Journal of Critical Applied Linguistics Studies

en From Potential to Practice: A Critical Examination of Affordances for Mitigating Boredom in Second Language Classrooms عمومى General پژوهشي Research <div style="text-align: justify;">While certain investigations have explored boredom in foreign language students, there remains a void in research addressing the possible affordances for alleviating foreign language boredom (FLB) inside the classroom's immediate environment, the prerequisites for realizing these affordances, and the role of instructors in cultivating them—especially via a critical framework that scrutinizes organizational barriers. To address this shortfall, adopting a critical ecological viewpoint, the research aimed to explore how various potential affordances for diminishing FLB are brought to fruition in a foreign language class, drawing upon the modern social science hermeneutics approach. Subsequently, the study endeavored to produce precise understandings of the situational dynamics in realizing these affordances for mitigating FLB in the classroom's micro-environment. Information was gathered through semi-structured interviews with a purposefully selected EFL instructor, supplemented by direct classroom observations. Results indicated that not every potential affordance for mitigating FLB is employed within the classroom setting, with only a limited few being transformed into actualized ones, frequently obstructed by rules in institutions that limit language education in rigid boundaries. The evidence also showed that harmony or discord between institutional guidelines and the teacher's viewpoint profoundly influences the actualization of these affordances. Moreover, educators can shape these affordances through their personal agency, leveraging their extensive academic training and prior instructional history to promote heightened awareness and anti-dominant strategies. These results were analyzed in the context of wider ramifications innovative approaches in language teaching.  </div> foreign language boredom, affordances, perceived affordances, utilized affordances, shaped affordances 75 706 http://cals.gonbad.ac.ir/browse.php?a_code=A-10-77-1&slc_lang=en&sid=1 Soheila Vafaei Ghahremanloo s.vafaei@stu.ub.ac.ir 1003194753284600523 1003194753284600523 No University of Bojnord Majid Elahi Shirvan m.elahi@ub.ac.ir 1003194753284600524 1003194753284600524 Yes University of Bojnord Mohammad Ali Robatjazi robatjazy_dr@yahoo.com 1003194753284600525 1003194753284600525 No University of Bojnord