Longitudinal Interactions Between Mindfulness, Foreign-Language Listening Anxiety, and Multilingualism Among EFL Learners in Tertiary Education

Bibliographic Data

ID21697847
AuthorsRaees Calafato (0000-0001-8222-6772, University of South-Eastern Norway, corresponding author), Mojtaba Khatami (0009-0005-4874-7685, Universiti Brunei Darussalam), Ferdi Çelık (0000-0001-8272-4720, Ondokuz Mayıs University), Ferdi Çelik (Ondokuz Mayıs University, Samsun, Türkiye), Mohammad Golam Mohiuddin (0000-0001-7265-7974, Green University of Bangladesh)
Year2026
Publication date2026-07-09
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueInternational Journal of Bilingualism (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1367-0069 • E-ISSN: 1756-6878
PublisherSAGE Publications (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/13670069261462806
OpenAlexW7167794346
LanguageEN
References cited49

Aims and Objectives/Purpose/Research Questions: This study examines how active multilingual language use, socio-cognitive (Langerian) mindfulness, and foreign-language listening anxiety (FLLA) relate concurrently and prospectively among Bangladeshi EFL undergraduates. Design/Methodology/Approach: A three-wave longitudinal design (baseline, +3 months, +6 months) was used. Primary analyses employed a cross-lagged panel model (CLPM) within the structural equation modelling (SEM) framework to estimate autoregressive and cross-lagged relations; sensitivity checks used a random-intercept decomposition (RI-CLPM approximation) to separate between-person from within-person dynamics. Data and Analysis: The sample comprised 145 EFL undergraduates (83 female) at a private university in Dhaka. Measures included the LMS-14 (Langer mindfulness), Kim’s FLLA scale, and a seven-item contextual language-use inventory. Data screening indicated nonnormality; models were estimated with robust maximum likelihood (MLR) in lavaan. Measurement invariance and reliability were assessed for the language-use inventory; multiple sensitivity analyses tested latent versus observed scoring and baseline covariates (years of English study; listening frequency). Findings/Conclusions: Concurrently, greater active multilingual use and higher mindfulness are associated with lower FLLA. The CLPM showed modest prospective links (e.g., mid-semester language use → later mindfulness), but RI-CLPM checks substantially attenuated these cross-lags, indicating effects largely reflect stable between-person differences rather than robust short-term within-person causal coupling. FLLA demonstrated short-term stability (Phase 1 → Phase 2) but less predictability by Phase 3. Originality: The study uniquely combines longitudinal modelling, measurement invariance testing of an active language-use inventory, and RI-CLPM sensitivity checks to examine the multilingualism-mindfulness-FLLA relationship in a South Asian EMI context. Significance/Implications: Results suggest that pedagogies that leverage students’ multilingual repertoires and sustained, scaffolded mindfulness-informed instruction, alongside institutional EMI transition supports and translanguaging-friendly practices, are more promising than brief interventions for reducing listening anxiety

Active listening · Covariate · Higher education · Language proficiency · Leverage (statistics) · Longitudinal study · Metalinguistics · Multilingualism · Reliability (semiconductor) · Structural equation modeling · EFL/ESL Teaching and Learning · Mindfulness and Compassion Interventions · Stuttering Research and Treatment

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