Topic Interest and Engagement in Indonesian Primary EFL Classrooms

This study examined the relationship between topic interest and cognitive, behavioural, and motivational engagement among Indonesian primary EFL learners and whether this relationship strengthens across instructional cycles. Using a five-cycle mixed-methods longitudinal design (101 learners per cycle), we combined cycle-wise Spearman correlations, repeated-measures correlations (rmcorr) to capture within-student coupling, and linear mixed-effects models with person-mean centring to test change over time. Brief observations and student/teacher interviews provided explanatory vignettes. Cycle-wise associations ranged from moderate to very strong, and rmcorr indicated large within-student coupling between interest and each engagement strand (rrm ≈ .80–.88, p

Conversation · Explanatory model · Indonesian · Qualitative research · Education, Achievement, and Giftedness · Educational Strategies and Epistemologies · Psychological and Educational Research Studies