Exploring Factors Associated with Students’ Interest and Reliability Testing of Situational Interest Measure (Efl Classroom Learning Context)

Abstract

Various studies investigated situational interest and its relation to learning enhancement. However, a reliable instrument to measure students' interest, particularly in EFL classrooms, is limited. This paper reports two studies exploring classroom situational factors and developing a situational interest measure associated with primary school ELLs. 48 fifth graders, ages 10 to 11, participated in study 1 by responding to an open-ended questionnaire distributed in four English lessons. 192 responses were thematically analysed to conclude factors associated with their interest supported by classroom observations. Study 2 tested a proposed measure in three English lessons involving 101 fifth graders. The measure consisted of three factors (F1 = lesson interest, F2 = cognitive-affective engagement, F3 = self-learning fulfilment), and ten observed variables (E.g., topic interest, activity interest, enjoyment). 303 responses were examined using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and showed strong correlations between the factors at .88 (F1 and F2), .78 (F1 and F3), and .71 (F2 and F3). Factors loading highlighted significant correlations between observed variables and the corresponding factors (coef. > 0.70). The model fit test demonstrated the measure's reliability with good fitting values: CMIN/DF = 3.596, GFI = .926, RMR = .029, TLI = .963, CFI = .974, and RMSEA .093.

Keywords: Situational interest, situational interest factors, situational interest development, situational interest measure, factors exploration, confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), factors loading, model fit test, EFL classroom learning, primary school ELLs.