Students’ Perceptions and Importance of Teacher Emotional Support in Online English Learning: Examining the Gap Between Importance and Actual Perception

Abstract

Background: Teacher emotional support is relevant to students’ emotional experiences in online English learning, but the alignment between the importance students attribute to such support and the support they report perceiving remains insufficiently examined. Aims: To investigate university students’ perceptions of teacher emotional support in online English learning by examining two dimensions: perceived importance and actual perception. Study Design: A quantitative research design was adopted. Place and Duration of Study: Data were collected at a Chinese university over approximately one week. Methodology: A total of 397 Chinese university students participated in the questionnaire survey. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics and paired-samples t-tests in SPSS 28 to examine students’ perceived importance and actual perception of teacher emotional support in online English learning. Results: Students generally regarded teacher emotional support as highly important, whereas their reported perception of teacher emotional support was comparatively lower. A significant difference was found between the two dimensions. Conclusion: The findings suggest that a noticeable gap exists between students’ perceived importance of teacher emotional support and their actual perceptions of such support in online English learning contexts. This study provides empirical evidence for understanding teacher emotional support in online English learning and highlights the need for teachers to strengthen emotional support practices to better meet students’ emotional needs in digital learning.