Socio-emotional learning predicts EFL learners’ flourishing: A two-wave longitudinal model of English-speaking anxiety and resilience

Socio-emotional learning (SEL) has been associated with reduced anxiety and improved psychological functioning in language learning, yet the temporal mechanisms connecting SEL to flourishing remain largely unexplored in the English as a foreign language (EFL) context. Addressing this gap, the present study examines whether English-speaking anxiety (ESA) and resilience sequentially mediate the longitudinal association between SEL skills and flourishing among tertiary-level EFL learners. A two-wave, time-lagged design was implemented with Turkish EFL learners (N = 224). SEL was measured at Time 1, while ESA, resilience, and flourishing were assessed 15 weeks later at Time 2. A structural mediation model was tested to evaluate the temporal links among the variables. Results showed that higher SEL skills at Time 1 significantly predicted lower ESA at Time 2. Lower ESA subsequently predicted higher resilience, which in turn predicted greater flourishing. The serial indirect pathway from SEL to flourishing, via ESA and resilience, was statistically significant. In this respect, these findings highlight the importance of incorporating SEL-based practices into EFL instruction to alleviate speaking-related anxiety, foster resilience, and promote learners’ psychological flourishing. This study provides longitudinal evidence for the mechanisms through which SEL contributes to flourishing in EFL settings.