Emotional Bridge in Higher Education: Enhancing Self-Efficacy and Achievement through Hybrid Engagement

Emotional Bridge in Higher Education: Enhancing Self-Efficacy and Achievement through Hybrid Engagement

The post-Covid-19 classroom is increasingly evolving towards flipped, hybridised design that integrates students into the learning strategy and course structure through digital, participative, and adaptive settings. For students, the realisation of course goals and learning attainment has been shown to depend upon several active psychological domains including emotionality, self-efficacy, and perceived control/autonomy. Central to such conditions are a variety of experiential forces and environmental considerations that shape the emotional stability and active engagement of students in these modern, hybrid classrooms. This study has explored focus group feedback regarding post-Covid-19 experiences in Hong Kong’s higher education English language courses. Key insights from a cohort of 15 students reveal that the design and structure of the learning experience plays a direct role in supporting positive emotional regulation and, over time, a student’s perceived self-efficacy as a learner. When students attain positive outcomes from within these experiences, the findings conclude that their productive engagement in class activities and deliverables will improve, resulting in a performative effect that can predict future attainment and learner competency. Finally, the study emphasizes creating ESP programs attuned to diverse learning styles and emotional needs, offering ESP practitioners a guide to enhance engagement and outcomes in post-pandemic education.