THE IMPACT OF SOCIAL ANXIETY, LEARNING ORIENTATION, AND LEARNER AUTONOMY ON SECOND LANGUAGE LEARNER ENGAGEMENT AT TERTIARY LEVEL: A SUSTAINABLE APPROACH TO ESL EDUCATION

The issue of ESL learner engagement at tertiary level in Sri Lanka has been a subject of concern for many years. Factors such as social anxiety, learning orientation, and learner autonomy have been identified as critical components affecting engagement, which, in turn, influence students’ learning abilities and academic achievement. While the relationship between social anxiety and academic outcomes has been extensively studied, the specific ways in which social anxiety, learner autonomy, and learning orientation impact learner engagement in the Sri Lankan context remain unclear. Notably, many graduates from state universities in Sri Lanka, particularly those from the Faculties of Arts, Social Sciences, and Humanities, face significant challenges due to insufficient proficiency in English. This study seeks to investigate the effects of social anxiety, learner autonomy, and learning orientation on learner engagement at tertiary level. A quantitative research approach was adopted, utilizing Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) to analyze a sample of 204 participants from the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences at a Sri Lankan state university. Data collection was carried out through a questionnaire, which incorporated an adapted version of the Social Phobia Inventory to measure social anxiety, while exploratory factor analysis was employed to assess learner engagement. The gathered data were subsequently analyzed using SEM. Contrary to previous studies, the findings of this research reveal that social anxiety does not have a significant impact on ESL learners’ engagement in their tertiary-level language classrooms. However, both learning orientation and learner autonomy were found to positively influence learner engagement. Therefore, the study concludes that for a sustainable approach to ESL education, the roles of social anxiety, learner autonomy, and learning orientation are critical, although no direct interrelationship between these factors was identified.