Exploring emotion regulation strategies in an EFL argumentative writing course: the case of Iranian MA students in TEFL

Recent studies have examined the role and functionality of regulating emotions in academic settings. The main purpose of this study was to explore how various strategies can regulate students’ negative emotions in receiving feedback and challenges in argumentative writing. To formulate this line of research, we employed a multiple case design, using multiple sources of data including a semi-structured interview, narrative inquiry, and diaries to examine how Iranian EFL M.A students regulate their emotions in argumentative writing tasks. The holistic view of findings revealed that students experienced a large range of emotions while receiving feedback and challenges during argumentative writing. As the findings displayed, at the beginning of the course the participants had negative feelings such as shame, disappointment, low self-confidence, and stress which brought about using different strategies to regulate their emotions. These strategies were categorized into three themes: acceptance, cognitive reappraisal, and problem-solving. Besides, not only emotion regulation strategies (ERS) as an internal factor have a great influence on students’ mindsets, but also one external factor known as writing instructor was effective in regulating students’ emotions. The implications and recommendations for ERS are discussed.