Unveiling the complexity of L2 learners’ emotions and emotion regulation: A retrodictive qualitative modeling study

Abstract Second/foreign language (L2) learners often go through a gamut of conflicting experiences embedded within their emotional system, which can be managed through emotion regulation (ER). Motivated by complex dynamic systems theory (CDST), this qualitative study aimed to explore the signature dynamics of positive and negative emotions among six Iranian adolescent English language learners. Additionally, the study investigated how learners manage their emotions in the L2 classroom. Using the CDST as its main theoretical framework and retrodictive qualitative modeling as its main methodology, the current investigation revealed that the learners’ emotional systems were mediated by internal and external contexts, as well as dynamicity. It was further discovered that ER strategies were driven by multiple simultaneous factors influencing emotional systems and the adaptability of those systems to new situations. In the end, we discuss how policymakers, teachers, and researchers can adopt the findings to provide some well‐needed support for classroom‐based L2 learners.