The Paradox of Enjoyment: Unpacking the Relationships Among Enjoyment, Engagement, Burnout, and L2 Achievement Among Left-Behind Students

This study investigates the dual pathways of foreign language enjoyment (FLE) among left-behind children (LBC), a population constituting more than 20% of China’s child population and largely under investigated in the second-language learning context; the focus of this study is on the unique and joint contributions of FLE to learning engagement (LE) and learning burnout (LB) in determining academic achievement (AA). Our results confirm that FLE and LE are positively correlated with EFL achievement, while LB shows a significant negative correlation with EFL achievement. However, they also reveal counterintuitive positive correlations between FLE and LB and between LE and LB among LBC—contradicting prior findings from the general population. More importantly, our path analysis reveals a blocked positive association and an opened negative association: while FLE is significantly associated with LE, LE is not significantly linked to achievement; conversely, FLE is positively connected to LB, which is negatively associated with achievement. This “paradox of enjoyment” reveals that FLE acts as a double-edged sword for Chinese LBC, challenging the unidirectional positive view of FLE in second-language learning and demonstrating that positive emotions alone cannot drive sustainable EFL learning success within this vulnerable group. Our findings highlight the unique socioemotional complexities of LBC, underscoring that fostering enjoyment alone might be insufficient without targeted interventions to alleviate burnout and translate engagement into actual success, and offer valuable insights for educators and policy-makers aiming to improve foreign language education among LBC.