Emojis as socio-emotional cues in EFL learning: a narrative conceptual review of affect, relatedness, and well-being
- 1INTI International University , , ,
- 2Umm Al-Qura University , ,
- 3Bahauddin Zakariya University , ,
Abstract
Emojis can modify the emotional and relational interpretation of digital messages, but their contribution to learner well-being in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) education remains uncertain. This narrative conceptual review brings together purposively selected research on emojis, educational communication, and language learner emotions. It distinguishes direct emoji evidence in EFL from emoji research in other settings, earlier emoticon studies, and contextual evidence on digital learning without an isolated emoji component. Self-determination theory provides the principal account of how perceived support might influence relatedness and motivation; digital semiotics explains cue interpretation, while broaden-and-build theory and a multidimensional view of well-being delimit possible affective processes and distal outcomes. The proposed model connects an emoji and its accompanying text to appraisals of communicative intent, warmth, appropriateness, and competence. These appraisals may influence affect and relatedness, with subsequent implications for willingness to communicate and engagement. Culture, familiarity, message purpose, sender identity, and relationship history condition these links. Selected studies support specific effects on interpretation, impressions, self-efficacy, or immediate task performance; they do not establish that emojis produce enduring well-being or resilience in EFL learners. The review develops testable propositions, considers adverse and null effects, and offers context-sensitive pedagogical implications. Its contribution is a bounded account of how small instructional cues might matter and what evidence is required to establish their consequences.
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BibTeX
@article{akhter2026emojis,
title = {{Emojis as socio-emotional cues in EFL learning: a narrative conceptual review of affect, relatedness, and well-being}},
author = {Shamim Akhter and Abdulrazaq Alzahrani and Rabindra Dev Prasad and Musarat Shaheen},
journal = {Frontiers in psychology},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.3389/fpsyg.2026.1873670},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/PMC/PMC13720438},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Emojis as socio-emotional cues in EFL learning: a narrative conceptual review of affect, relatedness, and well-being
AU - Shamim Akhter
AU - Abdulrazaq Alzahrani
AU - Rabindra Dev Prasad
AU - Musarat Shaheen
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/16
JO - Frontiers in psychology
DO - 10.3389/fpsyg.2026.1873670
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/PMC/PMC13720438
AB - Emojis can modify the emotional and relational interpretation of digital messages, but their contribution to learner well-being in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) education remains uncertain. This narrative conceptual review brings together purposively selected research on emojis, educational communication, and language learner emotions. It distinguishes direct emoji evidence in EFL from emoji research in other settings, earlier emoticon studies, and contextual evidence on digital learning without an isolated emoji component. Self-determination theory provides the principal account of how perceived support might influence relatedness and motivation; digital semiotics explains cue interpretation, while broaden-and-build theory and a multidimensional view of well-being delimit possible affective processes and distal outcomes. The proposed model connects an emoji and its accompanying text to appraisals of communicative intent, warmth, appropriateness, and competence. These appraisals may influence affect and relatedness, with subsequent implications for willingness to communicate and engagement. Culture, familiarity, message purpose, sender identity, and relationship history condition these links. Selected studies support specific effects on interpretation, impressions, self-efficacy, or immediate task performance; they do not establish that emojis produce enduring well-being or resilience in EFL learners. The review develops testable propositions, considers adverse and null effects, and offers context-sensitive pedagogical implications. Its contribution is a bounded account of how small instructional cues might matter and what evidence is required to establish their consequences.
SN - 1664-1078
ER -