Prosocial Engagement, Individual-level Motivations, and Group Dynamics

How Does Ideal Classmates Priming Work Now?

Abstract

This study investigates how our motivational intervention, Ideal Classmates Priming, influences university students’ L2 learning motivation and prosocial engagement before and after the COVID-19 pandemic. Previous studies found the intervention cultivated peer-generated norm-building and group cohesion, increased cooperation, built friendships, and raised metacognitive awareness about adjusting to each other’s communicative needs. But the studies were conducted before the pandemic placed students and teachers in isolation. Now back in face-to-face classrooms, we conducted Ideal Classmates Priming at four Japanese universities in ten communication-based English classrooms to assess how its effects compare to our previous, pre-COVID-19 studies using the intervention. Longitudinal measurements were taken to assess changes in four temporal factors of motivation and one in prosocial engagement. Additionally, qualitative analyses described and checked changes in students’ attitudes and behaviors regarding their classmates’ and their own prosocial engagement. The findings suggest the intervention continues to positively influence motivation and peer engagement, but compared to their pre-pandemic counterparts, post-pandemic students demonstrated greater need for—and newer ways to give and receive—emotional connection and social support. This indicates a shift in the way students relate to each other in the face-to-face learning environment, underscoring the importance of the psychosocial dimension in post-pandemic classrooms.