For many students, the start of a university course is a positive experience, as it is a challenge that involves academic commitment and the achievement of a university degree. However, for other students, access to university becomes a stressful experience that manifests itself in signs of anxiety. Previous studies have shown the influence of high levels of anxiety on the degree of academic engagement for good study performance, with positive or negative moderators such as psychological well-being or self-efficacy. The overall aim of this study is to analyse self-efficacy and psychological well-being as moderators between anxiety and academic engagement, as well as the relationships between the variables. In the present study, 751 first-year students of the Faculty of Education Sciences of the University of Granada (Spain), of whom 90.7% are women and 9.3% are men, all aged between 18 and 47 years old (M = 21.05, SD = 3.57), completed the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale-Student questionnaires (UWES-S), Maslach Burnout Inventory-Student Survey (MBI-SS), State–Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) and Psychological Well-being Scale. The correlations between scales were studied using Pearson’s correlation coefficient. To assess the moderating effect of self-efficacy and psychological well-being on the relationship between anxiety and academic engagement, structural equations were used with the maximum likelihood method. In relation to the analysis carried out, the findings show the importance of self-efficacy and psychological well-being as moderators between anxiety and academic engagement. Self-efficacy showed a moderating effect on the relationship between anxiety and academic engagement, so the interaction between anxiety and self-efficacy meant that in situations of high anxiety and high efficacy, academic engagement was virtually unaffected.

Mental health problems, specifically those related to stress, anxiety, and depression, have become more prevalent among college students compared to data available prior to the levels of the COVID-19 pandemic. Recent studies have shown that in different geographical areas, there is a high prevalence of depression and anxiety symptoms in university students compared to pre-pandemic levels. Thus, our objective was to establish self-perceived levels of stress, anxiety, and depression in university students earning an education degree at the University of Granada and the University of Costa Rica during periods of confinement and virtual learning associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. The final study sample consisted of 942 students from both universities. Two questionnaires were administered: The state trait anxiety inventory and the depression, anxiety, and stress scale 21. Descriptive analyses, mean comparisons, Pearson correlation coefficients, and multivariate regression were performed. Reliability was assessed using Cronbach’s alpha, and the effect size was analyzed using Cohen’s d. The results indicated that levels of depression, anxiety, and stress were mild or moderate despite the confinement and virtual learning associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. Women had higher levels of anxiety than men, and singles had higher levels of anxiety than individuals in other family situations. Younger individuals had higher levels of stress and anxiety.

In Spain, the learning of foreign languages has become one of the most interesting educational challenges in recent decades. Regulatory changes have been proposed to align with the Council of Europe’s language policy, which aims to promote plurilingualism and pluriculturalism among European Union citizens. Although the development of plurilingual competence in students has become a key goal, there is little evidence regarding the beliefs of current teachers, especially in monolingual contexts, where multilingualism is mainly developed through instruction. This study involved 307 teachers who taught languages or subjects in a foreign language. The results reveal beliefs about the promotion of plurilingualism, the objectives of language learning, the importance of plurilingual competence, and its characterization that at times do not align with the European language policy and its approach to plurilingualism, though there is agreement on other issues. Among the variables analyzed, two variables—academic training and the number of languages known—were found to significantly influence the beliefs revealed.

Learning academic subjects in English can evoke a range of emotions among university students. For some students, learning a new language represents a valuable opportunity to expand their perspectives and communicate with people from diverse cultural backgrounds. For others, the language barrier can be an obstacle to understanding and expressing themselves, which can lead to feelings of lack of confidence. In this study, we are interested in the emotions that students may experience when they are in class learning subjects through English Medium Instruction (EMI). For this purpose, an Achievement Emotions Questionnaire with Likert-type questions was used. It includes items about their degree of confidence, anxiety, motivation or emotions when learning through EMI. The sample consisted of 231 students in the bilingual Primary Education program and in the Foreign Languages Approach Program of the University of Extremadura (PALEx). The results show significant differences between men and women in the case of shame, emotion experienced more by women than by men. However, the average number of women who feel positive emotions such as hope, enjoyment and pride is higher than that of men although the fact that they are unable to meet their expectations leads them to suffer from anxiety or disappointment to a greater extent than men. Nevertheless, men present a higher average in the emotions of anger and boredom. The results also show that the self-perceived level of English is relevant for experiencing positive emotions: the higher the level, the more enjoyable the English classes are and the more hope for success.