with the indirect effect accounting for approximately 20.1% of the total effect. These findings suggest that instructional design supports learner engagement not only through its pedagogical structure, but also by making teacher support emotionally visible to students. The study provides insight into the relational process through which instructional design supports learner engagement in TALL, highlighting the importance of making teacher support emotionally visible in technology-assisted English learning.
KW  - Technology-assisted language learning, Instructional design, Teacher–student emotional connection, Learner engagement, Self-Determination Theory
ER  -