The Development and Validation of the Short Form of the Foreign Language Enjoyment Scale

Abstract We used a data set with n = 1,603 learners of foreign languages (FL) to develop and validate the short form of the Foreign Language Enjoyment Scale (S‐FLES). The data was split into 2 groups, and we used the first sample to develop the short‐form measure. A 3‐factor hierarchical model of foreign language enjoyment (FLE) was uncovered, with FLE as a higher‐order factor and with teacher appreciation, personal enjoyment, and social enjoyment as 3 lower‐order factors. We selected 3 items for each of the 3 lower‐order factors of the S‐FLES. The proposed 9‐item S‐FLES was validated in the second sample, and the fit statistics for the factor structure indicated close fit. Further evidence was found to support the internal consistency, convergent validity, and discriminant validity of the S‐FLES. The S‐FLES provides a valid and reliable short‐form measure of FLE, which can easily be included in any battery of assessments examining individual differences in FL learning.