Psychiatria Danubina, 2021; Vol. 33, No. 4, pp 516-522 [Link]

516 Original paper

‹0HGLFLQVNDQDNODGa - Zagreb, Croatia

EMOTIONAL ANXIETY, FRUSTRATION OF FAILURE AND

THE CHAIN MEDIATING EFFECT OF PROJECT-BASED
LEARNING PERFORMANCE
Yanyan Ren
School of Foreign Languages and Literatures, Chongqing Normal University, Chongqing, China

received: 15.5.2021; revised: 26.8.2021; accepted: 4.9.2021

SUMMARY
Background: Anxiety is one of the greatest emotional obstacles in language learning. College English teaching has shifted from
focusing on external factors such as the improvement of teaching hardware facilities to focusing on learners¶ language learning
awareness, language psychological changes, language cognitive ability, and language emotional performance.
Subjects and methods: This study was carried out on a sample of 318 Chinese undergraduates. This paper suggests that
emotional anxiety is a key factor leading to low language learning efficiency and has a negative impact on project-based learning
performance. Then two variables: frustration of failure and learning satisfaction, are introduced, and a multi-chain mediating model
is established to explore the transmission mechanism of emotional anxiety and learning performance.
Results: With the increase of emotional anxiety, students¶ learning performance will be significantly affected in the process of
project-based learning, and the results verify the negative relationship between anxiety and learning acquisition. Three paths that
affect emotional anxiety on learning performance are identified, namely, ³Emotional Anxiety -- Frustration of Failure -- Learning
Satisfaction -- Learning Performance´, ³Emotional Anxiety -- Frustration of Failure -- Learning Performance´ and ³Emotional
Anxiety -- Learning Satisfaction -- Learning Performance´.
Conclusions: English learning is not only a process of language cognition, but also a process of psychological changes in
learners. The achievement of learning performance is not only affected by language characteristics, students¶ cognitive ability, and
learning environments, but also by non-intellectual factors such as learning attitude, learning motivation and emotions.

Key words: emotional anxiety - english learning - psychological changes - learning performance

* * * * *

INTRODUCTION However, in project-based learning, learners will

also face certain environmental challenges, resulting in
With the development of modern teaching techni- learning anxiety. From the perspective of environmental
ques, teaching models have been greatly enriched. psychology, when the perception between individual
Students, teachers and teaching tools have merged into and environment is compatible, that is, when the com-
a new teaching community, which has certain advan- ponents of the environment meet individual needs, it is
tages in the output of learning performance. Students EHQHILFLDOWRWKHLQGLYLGXDO¶VSKysical and mental health
may obtain better results in the dimensions of com- and, consequently, learning of knowledge perception
petence, behavior and knowledge structure through can be promoted. On the contrary, when the perception
adapting and self-driving to the new teaching environ- is not compatible, individuals will suffer from psycho-
ment (Bai et al. 2018). However, the new teaching logical and physical tension and their health will be
model also imposes certain requirements on learners, damaged (Barkanyi et al. 2021), thus causing anxiety
which are usually considered to be affected by learning and frustration of failure, which has an inhibitory effect
ability and learning motivation. on the learning of knowledge perception. Then it is
At the same time, in the learning process under the necessary to make changes in the individual itself or in
new teaching model, learners may have a certain degree the environment to adjust and improve the mental state
of learning emotional anxiety due to changes in the so as to avoid anxiety. What¶s more, the frustration of
learning environment such as different materials, tools, failure in learning, i.e. emotional disorder deviation, is a
and learning progresses, which will also directly affect psychological and behavioral learning problem, which
leDUQHUV¶ learning performance. Once learners fail to has a huge negative impact on the acquisition of lear-
adapt to the new teaching model in time, they will have ning performance (Buratta et al. 2019).
a sense of the frustration of failure, which will further There is a mutual pulling force between human beings
affect the learning effect. Project-based learning, which and environment. At present, researches usually focus on
integrates flipped learning, innovative environment the positive effects of project-based teaching model on
learning, and the application of new technology, is a learning performance, while to a certain extent ignore
new teaching model that has gradually emerged and the environmental challenges of innovative teaching mo-
gained popularity in recent years. It is considered to be dels to learners, which in turn affects learning perfor-
an effective way to improve learning performance. mance. This is the main standpoint of this research.

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 Yanyan Ren: EMOTIONAL ANXIETY, FRUSTRATION OF FAILURE AND THE CHAIN MEDIATING EFFECT OF PROJECT-BASED
LEARNING PERFORMANCE Psychiatria Danubina, 2021; Vol. 33, No. 4, pp 516-522

In the 1960s, humanistic psychology gradually sprou- believed that foreign language anxiety mainly included
ted XS ,W LV EHOLHYHG WKDW SHRSOH¶V FRJQLWLYH SDWKZD\V communication anxiety, test anxiety and negative
are closely related to emotional factors. Knowledge evaluation anxiety. Among them, negative evaluation
learning is a process of combining DSHUVRQ¶VFRJQLWLRQ anxiety was an important factor that caused leDUQHUV¶
and emotion, emphasizing the influence of emotional frustration of failure (Krashen et al. 1981).
factors (Baron et al. 1986). Psychologist Krashen (1983) Macher et al. (2012) considered that trait anxiety
deconstructed the influence mechanism of affective was related positively to statistics anxiety and, counter-
factors. He believed that in ODQJXDJHOHDUQLQJOHDUQHUV¶ intuitively, to academic performance. Park & French
motivation, anxiety and self-confidence/frustration were pointed out that foreign language anxiety had aroused
the main emotional elements that affected learning great research interest in the field of second language
effects, and proposes the Affective Filter Hypothesis. acquisition and teaching and they examined gender
Based on this hypothesis, when learners have high differences in language anxiety (Li et al. 2021). Bar-
motivation, sufficient self-confidence and low anxiety, kanyi & Zsuzsanna testified that learners with intrinsic
less input will be blocked, and then more compre- motivation were more likely to fulfil language learning,
hensible input is obtained, resulting in better learning but anxiety prevented learners from fully participating
effect (Blumenfeld et al. 1991). Existing theories and in language learning activities (Macher et al. 2012).
researches support that learning anxiety and frustration Cheng, Ching-Hsue, Chen, & Chung-Hsi studied the
of failure are important factors influencing learning scenario of mobile-assisted English learning system and
performance. pointed out that mobile-assisted English learning system
Performance, a concept originally comes from mana- ZDVEHQHILFLDOWRVWXGHQWV¶RYerall academic performance,
gement, is an integration of achievement and effective- though students with lower levels of anxiety have better
ness. It is the work behavior, mode, result and its objec- academic performance than those with higher levels of
tive influence in a certain period of time. Learning per- anxiety (Park et al. 2013). However, Jahangiri et al held
formance not only refers to the achievement of learning, different views on anxiety, believing that the question of
but also to the universal acquisition of learning. The anxiety had too often been discussed in absolute rather
acquisition of learning refers to the degree to which than relative terms. Anxiety does not necessarily create
students acquire professional knowledge, skills and negative effects (Podsakoff et al. 2003).
understanding, correct attitudes and values, as well as Scholars have done many researches on foreign lan-
good individual behaviors in the process of completing guage anxiety and have put forward different opinions
various learning activities (Ching et al. 2019). on it. Basically, they believe foreign language anxiety is
The level of satisfaction, which intuitively reflects a kind of anxiety under specific situations, which has
VWXGHQWV¶ Rverall evaluation of their own learning pro- QHJDWLYHLPSDFWRQOHDUQHUV¶OHDUQLQJWRDFHUWDLQH[WHQW
cess and learning outcomes, is a key indicator for eva- Besides, they believe emotion awareness, one of the
luating the success of teaching from the perspective of core components of emotion regulation, plays an im-
students (Dewaele et al. 2017, Horwitz et al. 1986). portant role in reducing anxiety and is of great signifi-
Compared with other traditional teaching models, cance to learning effectiveness (Pourmohammadi et al.
project-based Learning (PBL) has many advantages. It 2020).
FDQ HIIHFWLYHO\ LPSURYH OHDUQHUV¶ OHDUQLQJ PRWLYDWLRQ According to relevant literature research, academic
and learning outcomes (Jahangiri et al. 2011). It is pro- burden, introverted personality, and short temper are the
ved in many researches that the application of PBL in main reasons for university students to develop anxiety.
university language teaching, especially in teaching that Emotional anxiety is universal in foreign language
involves real life scenarios such as business English tea- learning, and it has been found that there is a significant
FKLQJ LV FRQGXFLYH WR SURPRWLQJ OHDUQHUV¶ VDWLVIDFtion negative correlation between foreign language anxiety
and meeting their needs and desires (Jin et al. 2017). and learning performance. Emotional anxiety in project-
$Q[LHW\LVD SHUVRQ¶VVXEMHFWLYHHPRWLRQVLQFOXGLQJ based learning can force learners to filter out positive
worry, tension, and fear (Ding & Yao 2020). It is an factors, affecting professional knowledge acquisition,
emotional state triggered by external unspecified risks. which, then, is likely to bring about changes in personal
In the learning process, learners, subject to factors such learning behaviors. On the basis of this, Hypothesis 1 is
as teaching environment, individual differences and proposed: Emotional anxiety negatively predicts pro-
curriculum heterogeneity, may experience learning ject-based learning performance.
anxiety, which affects their learning effect. In the 1980s, One of the major characteristics of project-based
American psychologist Horwitz. et al pioneered the learning is collaborative learning relationships. Langua-
study of foreign language learning anxiety as an inde- ge learners need to show their participation in the lear-
pendent phenomenon in the process of language lear- ning process. Since learning is cumulative and cannot
ning (Krashen et al. 1983). Horwitz et al held that the be smooth sailing, learners may experience learning
foreign language anxiety arouse when communication adaptation frustration, that is, point-like emotional
GLIILFXOWLHV ZHUH FDXVHG E\ OHDUQHUV¶ LQDELOLW\ WR IXOO\ changes in the process of learning. Continuous accumu-
grasp a foreign language, which, consequently, threate- lation of emotions may cause learners to produce self-
ned learners¶ VHOI-awareness. In addition, they also denial in learning. Emotional anxiety can directly lead

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 Yanyan Ren: EMOTIONAL ANXIETY, FRUSTRATION OF FAILURE AND THE CHAIN MEDIATING EFFECT OF PROJECT-BASED
LEARNING PERFORMANCE Psychiatria Danubina, 2021; Vol. 33, No. 4, pp 516-522

to frustration of failure, which will have a negative questionnaires was 318, and the questionnaire effective
impact on predicting learning performance. Based on rate reached 85.68%. Among the valid research objects,
this, Hypothesis 2 is put forward: Frustration of failure there are 132 males and 186 females. The proportion of
is a mediating variable between emotional anxiety and first-year undergraduates is 16.04%, sophomores 35.22%,
learning performance. juniors 31.76%, and seniors 16.98%. The average age of
The more emotional anxiety, the more troubles lear- participants is 19.27 years old.
ners may experience in project-based learning, which The FLCAS has been widely employed to measure
affects learner satisfaction of this teaching model, and learners¶ anxiety arising from learning in second and
consequently, learning performance may decrease. Re- foreign language situations as well as to assess the
searches also have shown that learner satisfaction has a relation of anxiety to L2 performance (Matsuda et al.
significant positive predictive effect on learning perfor- 2004). According to the preliminary application and
mance. Hence, Hypothesis 3 is proposed: Learning factor analysis of FLCAS by Wang Caikang in Chinese
satisfaction is a mediating variable between emotional college students, it is found that the Chinese version of
anxiety and project-based learning performance. FLCAS is reliable and valid, and can be used in related
The theory of humanistic psychology emphasizes research or practical work. His research also points out
human dignity, value, creativity and self-realization, and the effects of Chinese college studeQWV¶ OHDUQLQJ
attributes self-realization of human nature to the display English. It is considered that anxiety mainly includes
of potential. In addition, emotional anxiety has the worry, nervousness, fear of speaking English and fear of
effect of inhibiting creativity, which in turn affects lear- questioning in class (Sendzik et al. 2017). Foreign
QHUV¶SRWential development, causes frustration of failure language anxiety is a unique anxiety phenomenon that is
in the learning process, affects learning satisfaction, and different from trait anxiety and state anxiety. Based on
lowers learning performance. Based on this, Hypothesis the classic research, this paper also proposes 33
4 is brought about: Emotional anxiety affects project- questions in total, and uses the Likert 5-point scale
based learning performance through the chain mediating scoring method to measure emotional anxiety in foreign
effect of frustration of failure and learning satisfaction. languaJH OHDUQLQJ ZLWK ³ VWURQJO\ GLVDJUHH´ ³ 
The theoretical model of chain mediating effect of disagree´³ QHLWKHUDJUHHQRUGLVDJUHH´³ DJUHH´
emotional anxiety on project-based learning is shown in ³5 = strongly agree´.
Figure 1. In this research, the frustration of failure refers to the
academic frustration caused by project-based learning.
SUBJECTS AND METHODS Academic frustration generally refers to the negative
emotional experience that students produce when they
This research chooses non-English major under- encounter setbacks in related learning activities, which
graduates in Chongqing, China as the research objects. has the characteristics of diffusion, persistence, and
At present, more and more teachers in English language duality. That is, this emotional experience has a wide
teaching try to adopt the project-based teaching model range of influences and a long duration, which has both
and have achieved a wealth of teaching practice. Choo- negative and positive effects. Typical researches in this
sing non-English majors is conducive to the deve- field mainly explore the learning experience of students
lopment of research. With research objects from diffe- from the perspective of academic failure, pointing out
rent majors, grades, and universities, a higher degree that academic frustration is not conducive to the physi-
of participation in the language project-based learning cal and mental health of students, and the increase in
model is ensured. At the same time, the diversity of frustration frequency will make the level of mental health
research participants also guarantees a larger degree of deteriorating (Tabakue et al. 2014). The academic frus-
external validity. A total of 370 questionnaires were tration questionnaire designed in this paper is based on
sent out in the research, and 321 recovered. After the "Young Students Academic Frustration Questionnai-
excluding invalid questionnaires, the number of valid re" compiled by Zhang Xudong. etc. (Tang et al. 2020).

Figure 1. Theoretical model of chain mediating effect of emotional anxiety on project-based learning

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 Yanyan Ren: EMOTIONAL ANXIETY, FRUSTRATION OF FAILURE AND THE CHAIN MEDIATING EFFECT OF PROJECT-BASED
LEARNING PERFORMANCE Psychiatria Danubina, 2021; Vol. 33, No. 4, pp 516-522

The original questionnaire has 41 questions, inclu- scored from different angles and then a total score will
ding six dimensions: learning environment frustration, be obtained through calculation. This paper uses the
learning motivation frustration, test frustration, learning scores of CET-4 writing as a main measurement index.
pressure frustration, learning adaptation frustration, and Scores are divided into five levels from1 to 5, which
learning confidence frustration. This paper intends to indicates a learning performance from low to high, and
consider learning pressure frustration, learning adapta- the scoring method adopted is holistic scoring.
tion frustration, and learning self-confidence frustration
including nine questions. The questionnaire uses RESULTS
Likert's 5-point positive scoring method, in which 1
means completely inconsistent, that is, experienced less Scale reliability test
academic frustration and 5 means completely consistent,
This research uses SPSS 21.0 to test the reliability
that is, experienced more academic frustration (Wang et
and validity of the data collected during the pre-investi-
al. 2012).
gation stage. It is generally believed that if the KMO
Learning satisfaction can effectively improve lear- value of the scale is above 0.9, validity is established
QHUV¶ OHDUQLQJ PRWLYDWLRQ Dnd willingness to actively and the structure of the questionnaire is very good. The
acquire knowledge, thereby enhancing the level of lear- reliability coefficient can reflect the stability or reliabi-
ning performance. In former researches, there are lity of the measurement tool. Generally speaking, when
PDLQO\ WZR W\SLFDO FROOHJH VWXGHQWV¶ OHDUQLQJ VDtisfac- WKH &URQEDFK¶V Į LV DERYH  WKH VFDOH LV DFFHSWDEOH
tion evaluation scales. One is the American College ThH .02 YDOXH DQG &URQEDFK¶V Į RI WKH VFDOH LQ WKH
Student Satisfaction Inventory (SSI) released by Noel- survey of this research both reached significant levels,
Levitz. Since SSI mainly reflects the relationship bet- which suggests that the reliability and validity of the
ween enrollment and campus life, related satisfaction in scale meet the requirements and can be used in research
SSI is not suitable for the setting of this research. The investigations. In addition, after measurement, the inter-
other one is Number Cruncher Statistical System of QDOFRQVLVWHQF\RIWKHVFDOH&URQEDFK¶VĮLVDERYH 0.8,
China (NCSS), which includes learning perspectives and the scale is significantly applicable.
and learning styles, college student curriculum learning
experience, college student internship training, college
student gains, college student learning time allocation, Common method deviation test
college satisfaction, learning participation, degree of Common method biases (CMB) refers to the
learning importance, learning experience, ways to face artificial covariation between predictor variables and
pressure and frustration, campus life experience, life and benchmark variables caused by the same data source or
learning, the number of occurrences of various events, raters, the same measurement environment, project
ideological and political theory classes, employment context, and the characteristics of the project itself.
choices, etc. There is a total of 31 questions concerning Testing CMB has become a regular link in empirical
satisfaction in the scale. In accordance with the purpose research in psychology. Since data in this research is
of this research, this paper selects the NCSS questions collected in the form of research objects¶ self-reports,
related to curriculum learning experience, and sets up a there may be homology deviations in data acquisition.
9-question project-based learning satisfaction scale, Harman¶s single factor test is used for common method
including the setting of teaching links, the degree of deviation test and it is thought that the more variance
learning participation and ability improvement training. explained by the method factor, the more serious the
7KHQ WKH TXHVWLRQQDLUH DGRSWV /LNHUW¶V -point scale deviation. Moreover, it is generally believed that the
VFRULQJPHWKRGWRPHDVXUHOHDUQLQJVDWLVIDFWLRQZLWK³ variance explained by a single factor cannot exceed
= very dissatisfLHG´ ³  UHODWLYHO\ GLVVDWLVILHG´ ³  40% (Wen et al. 2014). Putting all the variables together
IDLU´³ UHODWLYHO\VDWLVILHG´DQG³ YHU\VDWLVILHG´ for exploratory factor analysis, it is found that the first
The project-based foreign language learning perfor- factor only explained 18.67% of the total variance
mance in this research is more focused on the evaluation variation, which is less than 40%. Therefore, common
RIVWXGHQWV¶ODQJXDJHFRPPXQLFDWLRQDELOLW\with spea- method biases do not exist in this research.
king and writing as its external manifestations. Take
writing for example. Since it is very important in inter-
Correlation analysis
national business exchanges, in project-based teaching
model, international trade written communication is The mean value, standard deviation of each variable
often set up as the teaching VFHQDULR $QG OHDQHUV¶ and the correlation between the variables are statis-
writing level reflects their learning performance to a tically analyzed, as shown in Table 1. There is a signifi-
certain extent. As for the evaluation of writing, the two cant correlation between the key variables such as
most common scoring methods in the world are holistic emotional anxiety, frustration of failure, learning satis-
scoring method and analytic scoring method. The faction and learning performance in foreign language
former is a method to score a piece of writing with an learning. Among them, emotional anxiety and frustration
overall impression of its content and language, while the of failure are significantly positively correlated, while
latter means that each component of the writing is they are negatively correlated to learning satisfaction and

519
 Yanyan Ren: EMOTIONAL ANXIETY, FRUSTRATION OF FAILURE AND THE CHAIN MEDIATING EFFECT OF PROJECT-BASED
LEARNING PERFORMANCE Psychiatria Danubina, 2021; Vol. 33, No. 4, pp 516-522

Table 1. Factors correlation analysis table

Variables 0“6' 1 2 3 4 5 6
Age “ 1 - - - - -
Gender “ 0.20** 1 - - - -
Emotional Anxiety “ -0.06* -0.08** 1 - - -
Frustration of failure “ -0.02 0.09* 0.31*** 1 - -
Learning Satisfaction “ -0.05 0.02 -0.45** -0.47*** 1 -
Learning Performance “ 0.05* 0.11** -0.38*** -0.37*** 0.57*** 1
Note: *p<0.05; **p<0.01; ***p<0.001; Male=0, Female=1

learning performance. Frustration of failure is signifi- below) mediating effect significance test results show
cantly negatively correlated to learning satisfaction, and it that the mediating effect of the frustration of failure in
also has a significant negative relationship with learning emotional anxiety and learning performance does not
performance. There is a significant positive relationship include 0 in the 95% interval, so the mediating effect is
between learning satisfaction and learning performance. significant, and conclusion can be drawn that frustration
The above analysis results lay a foundation for subse- of failure is a mediating variable between emotional
quent hypothesis testing. anxiety and learning performance. That is, Hypothesis 2
is verified.
Significance test of mediating effect Third, with an inspection of the mediating effect of
learning satisfaction between emotional anxiety and
Common methods to test the mediating effect are the learning performance, the model fitting indexes are
causal steps approach proposed by Baron and Kenny RMSEA=0.05, CFI=0.96, TLI=0.95, SRMR=0.03, which
(1986) (7yWK et al. 2008) and the Bootstrap method demonstrates that the data fit the model well. Bootstrap
which directly tests the significance of the coefficient mediating effect significance test of the deviation-
product. Wen Zhonglin put forward a new inspection corrected percentile shows that the mediating effect of
process based on an analysis of different methods. The learning satisfaction between emotional anxiety and
process he suggested combines the advantages of the learning performance does not include 0 in the 95%
causal steps approach (piecemeal) and the Bootstrap interval, so the mediating effect is significant, and it can
method which is recommended to try to test a*b in be concluded that learning satisfaction is a mediating
sequence first. If it is not significant, Bootstrap method variable between emotional anxiety and project-based
can be used directly to inspect the coefficient ab to learning performance, which confirms Hypothesis 3.
improve the inspection. With this process, compared Finally, inspecting the chain mediating model, the
with the pure Bootstrap method to test the coefficient model fitting indexes are RMSEA=0.05, CFI=0.96,
ab, whether it is to consider the first type of error rate, TLI=0.96, SRMR=0.03, which indicates that the data
inspection ability or the interpretability of the result, the fits the model well. Bootstrap mediating significance
inspection result will only be better (Zhang et al. 2020). test of the deviation-corrected percentile shows that the
This research adopts the mediating effect test procedure chain mediating effect of the frustration of failure and
recommended by Wen Zhonglin, and controls the influ- learning satisfaction between emotional anxiety and
ence of gender and age. learning performance does not include 0 in the 95%
This research selects root-mean-square error of confidence interval, so the chain mediating effect is
approximation (SMSEA), comparative fit index (CFI), significant. In other words, Hypothesis 4 is authen-
Tucker-Lewis index (TLI) and standardized residual ticated: emotional anxiety affects project-based learning
mean root (SRMR) for testing. performance through the chain mediating effect of
First, inspecting the direct effect of foreign lan- frustration of failure and learning satisfaction.
guage learning emotional anxiety on learning per- The specific results are shown in Table 2. It can be
formance, it is shown that the model fitting indexes are seen that emotional anxiety directly affects learning
RMSEA=0.05, CFI=0.95, TLI=0.94, SRMR=0.04, so performance, with a direct effect value of 0.86, accoun-
it can be concluded that the data fits the model well. ting for 59.31% of the total effect. In addition, the
Emotional anxiety significantly negatively predicts the impact is produced through three intermediary paths,
achievement of learning performance, which supports and the indirect effect accounts for 40.69% of the total
Hypothesis 1. Emotional anxiety has negative influences effect. First, the highest proportion of mediating effects
on project-based learning performance (Zu et al. 2021). LVWKHSDWK³(PRWLRQDODQ[Lety ĺ)UXVWUDWLRQRI)DLOXUH
Second, with an inspection of the mediating effect of ĺ/HDUQLQJ6DWLVIDFWLRQĺ/HDUQLQJ3HUIRUPDQFH´ZLWK
the frustration of failure between emotional anxiety a mediating effect value of 0.24, which accounts for
and learning performance, it is shown that the model 40.68% of the total mediating effect. It is indicated that
fitting indexes are RMSEA=0.05, CFI=0.94, TLI=0.93, emotional anxiety can hinder the improvement of pro-
SRMR=0.04, which means that the data fits the model ject-based leDUQHUV¶NQRZOHGJHDFTXLVLWLRQDELOLW\E\LQ-
well. Bootstrap (repeated sampling 5000 times, the same creasing the frustration of failure and reducing learning

520
 Yanyan Ren: EMOTIONAL ANXIETY, FRUSTRATION OF FAILURE AND THE CHAIN MEDIATING EFFECT OF PROJECT-BASED
LEARNING PERFORMANCE Psychiatria Danubina, 2021; Vol. 33, No. 4, pp 516-522

Table 2. Statistics of Mediating Effect

Value of Mediating Percentage in Percentage in
Effect Total Effect Mediating Effect
Emotional AQ[LHW\ĺ)UXVWration of Failure -0.24 16.55% 40.68%
ĺ/HDUQLQJ6DWLVIDFWLRQĺ/HDUQLQJ3HUIRUPDQFH
(PRWLRQDO$Q[LHW\ĺFrustration of Failure -0.22 15.17% 37.29%
ĺ/HDUQLQJ3HUIRUPDQFH
(PRWLRQDO$Q[LHW\ĺ/HDUQLQJ6DWLVIDFWLRQ -0.13 8.97% 22.03%
ĺ/HDUQLQJ3HUIRUPDQFH
Total Mediating Effect (Indirect effect) -0.59 40.69% 100.00%
Direct Effect -0.86 59.31%
Total Effect -1.45 100.00%

satisfaction. Second, the mediating effect of the path of emotional anxiety and learning performance. Compared
³(PRWLRQDO $Q[LHW\ ĺ )UXVWUDWLRQ RI IDLOXUH ĺ /HDU- with traditional teaching models, great changes in the
QLQJ 3HUIRUPDQFH´ LV , accounting for 37.29% of teaching envLURQPHQW DQG OHDUQHUV¶ UROHV WDNH SODFH LQ
the total mediating effect, which indicates that the project-based learning. Sometimes, students may have
impact of emotional anxiety on learning performance is difficulty adapting themselves to the changes and the
the accumulation of the frustration of failure in the transition of learning roles. If they cannot get sufficient
learning process, and it may in turn lead to a decline of external support, they are subject to helplessness. As a
learning effectiveness. Finally, the mediating effect of result, their enthusiasm for learning will be lowered,
WKH SDWK ³(PRWLRQDO $Q[LHW\ ĺ /HDUQLQJ 6DWLVIDFWLRQ which will ultimately affect their learning performance.
ĺ /HDUQLQJ 3HUIRUPDQFH´ LV  ZKLFK DFFRXQWV IRU Therefore, in project-based learning, students should
22.03%, the smallest proportion of the total mediating be given sufficient encouragement and support in the
effect. Nevertheless, it still shows that emotional anxiety learning process and affirmative education should be
significantly affects learning satisfaction and leads to a strengthened. Such scaffolding ensures students to
decline of learning results. have a stable mindset in the face of those changes in
In summary, in addition to directly affecting learning the potential learning environment. Teaching should be
performance, emotional anxiety also affects the learning student-oriented, so that students can fully devote
performance of project-based learners through the chain themselves to their studies.
mediation of the frustration of failure and learning This study also found that learning satisfaction has a
satisfaction. mediating effect between emotional anxiety and leaning
performance. Emotional anxiety can easily lead to a
DISCUSSION decrease in learning satisfaction, which in turn nega-
tively influences learning performance. Since emotional
The results of this research indicate that emotional anxiety can affect learning performance through the
anxiety negatively predicts learning performance; that chain mediation of failure frustration and learning
LV ZLWK DQ LQFUHDVH RI HPRWLRQDO DQ[LHW\ VWXGHQWV¶ satisfaction, the transmission problem of this influence
learning performance will be significantly affected in mechanism must be effectively managed.
the process of project-based learning. This research also
confirms that there is a negative relationship between CONCLUSION
anxiety and learning acquisition. In the learning process,
emotional anxiety is considered to be an unstable English learning is not only a process of language
psychological state, and according to humanistic psycho- cognition, but also a process of psychological changes
logy WKHRULHV LW FDQ DIIHFW SHRSOH¶V EHKDYLRUV RYHU D in learners. The achievement of learning performance is
long period of time. However, traditional foreign lan- QRW RQO\ DIIHFWHG E\ ODQJXDJH FKDUDFWHULVWLFV VWXGHQWV¶
guage teaching researches highlight the language cogni- cognitive ability, and learning environments, but also by
WLYHDELOLW\EXWLJQRUHOHDUQHUV¶HPRWLRQal factors. From non-intellectual factors such as learning attitude,
the perspective of the present research, due to the learning motivation and emotions.
negative predictive effect of emotional anxiety on
learning performance, more attention should be paid to
the emotional changes of learners in the process of Acknowledgements:
foreign language teaching. It is necessary to alleviate or
This research is supported by the Chongqing Tertiary
even relieve the emotional anxiety of learners, so as to
Education Teaching Reform Research Project (Fund
effectively promote the learning cognitive ability as well number: 183046).
as the learning behavior and learning performance.
At the same time, the research results also show that Conflict of interest: None to declare.
the frustration of failure have a mediating effect between

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 Yanyan Ren: EMOTIONAL ANXIETY, FRUSTRATION OF FAILURE AND THE CHAIN MEDIATING EFFECT OF PROJECT-BASED
LEARNING PERFORMANCE Psychiatria Danubina, 2021; Vol. 33, No. 4, pp 516-522

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Correspondence:
Yanyan Ren
School of Foreign Languages and Literatures, Chongqing Normal University
401331, Chongqing, China
E-mail: renyy@[Link]

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