Do emotional regulation behaviors matter in technology-integrated ESL pedagogical practices? A cross-sectional examination of teachers' attitudes.

Teachers' attitudes play a crucial role in the successful incorporation of information and communication technology (ICT) to enhance English as a second language (ESL) teaching methodologies. Among the various influencing factors, their emotional wellness emerges as an important aspect shaping their beliefs regarding the use of ICT in pedagogical practices. To delve deeper, we investigated the influence of Emotional Regulation (ER) strategies on ESL teachers' attitudes toward technology use in higher education settings. By integrating the process model of emotional regulation with the technology acceptance model (TAM), this study provides novel insights into how language instructors' emotional well-being influences their use of ICT in teaching environments. Based upon a sequential mixed-method design, data was first gathered from 271 teachers with the help of structured surveys and then 21 teachers through semi-structured interviews, which were scrutinized using several statistical tests, followed by thematic analysis. The quantitative results illustrate that Cognitive Reappraisal (CR) is a valuable positive predictor for teachers' attitudes toward ICT usage and also has a direct impact on their perception of utility and applicability with educational practices. However, Expressive Suppression (ES) was negatively associated with these perceptions. Consistent with the quantitative findings, interviews supported these notions and indicated that teachers often use CR to regulate their emotions as opposed to ES being used for maintaining the classroom environment. This examination underlines the significance of CR that can augur a favorable pathway toward ICT adoption in ESL teaching and suggests such interventions that target enhancements in ER.