How Learning Satisfaction Forms in Vocational English Classrooms: A Qualitative Study of The Interactions Between Psychosocial Learning Climate, Self-Efficacy, and Engagement

Abstract

Learning satisfaction is widely used as an indicator of teaching effectiveness in vocational education, specifically in learning English, yet existing research largely explains it through variable-based models that treat classroom climate and learner traits as independent predictors. This study examines how learning satisfaction develops through classroom experience by analysing open-ended responses from 371 vocational college students enrolled in the College English Course in China. Using qualitative content analysis, the study identifies interactional mechanisms linking classroom practices, self-efficacy formation, and learner engagement. Findings indicate that teacher feedback, peer interaction, participation opportunities, and perceptions of fairness do not directly influence satisfaction; instead, they generate experiential cues from which learners infer their capabilities to use English. These evolving efficacy judgments shape participation, and the accumulation of participation experiences informs students’ evaluation of progress. Building on these insights, the study proposes the Cycle of English Learning Satisfaction as a process framework that explains how satisfaction emerges through recursive interactions among the classroom environment, efficacy formation, and engagement. The study contributes theoretically by reframing satisfaction as a developmental outcome rather than a static evaluation, methodologically by demonstrating the value of large-scale qualitative analysis of student voice, and practically by highlighting the importance of classroom systems that consistently generate interpretable success experiences. The findings offer an integrated account of how instructional practice, social interaction, and psychological development combine to produce learning satisfaction in vocational English settings.